By and large, enrollment at theological seminaries increased in the academic year following 9-11. At Bethel Seminary, according to the director of admissions and financial aid, Morris Anderson, applications for Fall 2002 dropped off dramatically immediately following 9-11. But by February of 2002 they increased enough to enable the school to set a new enrollment high at its St. Paul, Minnesota, campus.

Some have speculated that there is a relationship between the nation's heightened sense of spiritual urgency and increased enrollment at seminaries. But responses gleaned from several seminaries across the nation suggest that there is little if any evidence in support of any connection.

There were 97 new applicants at North Park Theological Seminary for the Fall of 2002, compared with 84 the previous fall. But according to North Park's Jo Ann Deasy, no entering student is known to have cited 9-11 as an influencing factor.

According to Anne Doll, director of public relations and campaign communications at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, total enrollment at the seminary's three campuses increased substantially from the fall of 2001 to the fall of 2002, from 1,610 to 1,793, an 11.4 percent increase. But Doll notes that Gordon-Conwell's enrollment had been growing even prior to 9-11, nearly doubling since 1996. "A more likely reason for the growth," says Doll, "is that we have been able to increase significantly the number of scholarships we offer students to help them enter ministry without heavy debt."

Enrollment in the graduate programs at Wheaton College has reached an all-time high of more than 470, but no one there believes this is a result of 9-11. The recent additions of a Ph.D. program in Biblical and Theological Studies and an M.A. program in Biblical Exegesis are more likely explanations. Nevertheless, Julie Huebner, director of graduate admissions at Wheaton, notes that she still reads applications from people whose introduction to Wheaton College was reading the life story of alumnus Jim Elliot, a missionary to Ecuador who was killed over 50 years ago by Auca Indians. Says Huebner, "I imagine that will happen for many who read Let's Roll," the book that features the life of American hero Todd Beamer.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has experienced a slight increase in enrollment, but according to the director of public relations, David Porter, there is no reason to attribute the increase to 9-11. Observes Daryl Eldridge, dean of Southwestern's School of Educational Ministries, "Usually a call to ministry has been shaping over months and years and is not the result of one event."

According Eastern Seminary's admissions director, Steve Hutchison, while 9-11 has had no measurable impact on student enrollment, it has had a negative impact on the school's endowment, causing a sharp decrease in financial aid. Says Hutchison, "This will probably increase the overall personal debt that is already a burden for many seminary graduates."

But a down economy can have a positive influence on seminary enrollment. Says Kevin Vanden Brink, Vice President for Enrollment and External Programs at Covenant Theological Seminary, "We have noticed a small increase in the number of people who may view now as a better time to go to seminary because of changes in the job market and economy. In other words, if people are thinking about seminary and ministry training already—and then get laid off from their job—this may open the door for them to transition to seminary."

Spokespersons for several seminaries, including Southwestern Baptist and Fuller, stated that 9-11 has had a noticeable and negative impact on new international student enrollment. Says Fuller dean of students Ruth Vuong, "Most of it is due to finances. It is increasingly daunting to obtain the Immigration and Naturalization Service-required financial guarantee to study here." Vuong adds, "Also, visa processing is taking much longer, and there are more visa denials that have to be appealed."

North Park Seminary's Jo Ann Deasy comments, "International students are waiting six months or more to get responses on work permits and field education requests. We are also being asked to track our international students much more closely."

According to Vuong, theological educators might need to think strategically about providing or strengthening institutions of theological education on a global scale "because U.S. study may not remain as accessible as in the past."

—R.F.