November 29, 2011
According to CNNMoney, economic troubles and a decline in the number of Christian youth have led some Christian colleges to close and others to drop "Bible" from their Bible College name or lower tuition rates to try to broaden their appeal. There are around a thousand small, private faith-based institutions in the U.S., which have an average enrollment of 1,900 students, and while the economy is affecting most schools of this size, religious schools are finding themselves in the toughest spot. By keeping tuition as low as possible, often by reducing financial aid, these schools are taking potential hits to profit as they try to keep enrollment up, said John Nelson of credit rating agency Moody's. The most pressing issue, though, seems to be the fact that religious membership has been on the decline in recent years, especially among young people. The percentage of Americans who identified as Christians fell from 86 percent in 1990 to 76 percent in 2008.
