An astonishing thing is happening at traditional, faith-based colleges. While national college enrollment has decreased by 13 percent over the last decade, these institutions have demonstrated that it is possible to emerge from COVID, economic recession, and a smaller national pool of applicants with record-breaking enrollment. <\/p>\n
Take Thomas Aquinas College. When the school opened its doors in California a half-century ago, a handful of students were willing to take a chance on a novel curriculum that ditched textbooks and lectures in favor of student-led discussions of humanity\u2019s greatest works. Far from sharing in the troubles of others, Thomas Aquinas College just celebrated the first graduating class at a brand new campus in Massachusetts. Expanding to New England helped double the school\u2019s capacity without jeopardizing its low student-to-teacher ratio.<\/p>\n
Benedictine College in Kansas likewise offers a Great Books program, and, thanks to the administration\u2019s focused drive to return to the basics, the college\u2019s enrollment doubled between 2004 and 2022. Furthermore, graduation rates jumped 28 percent as motivated students hungered for the challenge of the more rigorous and rewarding curriculum.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Institutions that have embraced a curriculum rooted in Western tradition\u2014and the faith have discovered their programs have become more relevant, not less so, to a younger generation. | @JeremyTate41<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/254Ny1p9oA<\/a><\/p>\n — First Things (@firstthingsmag) January 8, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n