Midwestern celebrates enrollment record

Midwestern celebrates enrollment record

KANSAS CITY – Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) reports a record 1,096 students enrolled in 2005-2006 academic year.

“We are delighted to see the wonderful ways God is blessing MBTS,” said Alan Branch, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s vice president for student development, regarding the record headcount in the 2005-2006 academic year.

This record shows growth of 21.9 percent over the preceding year’s enrollment. Headcount numbers included students enrolled in doctoral, first professional, masters, undergraduate and WISDOM programs at the Kansas City campus location as well as those participating in extension courses in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa and South Dakota.

The seminary graduated 94 students in the May 2006 commencement. With the beginning of the fall 2006 semester, the seminary welcomed 181 new students for an initial headcount of 704 students.

“Compared to this time one year ago, enrollment continues to experience growth with students also taking more credit hours than last year,” noted Richards. “The continued enrollment growth for degree-seeking students is greatest in the Bachelor of Arts programs.”

Branch attributed the growth to lots of prayer, hard work, the new Koehn-Meyers Center for World Evangelism, the new college, and Midwestern Evangelism Teams led by Associate Professor of Evangelism Tom Johnston. He also acknowledged the need for more housing as a result of the growth.

“Our staff is prayerful, supportive and hardworking,” said R. Philip Roberts. “We have, as well, an excellent faculty. The spirit on campus is outstanding. All of these factors contribute to healthy growth-supporting environment. We thank the Lord for His blessings to us.”