Current State of HAC

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TheOldJudge

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Does anyone on the forums know anything definitive about the long-term stability of Hyles-Anderson College?

I ask because an acquaintance told me several months ago that the enrollment numbers stand somewhere between four-hundred (400) and four-hundred-and-fifty (450) students.

Is this true? If so, is such a decline sustainable for more than a few years?
 
This has been addressed several times. Your numbers are probably close to accurate. However, there seems to be disagreement on whether a college with so few students can remain viable. Personally, it seems difficult to believe the doors could remain open operating under the model that existed for the first thirty years, but with online courses and the ability to shave costs, who knows? One thing is certain, it is a shell of the school that existed in its first twenty years.
 
Several years ago the staff retired and left . The grade of classes is unknown. I don't follow what they preach or live.
 
Justice1976 said:
This has been addressed several times. Your numbers are probably close to accurate. However, there seems to be disagreement on whether a college with so few students can remain viable. Personally, it seems difficult to believe the doors could remain open operating under the model that existed for the first thirty years, but with online courses and the ability to shave costs, who knows? One thing is certain, it is a shell of the school that existed in its first twenty years.
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This would be normal when the founder dies.
 
HAC will probably go the way of Tennessee Temple U. No vision after the founder left. Bible colleges have to expand beyond just Bible, music majors.
 
Sherryh said:
Because the leaders planned ahead.........
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That, and by changing into something that is nothing like what was started. Is Liberty University anything like it was when Falwell was alive? Wheaton and Harvard started as Christian schools . They exist but not as the original.
 
Thinking out loud here, but the property is paid off, correct? If so, then you have facility upkeep, utilities, and college salaries, but what else? I mean, it's not the cash cow that it was, but it could still be in the black, right?

Tuition/room and board is about $11k annually x 400 students = $4.4M a year. That SEEMS doable.
 
That's curious.

Who would even want that facility?

Can the church support students during the week? (Honest question. I haven't been there in years.)
 
IFB X-Files said:
That, and by changing into something that is nothing like what was started. Is Liberty University anything like it was when Falwell was alive? Wheaton and Harvard started as Christian schools . They exist but not as the original.
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There are some notible exceptions. The great First baptist church of Dallas was pastored just after its founding by the George Washington Truett from 1897 until his death in 1944 he was followed by W. A. Criswell from 1944 until he became Pastor Emeritus in 1995. The church continued to grow in size and innfluence during this time. They have had several pastors since Criswell retired with Robert Jeffress becoming the current pastor in 2007 and the church continues to grow han have influence locally and at the national level. I believe the key is in the selection of the next pastor.
 
4everfsu said:
HAC will probably go the way of Tennessee Temple U. No vision after the founder left. Bible colleges have to expand beyond just Bible, music majors.
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I've heard that the magic number is around 600 students. Much less than that and it becomes difficult to operate in the black without significant support from the church. I understand their enrollment continues to recover slowly and they are just under the 600 number. The closing of several small regional IFB schools may be helping with their slow rebound. Pastor Wilkerson, though well liked and respected, is not the dynamic recruiter that past 2 pastors were nor does he travel as much. Memories of past scandals may also make it difficult to recruit.
 
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sword said:
I've heard that the magic number is around 600 students. Much less than that and it becomes difficult to operate in the black without significant support from the church. I understand their enrollment continues to recover slowly and they are just under the 600 number. The closing os several small regional IFB schools may be helping with their slow rebound. Pastor Wilkerson, though well liked and respected is not the dynamic recruiter the past 2 pastors were nor does he travel as much. Memories of past scandals may also make it difficult to recruit.
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Good post. Thank you.
 
sword said:
I understand their enrollment continues to recover slowly and they are just under the 600 number. The closing of several small regional IFB schools may be helping with their slow rebound.
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So are they between 400 and 450, or are they actually hovering just under 600 (580-590) students?

Also, which small regional IFB schools have closed since Grace Baptist College of Gaylord, Michigan shuttered?
 
TheOldJudge said:
So are they between 400 and 450, or are they actually hovering just under 600 (580-590) students?

Also, which small regional IFB schools have closed since Grace Baptist College of Gaylord, Michigan shuttered?
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* Clarks Summit University (including Baptist Bible Seminary) closed in 2024 (1)
* The King's College
* Lincoln Christian University
* Midwestern Baptist College
* Northland Baptist Bible College

Not all these schools were IFB but they all recruited and had students from Independent Baptist Churches.

(1) Baptist Bible College of Springfield, MO now operates as Mission University.
 
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4everfsu said:
HAC will probably go the way of Tennessee Temple U. No vision after the founder left. Bible colleges have to expand beyond just Bible, music majors.
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This is true, and that is why I am so thankful that Arno Weniger helped bring other professions into the college at Maranatha. Over the years the enrollment grew, and they became a fully accredited university. I'm waiting to see if HAC will do this as well.
 
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