For spring 2015, enrollment at Grace College & Seminary is at 1,835 students, a 13 percent increase over spring 2014, making it the largest spring class in the school’s 76 year history. The college’s enrollment has enjoyed a 24.7 percent increase in spring enrollment over the last three years.
Grace College has become known for consistently pursuing creative and relevant options to offer students a quality, affordable, faith-based education. It is precisely these initiatives that have led to Grace’s continuing growth in enrollments. This spring’s increase can be attributed, in part, to a 4.8 percent increase in traditional undergraduate enrollment and a 70.6 percent increase in online student enrollment.
As the college has reimagined itself over the past several years, it first redesigned its traditional education model to allow students the option of pursuing an accelerated three-year undergraduate degree and added opportunities for applied learning. Raising the bar again, Grace College began offering students the option to graduate with a bachelor’s and master’s degree combined in just four years total.
With the new Measure of Grace Initiative (www.grace.edu/gamechanger), effective fall of 2015, Grace will reduce the cost of tuition by nine percent for traditional students on the main campus. In addition, once a student enrolls, their tuition will never be raised; instead, each consecutive year a student attends Grace they will receive an additional $500 off their tuition. This can amount to an additional $3,000 savings. Grace then goes one step further, offering all main campus, undergraduate students their textbook rentals free of charge (excluding consumables and workbooks). For the average student, this equates to another $1,200 price break per year.
“We are excited that our effort to bring an affordable, faith-based education to students and their families is yielding such positive results,” said Aaron Crabtree, dean of students at Grace. “As with our recent 2014 fall class, we are now ready to welcome the largest incoming spring class ever to Grace College.”
“Hard working families are making it clear that having a high quality education that’s affordable and accessible to them is a top priority,” said Bill Katip, president of Grace. “This spring’s enrollment is a reaction to this vital need. It’s why more and more students are looking at the value and quality of a Grace education, and I believe having a faith-based institution that meets this need is an even greater value.”
Grace College is an evangelical Christian community of higher education that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and applies biblical values in strengthening character, sharpening competence, and preparing for service. Grace College also offers flexible online graduate degrees, on-campus and online degree completion programs, and highly affordable, easily accessible degree programs in Detroit, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. The 180-acre main campus is located in the historic resort town of Winona Lake, near Warsaw, Indiana.