Episcopal Seminaries Struggle to Survive Seventy percent of TEC seminaries have fewer than 100 students A VIRTUEONLINE EXCLUSIVE By Mary Ann Mueller VOL Special Correspondent www.virtueonline.org Aug. 16, 2016 Ten accredited theological seminaries and schools for ministry and one, unaccredited Episcopal divinity school, unevenly dot the American Episcopal landscape. An independent study of the state of these seminaries reveals that seventy percent of these institutions have fewer than 100 students. Their decline follows the bell curve of The Episcopal Church as it experiences loss in members, parish closings and an inability to attract a younger generation of Americans. Many believe that issues like the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopacy, the embrace of pansexuality and homosexual marriage now enshrined in canon law, reflect a Church that lacks a distinctive message separate from the prevailing culture. These are: General Theological Seminary (New York City); Berkeley Divinity School at Yale (Hew Haven, Connecticut); Episcopal Divinity School (Cambridge, Massachusetts); Trinity School for Ministry (Ambridge, Pennsylvania); Virginia Theological Seminary (Alexandria, Virginia); School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee (Sewanee, Tennessee); Nashotah House Theological Seminary (Nashotah, Wisconsin); Seminary of the Southwest (Austin, Texas); Bexley Hall & Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Federation (Chicago, Illinois); Church Divinity School of the Pacific (Berkeley, California); and Bishop Kemper School for Ministry (Topeka, Kansas). Presently, the Episcopal seminary scene is rather fluid. In a story recently posted by the Institute on Religion & Democracy's Juicy Ecumenism blog, it was revealed that at least three Episcopal seminaries -- Bexley-Seabury, General and Episcopal Divinity -- were some of the smallest divinity schools in the country. Juicy Ecumenism reports: "Among the smallest accredited Protestant seminaries in the nation are three Episcopal seminaries: Bexley Hall Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Federation with 17 fulltime students enrolled, General Theological Seminary with 34 fulltime students, and Episcopal Divinity School with 35 fulltime students." "Fulltime" Students Status Juicy Ecumenism got its "fulltime" student figures from the Association of Theological Seminaries, an accrediting commission which keeps tabs and statistics on all accredited seminaries in the United States and Canada. The accreditation commission is primarily charged with assuring the quality of North American seminary education and training and serves as a resource for quality improvement. But the Association of Theological Seminaries has an interesting way of counting "fulltime" students. The Association calls its math "fulltime equivalent." The special math goes this way: if Seminary X considers a student taking 12 credit hours to be a "fulltime" student and Seminary X had four students who are taking three credit hours, two students who are taking six credit hours, and one student who is taking a full load of 12 credit hours therefore the Association of Theological Seminaries considers that Seminary X has only three "fulltime" students, even though seven people are actually taking credit courses at the seminary. Even though only one student is actually carrying a "fulltime load" of 12 credit hours, the other six students at Seminary X are part timers, each taking fewer than 12 credit hours, but their credit courses add up to 24 credit hours, which translates into two more "fulltime" students on paper. In actuality, Bexley-Seabury has a student body of 38 and a fulltime student equivalency of 17; General has a student body of 39 and a fulltime student equivalency of 34; and Episcopal Divinity has a student body of 48 and a fulltime student equivalency of 35. So the nose count for the three smallest Episcopal seminaries is 125 seminarians, but only 86 students show up on paper as "fulltime" divinity school scholars. Bexley-Seabury, Episcopal Divinity and General all have had some major internal shifting in the recent past which is impacting upon their status and identity. Episcopal Divinity School Last month, Episcopal Divinity announced that it would cease granting degrees in 2017. The school is now actively exploring new options for its very future. Episcopal Divinity is one of the youngest and smallest of the Episcopal seminaries. Click here for the rest of the article: http://www.virtueonline.org/episcopal-seminaries-struggle-survive