Finance and Student Debt

The Financing of Theological Education
Financial planning, fund-raising, and analysis by presidents and boards of theological schools are necessary if schools are going to continue to fulfill their mission. The research center has particular expertise in assessing financial trends that affect seminaries and in offering guidelines that may help schools as they plan for the future.

	Webinar on Income-Based Repayment Plans for Theological School Graduates On January 10th, Auburn’s Center for the Study of Theological Education hosted a webinar for financial aid officers, admissions staff and student personnel at theological schools on the latest government regulations for income-based repayment plans for federal educational loans. This information will assist financial aid officers and others who counsel students and recent graduates in repayment options as they move into ministry. If you would like to listen to this webinar, please click HERE. The accompanying PDF allows you to view and print the presentation slides.
	Great Expectations, Fundraising Prospects for Theological Schools By Sharon L. Miller, Anthony T. Ruger, and Barbara G. Wheeler August 2009 In this issue: • An analysis of fund-raising data from seminaries and theological schools show the growth, and sometimes decline, of donations over the last twenty years. • As denominational support for theological schools has declined, schools are much more dependent on donations from individuals and therefore donor cultivation is central to a school's mission and survival. • How much can a school hope to raise in a special or capital campaign? Using data from from eighty schools, some parameters are suggested.
	Seek and Find? Revenues in Theological Education By Anthony Ruger April 2005 In this issue: • As theological schools find financial support from denominations declining, they must look elsewhere for support. • Where should theological schools seek funds for their future? • How can schools avoid the roller-coaster ride of the markets when they are dependent on investment returns?
	The Big Picture: Strategic Choices for Theological Schools By Anthony T. Ruger and Barbara G. Wheeler December 2000 In this issue: • This report helps theological schools situate their strategic choices in the context of theological education as a whole. • What are the kinds of choices that theological schools should be making, both in terms of material assets as well as enrollment?
	Lean Years, Fat Years: Changes in the Financial Support of Protestant Education By Anthony Ruger December 1994 In this issue: • Revenue sources for theological education have changed significantly in the last twenty years with more reliance on endowments, gifts and grants and student fees. • This is the third in a series of decennial studies of revenue sources for Protestant theological education.
	Reports on the Educational Debt of Theological Students are on the next page.

The Educational Debt of Theological Students

The rising costs of a seminary education and increasing amounts of student indebtedness are serious issues that impact theological schools and the students they serve.

The Gathering Storm
By Anthony Ruger, Sharon L. Miller and Kim Maphis Early
September 2005

In this Issue:
• In the last decade, the percentage of students who have
   debt has increased, and the average amount of debt has
   increased dramatically.
• What are the ways that graduates, theological schools and
   denominations have found to avoid debt or minimize
   educational debt?

RESOURCES FOR STUDENT FINANCIAL PLANNING

Resources for Financial Aid Officers

Here are some resources for you and your colleagues to use to raise the financial awareness of your students and counsel them as they make decisions on financial matters.
Click here for a step-by-step guide on financial planning.

Are you Mortgaging your Ministry? Student Loans and Seminary Cost
A 30-minute video introduces five recent seminary graduates, some of the financial challenges they faced and decisions they made. Two experienced seminary administrators also offer advice on how to manage finances while in school.

Financial Planning Worksheets

Click here for Excel worksheets to help you plan and manage your finances while in theological school:

• Monthly Budget Schedule
• Spending Worksheet
• Debt Affordability Calculator
• Debt Repayment Plan
• Post-Graduation Budget

Manna From Heaven? Theological and Rabbinical Student Debt
By Anthony Ruger and Barbara G. Wheeler
April 1995

In this Issue:
• How prevalent is educational debt among theological students and are the amounts
borrowed reasonable, or too high?
• How dependent are schools on funds that students obtain through loans?
• What effect does debt have on graduates and their careers?

Background Reports are on following page

Background Reports

• Report No. 1. Denominational Funding Patterns in Protestant Theological Education, by Joseph P. O'Neill (1994).

• Report No. 2. Models of Manageable Educational Debt Levels, by Louis H. Tietje (1995).

• Report No. 3. Essays and Reflections on Theological Student Debt (1995).

• Report No. 4. Historical Perspectives on the Funding of Rabbinical and Theological Education, Joseph M. White on the history of Catholic education and Gary P. Zola on the history of rabbinical education (1995).

• Report No. 5. An Analysis of Educational Debt Among Theological and Rabbinical Students, by Anthony Ruger (1995). A detailed research report on the study of seminarian indebtedness, including survey instruments.

• Report No. 7. Treasure and Talent: Compensation of Theological School Faculty 1987-1993, by Anthony Ruger.