The threat of a drastic change in enrollment numbers has been especially prominent within private universities. However, Biola and her sister schools have braced themselves for change.

Christian universities nationwide have faced the consequences of a crippled economy. Sadly, not every school has been able to continue offering education to young adults, as an article in Christianity Today recently confirmed.

Campuses like Cascade College, the Oregon campus of Oklahoma Christian University, and Vennard College, a nondenominational school in Iowa, were forced to shut down operations. In April, Crichton College in Memphis. Tenn. was sold to a group of private investors, the article noted.

Biola’s undergraduate numbers are down slightly, while graduate numbers are up by 79 so far. Cal Baptist University in Riverside, Calif. has actually experienced an increase in undergrad enrollment so far this fall compared to numbers from last year. While the university is “still enrolling” and numbers are nowhere near final, over 2,600 undergrads are enrolled this year, compared to 2,475 last year, according to Allen Johnson, the school’s associate dean of enrollment services. The school’s total number of students had increased by well over 100 students, bringing the headcount so far to 4,137 as of Sept. 11. The school was only 20 students short of its goal for the year, Johnson said.

“It’s a combination of retention and hard work,” he said.

Westmont College in Santa Barbara, which saw 321 new students for its incoming class, was rather content with its numbers, considering that this year could have been substantially worse. Westmont is considerably smaller than Biola with a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,175. The school had set a goal for incoming freshmen at 340 new students.

“Westmont is in better shape than we thought it would be,” said Joyce Luy, dean of admissions. “We are 20 students short of that goal, though we’re very satisfied with where we are at.”

Although the poor economy has not radically affected Biola, the university has seen a shift in enrollment numbers. As of Thursday morning, 5,658 students, both graduate and undergraduate, had registered. About 3,611 of those students have enrolled as undergraduates, a drop from the 3,651 enrolled at this time last year. Though the undergraduate number may have shrunk, all of Biola’s graduate programs are doing better than before.

Though the effects of the poor economy have taken a negative toll on many Christian universities nation wide, Biola University and similar schools, by God’s grace, have held their heads above water so far this fall.