In their struggle for survival in the highly competitive higher education marketplace, small liberal arts colleges and universities with religious identities must surely feel that they are Davids doing battle with mighty state university Goliaths.

     State universities would appear to possess every competitive advantage—size, economies of scale, large endowments, government funding, a vast array of undergraduate and graduate programs, the latest in campus amenities, popular sports teams, and enormous populations of loyal alumni. But, small liberal arts Christian colleges and universities in the Kansas City region be-lieve, like David, if they stay true to their heritage and hold fast to their faith, the Philistine will not defeat them.

     Stephen Minnis has been president of Benedictine College in Atchison for three years. He’s given a lot of thought to the question of his school’s competitiveness.

     “When smaller liberal arts institutions begin to stray from their traditional identities they lose the very thing that makes them unique,” he says. “What then differentiates them from a larger university that offers the same courses, at a lower cost, if they can no longer claim that they have something unique to offer?”

     Minnis says enrollment at Benedictine has increased 87 percent over the last ten years. He attributes that success to a deliberate and strategic decision by the school’s board of directors and administration to affirm and assert its traditional mission and identity.

     “We know who we are. And we know that the only way to survive and thrive is to stay true to who we are. We are Catholic. We are Benedictine. We are a liberal arts college. And we are a residential college. Students and their parents understand this. It’s what they choose when they choose Benedictine.”

     At William Jewell College in Liberty, President

David Sallee has come to a similar conclusion regarding the best way for institutions like his to succeed.

     “I think colleges with a Christian, or other religious heritage or identity, are successful in part because students and families recognize that students grow spiritually during their college years. Being in a place that recognizes that fact and helps students in that arena can be valuable.”

     At Baker University, in Baldwin City, President

Pat Long, says that the emphasis liberal arts schools place on the education and development of the whole student is their distinct advantage in the marketplace.

     “Our commitment is to graduate students who are academically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually prepared to contribute to society and to create a better world. The traditional orientation of liberal arts colleges has always been on teaching critical thinking and the development of a broad intellectual foundation.”

     David Sallee concedes that, while this strategy may be the best hope for success, it is no guarantee.

    “The general public has such a strong frame of reference around the great state-supported colleges and universities,” he says. “Especially those with high-profile athletics programs. It is difficult to attract the media’s interest and the attention of the general public in order to demonstrate the distinctive qualities of the liberal arts experience. The other aspect of this challenge is to help the public realize that many Fortune 500 business leaders agree that liberal arts graduates are far better equipped to succeed and advance more rapidly in their careers than employees with narrower educational backgrounds. We must do a better job of getting these messages broader attention.”

     Edwin Robinson, president of MidAmerica Nazarene University, in Olathe, agrees that more effective communication with the general public and key constituencies is essential if smaller liberal arts schools are to remain viable.

     “Much of the general population perceives private higher education to be substantially more expensive, more exclusive, and more segregated than our public counterparts,” Robinson explains. “Though there are some differentiations, the gap is not as wide as most perceive. For example, many Kansas state legislators are not aware that students from Kansas enrolled in Kansas independent colleges/universities receive the Kansas Comprehensive Grant and rely on that grant money to be able to attend the school of their choice. That is the full extent of state aid we receive, yet, the goal of educating Kansans in Kansas schools in order to stay in Kansas and serve the greater good of the state is accomplished as much by independent schools as it is in the further subsidized public institutions. Actually, it is a pretty good financial investment for the state.”

     Robinson says that independent colleges have also been in the forefront of many of innovative developments in higher education, specifically degree completion programs for professional adults, and the offering of extensive online courses and degrees.

     “The U.S. Department of Education made a plea for these kinds of innovations during a recent national ‘listening tour’,” he says. “It was evident in their presentations that they were unaware that independent schools had been doing the kinds of things they were advocating for 20 years.”

     One of the pioneers in degree com-pletion programs for adults is Ottawa University, where Fred Zook is interim president. In the mid-70s, while maintaining its traditional residential campus in Kansas, with its emphasis on undergraduate liberal arts education, Ottawa was, at the same time, developing an important presence in Phoenix, Arizona, where it offered a wide range of courses and degree completion programs to adults needing to restart or redirect their careers. Over the years, the revenue stream from the Phoenix operation has been critical to the university’s continued financial viability.

     Zook says that strictly adhering to the traditional denominational and residential college model may be successful for some schools, such as Benedictine; others have had to expand their definitions of themselves.

     “There are a few denominations that directly sponsor and support a number of colleges, and the expectation is strong within these denominations that their young people will attend these schools, so generally enrollment in these schools is higher and more consistent than at schools where the affiliation is looser or has perhaps been officially severed.

     “For example, there are hundreds of colleges with historical Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or even Catholic affiliations, but there is very little expectation within these denominations that young people raised in these denominations will attend these schools. Naturally, then, if these colleges are to survive, they need to look beyond those traditional sources of stu-dents and financial support. That’s the reason many schools have decided that they’re more comfortable with a broader ‘Christian’ identity, rather than a specific denominational identity. It’s also why schools like Ottawa long ago began offer-ing off-campus, non-residential programs.”

     Robinson agrees that competitive pressures are forcing some schools to examine their traditional missions.

     “Among the transitions taking place in many schools with religious heritages or identities is the shifting relationships we have with sponsoring or related religious groups, religious orders, or denominations. The creative tension between the need to broaden student constituencies, revenue sources, and qualified faculty, while ful-filling ecclesiastical expectations and retaining the institutional mission is caus-ing some schools to reevaluate affiliations, revise governance structures, and rethink mission. This phenomenon, of course, is not new, but it does seem that there are greater percentages of religiously affiliated schools who are dealing with it.”

     Parkville’s Park University describes itself as a Christian residential institution, yet President Beverley Byers-Pevitts points out that it now offers courses at 43 campus centers in 21 states nationwide.

     Baker’s president Pat Long says that establishing strong programs beyond its traditional residential campus has been critical to its success. Baker has major sites in Topeka and Wichita and Kansas City, as well as centers in other locations in Missouri and Kansas. “We’ve realized that we need to go where the students are in order to meet their needs.”

     Long says that Baker has made a conscious effort to maintain its identity as a college with a United Methodist heritage.

     “This may not be important to all our students, especially those enrolled at our off-campus centers. But, it is who we are. And we find it is important to many of our alumni. And that’s important to us. That keeps us connected to them. And it’s important strategically. Because donations from alumni go much further at Baker than they would at a state university.”

     MidAmerica Nazarene’s Ed Robinson is realistically optimistic about the future of independent religious liberal arts schools.

     “We have outlasted the prophecies of the financial demise of many of our number. While we still live with financial challenges, we are not fragile.”

     Benedictine’s president, Stephen Minnis, speaks for his school, and others, when he states the importance of the role of small liberal arts Christian schools in the communities they serve.

     “We provide our students with the values, ethical foundation, and intellectual capacity to lead in whatever they choose to do. We are the producers of the next generation of Kansas City’s civic

and business leadership.”