Enrolment at CUCA “steady as we go”

EDMONTON – Enrolment in church-work programs at Concordia University College of Alberta (CUCA) remained “steady” this fall, says a senior administrator.

“I’m not seeing any huge shifts in terms of the numbers in the program,” said Paul Schoepp, director of church-work programs at CUCA. “It’s steady as we go.”

The numbers were presented to a Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) planning conference in November and showed a total of 63 students enrolled in church-work programs at CUCA. Church-work programs prepare students for work in LCC congregations and other church bodies.

Nineteen students had enrolled in the director of parish services (DPS) program. Of those, eight were new to the program.

CUCA anticipates placing two DPS interns and four DPS candidates during the 2009-2010 year.

The parish nurse program attracted eight students – four of whom were new to the program.

CUCA anticipates certifying four parish nurses during the 2009-2010 year.

Twenty-one students enrolled in pre-seminary studies – 13 of whom were new to the program.

Schoepp said he considered the number of new, first-year, pre-seminary students to be soft.

Finally, the teaching program attracted 15 students, five of whom were new.

Schoepp said CUCA anticipates placing two or three teacher candidates during the 2009-2010 year.

He said because enrolment numbers are so small, it’s difficult to draw any conclusions from the minor fluctuations CUCA sees every year.

“There are fluctuations, minor fluctuations, year to year,” he said.

Schoepp said he is noticing a new trend, though. More students appear to be making decisions about church work as they progress through their academic careers, rather than at the beginning of their studies.

“God calls people into ministry at all points of life,” he said.

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