Thursday, December 8, 2011
LCMS Seminaries – Where the Money Is.
Ultra High Tuition and Salaries
—
From Bruce Chuch, Ichabod Research Department:
Summary: The LCMS seminaries have the highest overhead per student of all
the accredited Lutheran seminaries in America, in part due to an inadequate
endowment fund. However, much of the overhead is a result of choices the LCMS
seminaries and synod have made. First and foremost is the facilities
overcapacity. One seminary on one campus would more than suffice for the needs
of the LCMS (allowing for the expansion of classroom buildings and dormitories,
of course). Secondly, there is the over-payment of professors at Concordia St.
Louis, which campus has the highest tuition rates, by the way. Third, the
federal government deems the LCMS seminaries to be in great financial shape,
better off than most of the ELCA seminaries, and they of course charge much lower
tuition. In other words, the LCMS seminaries could afford to lower their tuition
quite a bit without losing their OK credit rating with the government, and
without going broke.
cost not associated with professor salaries. However, if one wished, one could
add to overhead the amount that he or she estimates the Concordia Seminary St.
Louis professors are overpaid. When professor salaries are subtracted from
tuition, a LCMS seminary student is paying $21,500 for overhead per year, twice
as much as all the ELCA seminary students, except at one seminary. The fiscally
troubled Philadelphia ELCA seminary still has $5,000 less overhead per student
than the LCMS seminaries. Philadelphia also has the highest tuition and fees of
any ELCA seminary, but its yearly tuition still trails $5,000 behind the LCMS
seminaries.
more than the average ($66,560) holding at the nine other Lutheran seminaries
listed. Its associate professor salary ($71,201) is $14,287 more than the
average ($56,914) at the other seminaries. The assistant professor salary
($59,830) is $5,410 more than the average ($54,420) at the other seminaries. If
the amount of this over-payment of professors were factored into the overhead
cost, the overhead cost per student at the LCMS seminaries would be even
greater.
cost of college, many private religiously-affiliated colleges and universities
are slashing tuition and offering incentives to attract new students — and to
stay afloat.
Soundness:
