New commission of religiously affiliated higher education aims to spark collaboration
From left, former editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education Jeff Selingo, and Clark Gilbert, church commissioner of education for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, listen to comments of Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council of Christian Colelges and Universities, during a forum on January 12, 2023. (Photo by Brian Nicholson for the Desert News)
A prominent association of colleges and universities in the United States has created a new commission of religious schools whose aim will be to share with their nonreligious counterparts the innovations that have led to growth in recent years.
The Commission on Faith-based Colleges and Universities, recently announced by the American Council on Education, a lobbying group for about 1,600 college and university leaders, launched with meetings on Tuesday in Washington.
The new commission comes after data from the National Center for Education Statistics showed that religious schools grew by 82 percent from 1980 to 2020, while the national average was 57 percent.
