# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S560
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Report of Board for Higher Education 561

nly a diminutive percentage of these tuition arrears will ever be
allected even with the best of administrative devices. Pay as you
s the only solution. ’ ,

. 3. Tuition for Pretheological Students

In general, Synod has pursued a policy with respect to the students
‘at~its colleges that is considered to be far too generous. It has
ssumed altogether too great a proportion of the costs of the student’s
‘ucation-over a period of eight to ten years, even to the extent of
viding living quarters at a fraction of their true cost. This would
@: understandable if the expenses at the syniodical institutions were
uite large, approximating those of other schools offering similar —
srvices. When our charges in 1942-43 for a year’s education, includ-
ig.room and meals at a private preparatory school or junior ‘college,
veraged less than $150 for the ten schools, we had a system unparal-
leled in the field of church-controlled schools in this country. While
4t.is true that 41 per cent of.the students in attendance came from
‘Lutheran parsonages, it is not likely that the general economic level
f the homes from which our students came was so remarkably inferior
© that of other church bodies that the students could not afford to
“pay higher rates. Furthermore, the very generous contributions of
Indigent Student Boards and congregations, exceeding $34,000 in
42-43, provided all or most of the cost for about 300 of the finan-
ially least favored group. This represented over 20 per cent of the
‘total theological students enrolled at colleges and seminaries.

~ It is questionable whether these low rates are conducive. to good
‘student morale. A widespread lack of appreciation is to be observed.
“Jt demonstrates itself by the prevalent unwillingness of students to
“tender services to the school unless they are paid. There may be a
great deal of truth to the oft-repeated statements that our theo-
logical students, in consequence of the paternalistic attitude of the
‘Church, are being trained to expect charity, to receive rather than to
give, to think of themselves as making a sacrifice in entering the
?:ministry, rather than as blessed if found worthy of entering this
glorious service.

. ‘The financial burden on Synod of maintaining so many institutions
for contributing so large a proportion of the costs for the training of
future pastors and teachers is great. In recent years, in excess of 25

per cent of the synodical budget was allocated to educational institu-
E/ tions. The correction of many weak areas and the adoption of vari-
ous procedures to make the schools more effective instruments for
training teachers and pastors will greatly increase the.costs. If in
the near future a senior college becomes necessary, the costs of educa-
tion will mount still higher.

For these reasons it is our considered judgment that Synod should

charge tuition to all students, whether . general, pretheological, or
teacher training. Seminary students shauld be exempt.