How Eastern overcame the adversity of the last decade and innovated to thrive.
For most of its history, Eastern University (and its earlier legacy institutions) served students within the so-called “golden age” of higher education. That is, from our Seminary’s origins in 1925 until the economic crisis of 2008, the number of interested and qualified students was more than sufficient to ensure solid enrollments for any institution worth its salt.
The factors that altered the situation, making enrollments very hard to secure, are too numerous to recount and explain here. But eventually, University enrollment declined to the point where, in fiscal year 2016, we recorded a very sudden $5 million deficit and a related decline in net assets to less than $60 million. We were in trouble.
Stress
In the short run, decisive but difficult action was necessary to save the institution from possible ruin. Over the course of a few years, the University board, administration, staff, and faculty cooperated to reduce annual expenses by $9 million. Unfortunately, significant staff reductions were necessary. The total number of full-time employees was reduced from around 500 to 400 colleagues. The institution was on firmer footing, to be sure, but the proverbial surgical intervention was nearly unbearable.
Those were dark, uncertain years at Eastern University. But there remained a deep-seated conviction that Eastern’s unique mission of faith, reason, and justice was still needed in the world. Could that mission now empower and carry us into the future?
During this challenging season, many talented employees and board members remained with Eastern precisely because of our mission, rather than pursuing opportunities elsewhere. As a result, the impact of our mission for a sustainable future was immediate and is one of the reasons we can tell the good story that follows.
Stability
The reduction of expenses gave us the time we needed to realign our University to very competitive market conditions. Broadly speaking, we discovered two distinct groups of prospective students who were looking for more or different experiences than we had been providing up to that point. Let’s consider each profile.
Traditional residential students—who for most of our history have comprised the largest segment of our enrollment—were seeking something more than the Christian education for which Eastern had long been respected. They were looking for a “plus.” After a thoughtful process of discernment, the University concluded that NCAA athletic competition could provide that added dimension. We expanded our athletic offerings, including the addition of football, and began to see both enrollment and campus life flourish.
Eastern is on a path to serve more traditional students and change more lives than ever before. Our mission has made this possible. Eastern is distinctive among Christian institutions because we’ve elected to serve not only people of the Church but also students of other faiths or no faith. We’re so thankful for the opportunity to share our faith and love with these students.
The other group of students is non-traditional, graduate, and professional students who have a very different set of desires and needs. In an era when industry and the business environment are changing constantly, these folks need opportunities to quickly and affordably “retool” or “upscale” their skills for new employment opportunities. Eastern has responded by offering convenient, affordable, high-quality graduate and undergraduate programs that are entirely online. The results have been staggering.
Strength
Our overall institutional enrollment has surged from around 3,000 in 2019 to approximately 10,000 in 2025.
- Traditional undergraduate enrollment has increased 52% from a low of 958 students in spring 2022 to 1,459 students in fall 2025.
- Online undergraduate enrollment has grown 151%, increasing from 452 students in fall 2019 to 1,134 students in fall 2025.
- Graduate enrollment has increased fivefold during the same period, rising from 1,348 students in fall 2019 to 6,926 students in fall 2025.
Needless to say, our budget is now healthy, and our student body is flourishing. We’ve managed, by faith and hard work, to move from Stress to Stability to Strength. There is still work to do, but the future is bright. We’re grateful to say that through dark valleys and now high mountains, God has been our source of inspiration and strength. And now, one question remains: After an institutional journey that’s taken us from stress to stability and then stability to strength, what’s our next horizon? We’re working on that! Soli Deo Gloria!