Oklahoma Christian University facing the end of its theology graduate program, layoffs

Some members of the Oklahoma Christian University community are likely mourning the planned demise of its graduate school of theology, a university leader said this week.

Brian Starr, Oklahoma Christian's provost, said he expected grief surrounding the end of this particular program would "be more heartfelt" because it is a private Christian university.

"Certainly, in some conversations, there are those who are tied to the program who are going through the grieving process of knowing that this current group of students will be the last group of students we have, at least for a season in these programs — so of course, there is grief," Starr said.

"I think most people understand that we're just not at that critical mass, and if we're not going to be able to do it really well and sustainably, we don't have any business doing that. But it doesn't make the news any easier."

The recent announcement about the "sunset" of the theology graduate program came at the same time as a round of layoffs at the university, but Starr said these were two separate issues.

"They're only related because they're happening at the same time," he said.

Regarding layoffs, Starr said due to declining enrollment, the university, 2501 E Memorial Road, began restructuring and eliminating some positions in academics. He said the school's senior academic leadership team made the decisions during a budget review conducted in light of the enrollment decline and worked to minimize the effect on students.

Theology graduate programs also struggling at other universities, provost says

Starr said the discontinuation of the theology graduate program came at a time when the university was down to just two dozen students in the school's three theology programs. He said the master of divinity is chief among the three programs and it is a 72-hour program that is twice as long as most degree programs.

Meanwhile, Starr said Oklahoma Christian isn't the only Churches of Christ-affiliated university facing challenges regarding theology graduate programs.

"There are other sister schools that are saying, 'We can't do this or do it in the same way we're doing it,' so, Oklahoma Christian is simply the latest within our fellowship that are having to make some painful decisions to adjust to the current market realities," he said.

More: Oklahoma Christian University announces new president, effective 2023

The school leader said there may be several factors contributing to a declining demand across the country for a seminary degree.

He said some of those factors include fewer people attending church and, with the emergence of megachurches, there is less need for as many pulpit ministers who have a Master of Divinity degree. Starr said he also thinks fewer people are willing to take 72 graduate hours to earn a Master of Divinity degree.

The university leader said theological seminaries across multiple denominational lines also are seeing a general decline in enrollment.

"So, I think theological education has been reimagined across the country, and we want to be a part of that reimagining how we supply the church with really good ministers, but who can be trained, and trained affordably and trained very well," he said.

"That's increasingly difficult to do for any one university, but it's very possible when we can combine resources with sister schools."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Christian University ends theology graduate program