CMU, Other Schools Launch Effort to Promote Christian Higher Education in Manitoba

Almost 39 percent of students at Booth College, CMU, Providence and Steinbach Bible College come from outside of province

In 1976, John Longhurst left southern Ontario to study at a Bible college in Winnipeg. He had already been accepted for studies at a university in Ontario, but decided to go to Winnipeg to study—for just one year.

One year turned into two, two into three and three into 31 years. “I came to Winnipeg to study for just a year, and was then going to finish my studies back in Ontario,” he says. “But I enjoyed my time in Winnipeg, so I stayed.”

Longhurst graduated from Mennonite Brethren Bible College (now part of Canadian Mennonite University, or CMU) in 1979 and the University of Winnipeg in 1980. Today he directs communications at CMU and is working with staff at Booth College, Providence College and Seminary and Steinbach Bible College on a new project to attract more people like him to study in Manitoba.

The joint effort, called Spirited Education, features a website and advertising campaign that encourages students from outside the province to consider studying at one of the four schools. The website includes links to the schools, along with articles on why students should choose a Christian college or university and what to consider when deciding which school to attend. There is also a section for parents.

“If someone in Canada wants a college or university education where faith is part of their studies, and where they can be part of a vibrant Christian community, then we want them to know about our great Manitoba schools,” says Gord Penner, who directs community relations at Steinbach Bible College (SBC).

“Deciding where to study after high school is a big decision,” adds Chantel Burt, who directs admissions at Booth College. “We think that attending a Christian college or university, even if only for a year, is important for Christian youth—and we think that Manitoba is a great place to do it.”

The four schools have been magnets for students from other provinces and countries for decades, bringing hundreds of students to Manitoba for studies each year. This year a total of 485 students, or almost 39 percent of their combined student bodies of 1,252, are from other provinces or countries—52 percent at Providence, 28 percent at CMU’s Main Campus in Charleswood, 25 percent of regular session students at Booth and 33 percent at SBC.

With each student spending an estimated $10,000 for tuition and living expenses, it means over $4.8 million will be injected into the Manitoba economy in 2007-08.

“Not everyone who comes to study at our schools will stay in Manitoba,” says Sara Dacombe, Communications Coordinator at Providence. “But even if they don’t choose to stay here, the positive impressions of their time spent in Manitoba will make them goodwill ambassadors for the province wherever they go.”

The schools chose the name “Spirited Education” to tie into the province’s new marketing slogan, and to emphasize the spiritual, or faith aspect, of the education they offer.

Looking back, Longhurst can think of about 25 people from other provinces that he went to school with in the 1970s who ended up staying in Manitoba. “I think that many more people would make a similar decision once they came here to study,” he says.

For more information, visit www.spiritededucation.ca.

Posted November 14, 2007