Affordable 
Excellence

By Dr. Jason Kennedy

How do you get an affordable education while maintaining high academic standards? These are the two questions we ask at Catalyst Bible College, powered by Vanguard University. How do we make it affordable and academic? Well, let’s talk about affordability first.

We all can agree that college costs are skyrocketing. In a recent study from the Education Data Initiative (educationdata.org) researcher Melania Hanson found when one takes in all the factors—living expenses, tuition, loss of income and student loan interest—a four-year degree at a traditional undergraduate institution can exceed $500,000.

Hanson has also found the cost of college has doubled in the 21st century and is growing 2% every single year with no signs of slowing down. When you research these numbers, it does not take long to conclude that the rising cost of college is unsustainable and inaccessible for most. It is a real problem that demands real solutions.

Instead of sitting around and complaining about it, we decided to attempt to provide a solution. Catalyst exists to provide affordable education to our students. It is actually our first college value, so we went to work with our partner, Vanguard University. In order to be affordable, the pricing structure had to be the primary focus. This was our first task, and with the help of Vanguard, we got our pricing structure down as low as we possibly could.

However, we could not just stop there. We decided we had to get more resources into the hands of students through scholarships. Our goal has been, and will always be, to get students out of college as close to debt-free as possible. Really, the way one could look at it was two-pronged: lower the pricing structure and raise funding from around the country.

As I sit in my office, I am pleased to say we are accomplishing our goals. Out of the more than 55 students we have in our programs, 80% of them have received generous scholarships where their four-year tuition cost is now less than $25,000.

Now, when I present people the tuition cost, they immediately think we are cutting corners in regard to academics. This would be a false assumption. When a student goes to Catalyst, they are provided the opportunity to learn from some of the smartest minds in the world. They have access to and learn from Vanguard professors who are leading scholars in their field!

Not only that, they have access to some of the greatest thought leaders as well. For example, each year students have a four-day cohort with Sam Chand. His expertise and understanding in the field of leadership is second to none.

Obviously, none of the things we are accomplishing at Catalyst Bible College happen by accident. It takes intentionality, strong partnerships and a willingness to step out in faith and believe that you can change outcomes. We believe we can provide a robust educational experience at a fraction of the cost. This is our core mission, and we will continue to work toward that mission for our students!