TORONTO, November 7, 2008 │The new academic year has brought a major enrollment boost to Tyndale University College & Seminary in the form of an 11 per cent increase in the numbers of new and returning students when compared to last year. The majority of this increase is based on growth at the university where Tyndale experienced a 64 per cent rise in new students. Overall, the numbers have made the 2008 cohort the largest incoming class in the institution’s history.
This is a significant accomplishment for this Toronto based Christian institution, formed out of the merger of several smaller bible colleges in the early 1900. It is the Tyndale’s second highest enrollment year, falling just slightly behind their results in 2003, the year the University College received university status from the Government of Ontario, and Ontario high schools graduated their double cohort. Philip Kay, Senior Director, Admissions and Marketing, says that this growth couldn’t have happened without a lot of hard work.
“There are lots of good reasons for the increase,” Kay noted. “We have become much more strategic in our activities and sponsorships. We have also expanded programs and partnerships that have brought new students to the institution.”
Some of these expansions include the success of their new Bachelor of Education program which launched for the first time in early July. The unique 12 month program is approved by the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) and will graduate their first cohort of teacher candidates in 2009. It is the first program being taught at Tyndale’s new 56-acre Bayview campus, acquired from the Sisters of St. Joseph in 2006.
Tyndale’s partnership with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland and Labrador (PAONL) has also been a contributor to its enrollment success. Through this new relationship, PAONL students will graduate from Tyndale with the core requirements for ordination along with a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Religious Education degree. The university accepted their first students to this program in January of this year.
Tyndale has also benefited from the addition of an applied element to its undergraduate Psychology program, and the recruitment of internationally recognized professors such as Drs. Paul and Lillian Wong to the department. The result has been a 93% increase in new students to the university’s Psychology program.
Kay is also happy to find an increase in the type of student that considers Tyndale to be a viable education option. “We are pleased to see that nearly 40% of our new students for 2008 have attended some sort of post-secondary institution prior to coming to Tyndale,” he says.
Tyndale is committed to continuing this trend of growth in the years to come. Their recruitment plans include referral programs; an intentional campus visit strategy and commencing their Doctor of Ministry program in 2009. With all the upcoming developments, Kay is sure that this year’s growth is just the beginning.
“I truly believe Tyndale is a great institution, with outstanding programs for anyone seeking higher education,” says Kay. “Our main focus now is making sure people know about it.”
