Christian Higher Ed for Nontraditional Students
Inside Higher Ed features an interview with Rick Ostrander, provost at Cornerstone University and author of Reconsidering College: Christian Higher Education for Working Adults (Albilene Christian University Press). Based on his own experience as a nontraditional student, Ostrander makes a strong case for the value of Christian higher education in general, especially for working adults/nontraditional students in particular. From the interview:
Q: The book focuses on how the nontraditional Christian college student should value higher education. How is a Christian’s way of valuing it different from a non-Christian’s?
A: Ideally, a Christian would value higher education not just for its practical benefits, but as a way to deepen his or her relationship with God. If I really believe that everything in the world is meaningfully connected to a personal God who created it, then that gives me additional incentive to learn. It enables me to more fully know the God that I believe in, and to experience God more deeply. In other words, studying chemistry helps me know more about the God who created chemistry.
Read the entire interview here.