Asbury Theological Seminary is pulling out of the federal student loan program, becoming one of the first prominent seminaries to do so, citing a desire to reduce student debt and concerns that a hostile future administration could use federal funding against the school. The Kentucky seminary, which is rooted in a the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and serves students from dozens of denominations, announced that it would stop processing federal Title IV student loans beginning in May 2027.
Title IV is the section of the Higher Education Act that governs federal student aid. Asbury President David Watson said the seminary’s heavy use of internal scholarships is one reason it is scaling back its reliance on federal loans. “Right now, we scholarship on average 65 percent of master’s tuition costs, 100 percent of Ph.D. student costs and about 50 percent on our doctor of ministry program,” Watson told The Christian Post in an interview.
“We want to get that number higher, but the big issue really was student indebtedness.” Watson, who has been president for a little over a year, said the seminary seeks to "chart out our own course" and not let federal government have any influence on its financial situation. “If the federal government controls your finances, then the federal government can control other things about your institution," he said.
"Asbury is a school that is Wesleyan, orthodox and Evangelical and it’s very important for us to maintain those commitments." If a federal government administration rose to power that stood in opposition to Asbury's beliefs, Watson said the seminary could find itself "compromised." Watson is unsure if other schools are making similar moves but said he wouldn't be surprised if some are planning on it.