WCC Makes National Catholic Register’s Catholic Identity College Guide Once Again
Wyoming Catholic College has once again been selected by The National Catholic Register for inclusion in its Catholic Identity College Guide.
In its introduction, the 2021 edition of the Guide (which is also available in pdf form) says that the 39 colleges and universities listed “have gone on record in answer to our questionnaire, based on Pope John Paul II’s 1990 apostolic constitution on higher education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae (From the Heart of the Church), its 2000 Application to the United States, canon law, and other Church documents.” The Register says that its guide is based on the responses to a series of questions which “are designed such that ‘a YES answer reflects essential elements of the renewal of Catholic identity called for by Pope St. John Paul II’s 1990 apostolic constitution on higher education…its 2000 Application to the United States, canon law, and other relevant Church documents.’”
Interestingly, the College is also a candidate for entry on another list the Register notes in an accompanying article, “Catholic College Boom: Smaller Institutions Thrive as National Enrollments Take a Hit.” Like a number of other small, faithfully-Catholic colleges who have seen an increase in attendees, Wyoming Catholic which welcomed its largest Freshman class ever to Lander this year.
These trends in fall-semester enrollments among Catholic institutions are in contrast to reports at the national level from earlier this year. Colleges and universities nationwide saw a 3.5% decline this past spring, as compared to the year before, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, with undergraduate enrollments taking a significant hit. Numbers for the fall 2021 semester enrollments at the national level have yet to be reported.
A common thread among the Catholic institutes that are reporting unprecedented growth is a similar response to the COVID-19 pandemic and their commitment to maintaining in-person classes for their student body.