Has the time come, or is it on the horizon, when Christian parents should not send their children to secular colleges and universities? Admittedly, there are arguments among believers on both sides of this issue. At the risk of sounding like a patriarchal tyrannist, I still believe parents have a say in the if, when, and where their offspring further their education.

Here are a few things Christian parents should consider with secular colleges and universities:

1. You’re paying a lot more for a lower quality education

The National Center for Education Statistics reports that the average cost to attend a public four-year university is about $20,000 per year. For private institutions, that figure jumps to $40,000 per year. Such costs explain why many middle-income families simply cannot afford to send their kids to college and explains why student loan debt is out of control. According to The Economist, student loan debt in America is nearly $1.5 trillion, and one in four American adults are paying off an average debt of $37,000.

Meanwhile, evidence of the decline in the quality of education being offered by colleges and universities abounds. Derek Bok, professor of law and president emeritus of Harvard University, says that federal government efforts over the last several years have focused much more on increasing the number of Americans who go to college, rather than on improving the education they receive once they get there.

Bok provides several reasons for concern:

• Students spend less time on course work than previous generations. Assessment of abilities suggest they are learning less than students once did and possibly less than students in other industrial countries.

• Graduates hired are deficient in basic skills such as writing, problem solving, and critical thinking. This complaint is leveled by those employing these graduates.

• Most of the millions of additional students needed to increase educational attainment levels will come to campus poorly prepared for college work. The danger is that higher graduation rates will be attainable only by lowering academic standards.

• More professors are hired on a year-to-year contractual basis and are not being properly vetted. More than two-thirds of college teachers are not on a track for tenure. Bok writes, “Studies indicate that extensive use of such instructors may contribute to higher dropout rates and to grade inflation.”

• States have made substantial cuts in per student support at public colleges and universities over the past 30 years, which tends to reduce learning and lower graduation rates.

2. The homogeneity of academia beliefs and values

A 2007 study of science professors’ religious beliefs also reveals that over 95% do not believe that any one religion has the “most truth,” and over 60% profess either atheistic or agnostic beliefs about God.

Moreover, the liberal political bias among college professors is well known and documented. A recent study of more than 8,000 full-time, PhD-holding college professors at the top 61 liberal arts colleges reveal a Democrat-to-Republican ratio of 10:1. Furthermore, 78% of the academic departments in the study’s sample have either zero Republicans, or so few as to make no difference.

The study’s author, Mitchell Langbert, points out that “political homogeneity is problematic because it biases research and teaching and reduces academic credibility.” For example, even though more Americans identify as conservative than liberal, academic psychologists’ biases cause them to believe that conservatism is deviant.

Conservative students regularly face ridicule, mistreatment, and even assault for their views. The BBC News featured a video of conservative students sharing their experiences of rejection, loneliness, and intimidation. Students told of being called racist, fascist, sexist, and also spoke of being censored, defriended on social media, and harassed.

3. The neo-Marxist worldview fostered on college campuses

Neo-Marxism is the idea that, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Marxist ideologues abandoned their hopes of seizing economic power and shifted to taking over academia and culture.

You may recall the Antifa protests Ben Shapiro faced in 2017 when he was invited to speak at the University of California at Berkeley. According to another report, a well-known advocate for free speech was shut down when “150 anarchists in masks streamed into a large crowd of peaceful student protesters, breaking windows, setting a propane tank ablaze and attacking police with rocks and firecrackers.”

Another report noted that “students’ familiarity with social media and their ability to whip up outrage mobs to shame university authorities into doing their bidding has shifted the balance of power in their favor. Toby Young, in a Spectator article said, “Reading between the lines, it’s clear that the real problem on college campuses is not the whiny, neurotic students, but the post-modern neo-Marxist professors who are manipulating them.” The political leanings of most professors (cited earlier) lends credibility to this idea.

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So, has the time come for Christian parents who hold a biblical worldview to refuse to send their students to secular institutions? Or would such a decision remove “the salt” and leave college students with no gospel witness? Didn’t first century Christianity embed itself inside a pagan culture, and by the power of the gospel bring about cultural change?

As a parent, you must decide this issue based on the context of your situation. You know your child best, and you need to consider the condition of his or her faith before making a decision. Don’t decide based on what their friends or other parents do.

You also need to thoroughly vet any school to which you might send your child. Is there a Christian presence on campus? Is there a solid church with a college ministry that your student can get to easily? What are the living conditions and what are the school’s social and political reputations?

More importantly, I would also encourage you to pray about it and not make any decision until you’re convinced it is the will of God for your child. Don’t violate conscience and do not make the decision based on whether a scholarship is involved. Your child’s welfare should never be up for sale.