Understanding Networks of College Support: Practical Lessons from Mennonite Research

An interesting aspect of American higher education is the institutional diversity offered. In some cases, distinctive colleges have emerged from the unique needs of a constituency group. One environment where this is true is in the church-related sector. This study extends prior research to three of the colleges supported by the Mennonite Church. The findings confirm that local congregations' orientation toward "localism" or "cosmopolitanism" is associated with levels of congregational and personal support for denominational colleges.