The wedding bell toll: Students lose church subsidy after tying the knot

Written by: Gabriella Grundy

“Southern Matrimonial College” has been a parody used for Southern Adventist University over the years, likely due to high expectations of finding a spouse during one’s time on campus. In some cases, students even marry before they graduate. 

In the United States, about 7 percent of all college undergraduates are married, according to an article by Campus Explorer, while about 3 percent of Southern undergraduates are married, according to Chris Hansen, director of institutional research and planning.

 However, for students whose parents work for Adventist institutions, marrying before finishing a bachelor’s degree may not be worth the loss of subsidized tuition.

According to the North American Divison’s (NAD) 2023 Remuneration Scale, “Dependent children of full-time denominational employees (as defined by the NAD Tuition Assistance Policy) who are attending denominationally owned and operated schools [can receive] up to 70% of tuition and required fees for dormitory students, and 35% of tuition and required fees for non-dormitory students.” 

When students receiving subsidies get married, they no longer qualify for this benefit.

Michael Rumsey, associate director of Student Finance at Southern, said, “Educational subsidy is a benefit that parents receive and use for their [dependent] children, and this benefit comes from their employer or conference. Those employers or conferences do not offer this benefit to their employees whose children have gotten married.”

About 25 percent of Southern’s current undergraduate students receive subsidies, according to Hansen. However, some of these students choose to marry during college. 

Landon Asscherick, junior business administration major, and Sailie Asscherick (née LeMert), senior nursing major, wed in December 2023.

The Asschericks initially met when they were kids at a camp meeting in Oregon but reconnected as young adults in the fall of 2021 during Sailie’s freshman year when Landon visited Southern.

“When I saw her in person after all those years, I was really taken aback by her beauty,” said Landon. “I knew she was a catch and that I needed to move fast. So after six days of hanging out, I told her I was interested, and we began dating shortly after that.”

When Landon moved to Tennessee to attend Southern in January 2022, the couple spent subsequent semesters and summers together, and soon knew they were heading toward marriage. They became engaged in the summer of 2023 and married that December.

Sailie said she has been enjoying married life, even as a full-time student. “I think that’s how humans were created to be … to live together and have each other to share life with,” she said. “One of the great things about attending an Adventist institution is the potential of finding your life partner.”

The Asschericks both believe the NAD should reconsider its tuition assistance policy and make more accommodations for students who want to get married.

“I would encourage anyone to get married if they’ve found the right person … but the NAD drops your subsidy once you get married,” said Landon. “It’s disincentivizing young Adventist couples to get married at a prime time, which is something that should be looked at. … The message that is being sent is that there will be significant financial consequences if you get married.”

These potential financial consequences have deterred Alexis Dewey, senior mass communication – writing/editing major, and Preston Waters, junior marketing major, from getting married until they both complete their bachelor’s degrees. The two have been dating since October 2022. Waters receives a subsidy because his parents are both Adventist pastors.

“My parents married after nine months of dating while they were in college,” he said. “… And although it’s ultimately worked out for them, they have encouraged Alexis and [me] to finish school first.”

Dewey and Waters also noted that while they’re excited to get married, waiting until after graduating doesn’t lengthen their ideal timeline too significantly. Dewey is set to graduate in December 2024, and Waters should follow a year later in December 2025.

“It is more practical for us to wait until post-graduation to get married because it’s not a super-long time difference, and we’ll be saving money that will really benefit us down the line,” said Dewey. “Unless you’re prepared to seek out numerous scholarships on your own, or you and your partner have a low enough combined income to receive more financial aid from FAFSA, I think you’ll feel the financial burden later on and might wish you took advantage of the subsidy benefit.”