ATI Concerned about Attrition Rate
A secret document circulated among the leaders of the Advanced Training Institute International program discussed the organization's concern over its inability to retain students. This document was leaked to X-ATI Guy and we're passing it along to you:
MEMORANDUM
TO: ATI LEADERSHIP
Re: ATI STUDENT RETENTION
A ten-year membership study has revealed that ATI graduates typically choose not to enroll in the ATI program when they begin their own families.
Our program growth should be exponential. Since our inception, our families have an average of ten children. If each graduating student had re-joined upon reaching adulthood, our enrollment could be in the hundreds of thousands. Unfortunately, only 1 in every 10 ATI students actually re-joins the program upon reaching adulthood.
When asked why they left the program, the most common answers from former ATI students were:
- "I'm tired of giving the Institute my time and money through 'apprenticeship opportunities.'"
- "The program is too legalistic."
- "I have all this character and no education. How am I supposed to get a job?"
- "ATI families are proud and cannot get along other Christians."
- "I hated the Faith Journal."
This growth crisis must be halted. Our recommendation is a two-part strategy: first, make immediate revisions to attract these former students. This involves abandoning what are viewed as "restrictive requirements" such as the prohibitions on beards, music, television and other damaging sensual influences. The second part of our growth strategy is long-term: foundational, structural changes to the ATI program, such as elimination of the promise of success and the use of rules and formulas, development of a real curriculum, and other changes.
Our growth strategy may be criticized by our core families as abandoning principle due to financial pressure. We can spin these changes in a positive light by saying: "We are not abandoning principle due to financial pressure. We want these backsliders in the program so we can reform them." Perhaps this evangelism campaign will pay off.
MEMORANDUM
TO: ATI LEADERSHIP
Re: ATI STUDENT RETENTION
A ten-year membership study has revealed that ATI graduates typically choose not to enroll in the ATI program when they begin their own families.
Our program growth should be exponential. Since our inception, our families have an average of ten children. If each graduating student had re-joined upon reaching adulthood, our enrollment could be in the hundreds of thousands. Unfortunately, only 1 in every 10 ATI students actually re-joins the program upon reaching adulthood.
When asked why they left the program, the most common answers from former ATI students were:
Our growth strategy may be criticized by our core families as abandoning principle due to financial pressure. We can spin these changes in a positive light by saying: "We are not abandoning principle due to financial pressure. We want these backsliders in the program so we can reform them." Perhaps this evangelism campaign will pay off.
TO: ATI LEADERSHIP
Re: ATI STUDENT RETENTION
A ten-year membership study has revealed that ATI graduates typically choose not to enroll in the ATI program when they begin their own families.
Our program growth should be exponential. Since our inception, our families have an average of ten children. If each graduating student had re-joined upon reaching adulthood, our enrollment could be in the hundreds of thousands. Unfortunately, only 1 in every 10 ATI students actually re-joins the program upon reaching adulthood.
When asked why they left the program, the most common answers from former ATI students were:
- "I'm tired of giving the Institute my time and money through 'apprenticeship opportunities.'"
- "The program is too legalistic."
- "I have all this character and no education. How am I supposed to get a job?"
- "ATI families are proud and cannot get along other Christians."
- "I hated the Faith Journal."
Our growth strategy may be criticized by our core families as abandoning principle due to financial pressure. We can spin these changes in a positive light by saying: "We are not abandoning principle due to financial pressure. We want these backsliders in the program so we can reform them." Perhaps this evangelism campaign will pay off.
11 Comments:
OH my goodness this is so stinkin true! I was in ati for 10 years, and of the at least 50 some odd students I knew, NONE of them (add me in that) will re enroll. In fact, my best friend and I had a freedom party when we both got out!
FREEDOM
The one-in-ten number (although invented by xer, right?) sounds accurate, if my siblings are any indication. Out of 11 of us, I think only one sister would re-enroll. She's about to have her 3d kid in 3 years and is planning on homeschooling them. Although she's mastered the self-righteousness, superiority, dogmatism and judgementalism required for the high-and-mighty re-enrollers, don't expect to see her in denim jumpers. Last Thanksgiving she wore the tightest-@$$ jeans I've ever seen within a 100-mile radius of the compound where we grew up. So ATI better revise their attire guidelines to let all the re-enroller mums show off and shake those moneymakers ...
i was in ati for almost 7 years and i don't think it was ever a question whether or not any of the 4 of us would re-enroll. all of us have gone or go to college, although my younger brother went to alert for 2 years...nothing on the home front ever indicated we'd been an ati family, and that's to my parents' credit. i don't know anyone except a fringe-weirdo family of all girls who thought they'd be married off by 20 stayed in. they went to hq to snag husbands.
when schools out, shut it down, people...you did you parental-education duties...hoorah for you...let it go for goodness sake!
i wont re-enroll either. i dislike everything about the program
The only question is if this true or not. If it is, then it figures. However, the latter portion regarding the proposed changes is entirely our of the realm of possibility...Billy G. would never tolerate such apostacy and rebellion. The saddest part about this is that I am one of those who will never allow my wife and child to come within a country mile of ATI/IBLP teachings. I experianced enough pain and spiritual death to last my entire family a lifetime. I come from a family of 7 children and we will likely be 0% repeat customers of the cult.
My sarcasm detector must be out of order.
yeah, my sarcasm detector is most certainly on the blink...after reading it again, I could not help but break out laughing at the absurdity. Good stuff Xer.
The funniest thing was "I hated the Faith Journal." ... OK well... it's true, to some extent, of myself - But I must admit that I actually enjoyed SOME of it. ... Other than that, the main thing I hated was, requirements that I felt unable to fulfill. We were told that regular church attendance was a must, and church involvement in activities ("participation in ministry / ministries") but... my father was NOT a regular church-goer, and my parents didn't really want us to participate in certain youth events, etc. ...Then we were supposed to witness to people and do soul-winning, but that seemed like an insurmountable task. Living in a bad neighborhood, our parents didn't really want us to associate with any of the pagan or heathen influences around us. We hung out with Christians, so there wasn't much chance to socialize with anyone who wasn't a Christian. - Someone recommended that I witness to the employees at gas stations, grocery stores, etc., but that seemed to be a daunting task. ... There was also a CHART - Do you remember this huge chart that detailed all the myriads of tasks we had to complete in order to get our diplomas? Virtue Journal, etc. were only part of the many lists and sections on the chart. Somewhere in there, we had to help "heal someone's back problems", do public speaking, ministry, soul-winning, and minister to Christians, neighbors, and community and govt. leaders, etc. I can't even remember all the stuff we had to do on that stupid chart! It seemed like such a heavy burden. My dad and his friend actually started laughing and making a joke out of it. "You have to heal someone's back? Like Oral Roberts or Benny Hinn?" Of course, what Gothard meant was, using chiropractor skills and herbs, etc. But it made a good joke. I felt more like crying than laughing when I first saw that huge chart, though. What a lot of impossible and daunting stuff...! Mom said "View it as a challenge!" *sigh!* (Sorry if my memory is a bit blurry, but I just wish I had a copy of that chart!)
The memo looks authentic up to the point of the recommendations, then you can tell it's just a fabrication from a dis-gruntled ex-ati'er.
Most of the anti-Gothard people are a bunch of cowards wanting to justify thier carnality. You people are a stench to God.
um hello mr Anonymous who has his head so far up his @$$. first off,look who is the coward...you dont have enough balls to identify yourself! second, isnt that an angry spirit coming out?? you better go work on the 10 steps to cleansing your heart and removing such wickedness! LOL
I'm so thankful that I finally saw the truth about Gothard and ATI. It is a cult in my opinion. We even had a "gothard" church so everyone could protect their children from the outside world. What I am seeing now is that probably 80% of the children that grew up in this organization are either committed to NEVER going back into it or they are in open rebellion to God in general because they are free. Legalism kills the spirit. Do you think it will ever end? How can so many people be deceived?
I was very involved in IBLP events including but not limited to:
-9 CL's
-Alert
-Life Focus
-Working In the Dallas TC
-Character First
-IBLP certified counselor
Almost every person I knew went wild and crazy when they were able to get away from ATI. Excessive drugs and excesive drinking were the most popular coping mechaninisms I have observed. Most ATI alumni HATE ATI and are messed up mentally. It will die out soon after Gothard dies and people wake up to the real world.
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