In 1897, the Rev. Arthur Lloyd became president of the University. The Rikkyo schools experienced a rapid rise in student enrollment by virtue of the granting of a government license exempting students from military service and granting them access to all government established schools of higher education. Lloyd navigated the school through a turbulent six years as the Japanese Ministry of Education sought to curtail any religious instruction in the curriculum of government-approved schools. As only in the dormitories at Rikkyo was any religious instruction given, the school was able to retain its license.