Accreditation Procedures
Table of Contents

Introduction

The accreditation process consists of three phases, as follows:

• Candidacy
• Provisional Accreditation
• Membership

5.1 Candidacy
During the candidacy phase an institution will complete a comprehensive self-study, based on the foregoing standards and using the guidelines that are provided in Section V that follows. Applications for candidacy may be received by contacting the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries. The completed application, together with the application fee of $100 or such other amount established by the Association, should be sent to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Association. Once the completed application has been received and reviewed by the Association, the institution may be invited to enter Candidacy status and begin the institutional self-study. An institution is allowed one year after notification of acceptance into Candidacy status in which to complete the self-study and submit it to the Association. Requests for extension must be made in writing within that period and be accompanied by an extension fee of $100 or such other amount established by the Association.

5.2 Provisional Accreditation
When the self-study has been reviewed by the Association, the Board of Directors shall determine whether to grant the institution a status of provisional accreditation. Provisional accreditation means that the self-study has been approved, indicating preliminary agreement on the part of the institution with the accrediting standards of the Association, and a level of initial satisfaction of those standards sufficient to allow the process of accreditation to go forward. If the self-study is not approved upon initial review, it will be returned to the institution with notations. The institution then has another six months in which to satisfy the requirements of candidacy.

During the period of provisional accreditation, the Association will assign a visitation team comprised of representatives from member institutions to visit the candidate institution for further clarification of the self-study, inspection of operating procedures, observation of classroom activities, and interviews with staff, board, faculty, students, and other members of the institutional community. The visitation team will also meet with the Board of Directors of the institution in order better to familiarize itself with institutional leadership. Expenses for the visitation team are the responsibility of the candidate institution. The visitation team then reports its recommendations to the Association.

Those recommendations can be one of the following:

• Approval for Membership
• Extension of Provisional Accreditation
• Return to Candidacy
• Termination of Application

Approval for Membership involves moving the institution to a full membership status. Extension of Provisional Accreditation indicates that the visiting team found discrepancies or inconsistencies with what was indicated in the self-study and recommends certain steps be taken to correct these before membership status is granted. Follow-up of these recommendations will be conducted according to the preference of the Association. Return to Candidacy indicates that the visitation team believes the institution
to be so far out of accord with its self-study that the self-study needs to be revised and resubmitted.

Termination of Application is recommended only in those situations where the visitation team determines that there has been a deliberate attempt to mislead the visitation team and the Association or where a persistent lack of cooperation with the visitation team was in evidence. An institution whose application is terminated must wait one year before it re-applies.

5.3 Membership
An institution admitted to full membership can advertise that it has achieved accreditation with the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries.

Membership involves the following ongoing responsibilities:

• Membership Fees
• Ongoing Annual Assessments
• Five-Year Reviews
• Ten-Year Visitation

5.3.1 Membership Fees
Institutional membership fees are established annually by the Board of Directors of the Association. These fees help to cover the operating expenses of the Association. They also entitle member institutions to free use of the library resources of the Association, as well as a copy of any reports, memoranda, circulars, or other Association publications.

5.3.2 Ongoing Annual Assessment
Member institutions submit to ongoing annual assessments in the following areas:

• Changes in Existing Programs, Courses or Faculty
• Student Course Evaluations
• Annual Report of the Board of Directors
• Annual Financial Report
• Annual Ecclesiastical Report
• Publications and Promotional Materials

All materials required for the Ongoing Annual Assessment must be received by the Association no less than sixty days prior to October 1, or the annual meeting of the Association, whichever is earlier, in quantities sufficient for all members of the Association.

5.3.2.1 Changes in Existing Programs, Courses, or Faculty
Any changes in the above areas need to be reported to the Association annually. These can be submitted by simple memo, addenda to the institutional catalog, or copies of revised syllabi. Any such changes requiring institutional board approval must be accompanied by a copy of the board minutes indicating such. Changes in programs can include course requirements, course content, new or revised programs, or any matters relating to the conduct of the academic programs of the institution (grading policies, etc.).

5.3.2.2 Student Course Evaluations
Summaries of student evaluations from each course during the academic year must be submitted to the Association for review, including student comments. Institutions may develop their own forms for use in this process, or forms can be secured from the Association.

5.3.2.3 Annual Board Report
A report from the institutional board must be received for review at the annual meeting of the Association. This report can come in the form a letter from the board reporting its sense of the institution’s overall health and providing a summary of institutional progress during the previous year.

5.3.2.4 Annual Financial Report
A copy of the executive letter accompanying the institutional audit, review or compilation or a copy of the audit, review or compilation itself must be submitted annually to the Association for review.

5.3.2.5 Annual Ecclesiastical Report
Theological seminaries are servants to the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is, in a very real sense, the primary accrediting body for seminary activities. Institutions will define their relationship to the Church in different ways. For some that will come by way of formal association with a local church or denominational governing body. Others may assemble a Board of Ministerial Advisors to assist in the oversight of the institution’s ministry. Still others may relate to individual churches for feedback and response. An annual report from the affiliated church(es) is required and can be satisfied by a letter of review and recommendation from appropriate officials. Samples of such reports, or of any of the reports required in this section, may be secured from the Association.

5.3.2.6 Publications and Promotional Materials
Current copies of all institutional publications, brochures, and other promotional material must be on file with the Association and will be reviewed annually.

5.3.3 Five-Year Review
At five-year intervals from the date of its acceptance as a member of the Assessment Board, an institution may request an on-site visitation team for the purposes of a more comprehensive review. Costs for this visitation shall be shared between the institution and the Association.

5.3.4 Ten-Year Visitation

At ten-year intervals from the date of its acceptance as a member of the Association, institutions must submit to an on-site visitation of Association representatives for the purpose of more closely evaluating the overall health of the institution. This Ten-Year Visitation is financed by the member institution.

Chapter 4