Working Procedures
Table of Contents

6 Working Procedures
The Board of Directors of the Association is the actual accrediting arm of the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries. The work of the Association is divided into the following areas:

• Initial Accreditation
• Ongoing Assessments
• Sanctions
• Governance

6.1 Initial Accreditation
The work of Initial Accreditation is explained in a preceding section of this Handbook.

6.2 Ongoing Annual Assessments
As materials for Ongoing Annual Assessments are received by the Association they are distributed to members for review in preparation for general discussions by the Association at its annual meeting.  Those discussions will result in one of the following actions:

• Commendation and Continuance
• Notations and Follow-up
• Sanctions

6.2.1 Commendation and Continuance
If the Association determines that all reports are in order and the institution continues to meet the standards of the agency, a letter of Commendation and Continuance will be sent to the institution reporting this conclusion.

6.2.2 Notations and Follow-up
The Association may, in the light of its review, withhold sending a letter of Commendation and Continuance until it is completely satisfied that the institution conforms to the standards of the agency. In this case a Letter of Notations shall be sent, expressing the Association’s concern with any particular areas of institutional health and well-being, together with recommendations for action. The institution receiving such a letter shall remain on full Membership status, but is expected to respond to the Letter of Notations, expressing its response and indicating actions to be taken to correct any deficiencies, together with deadlines by which those actions will be taken. All notations must be resolved within the year following the meeting at which they were issued, unless an extension is granted by the Association for good cause shown. The Association will assign one member of its body to follow-up. When all follow-up requirements have been met, at the discretion of that member, the letter of Commendation and Continuance will be issued and a report prepared for the subsequent annual meeting of the Association. All follow-up of Notations will be reviewed at the next annual meeting.

6.3 Sanctions
Sanctions against a member institution will only be issued when any Letters of Notation have failed to accomplish the desired result. Sanctions may include:

• Suspension of Privileges
• Suspension of Membership
• Termination of Membership

6.3.1 Suspension of Privileges.  Suspension of Privileges means that the institution remains a member of the agency, but without participation at the Association annual meeting, until any Letters of Notation enduring beyond the year of their issuance have been resolved.

6.3.2 Suspension and Termination of Membership.  Suspension of Membership means that the institution is temporarily deprived of Membership status and all benefits pertaining thereunto and may only report itself as a member of the agency whose status is described as “Suspended.” Suspension of Membership is taken when Suspension of Privileges has failed to resolve outstanding Letters of Notation for a period of one year, as outlined above. Suspension of Membership can be sustained for one additional year. Normally, unresolved Suspension of Membership will result in Termination of Membership after one year of Suspension (one year after Suspension of Privileges is taken, two years after the unresolved Notations were issued). Outstanding Notations which remain unresolved for a period of three years will thus normally result in Termination of Membership by the procedure outlined above. Member institutions which lose their membership status through Termination of Membership can only rejoin the agency through the process previously explained, beginning with Candidacy.

6.4 Governance

6.4.1 Board of Directors.  The Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries is a nonprofit association.  All of the activities and actions of the Association are governed by the Association’s Board of Directors.  Each institution accredited by the Association is a member of the Association and is entitled to one seat on the Association’s Board of Directors.  Each member institution shall choose its own Association Board representative, who shall serve at the pleasure of the member institution and without any remuneration from the Association.  Each member of the Board of Directors is entitled to one vote and decisions of the Board of Directors shall be made by a simple majority vote, except where otherwise required by law.   The Association’s fiscal year shall be the calendar year.

6.4.2 Meetings.  The Board of Directors of the Association shall hold an annual meeting at 2:00 p.m. (EST) on the third Tuesday of October each year, unless a different date and time are set by the Association’s Executive Committee prior to October 1.  The Chairman of the Board of Directors may call a special meeting of the Association upon 10 days notice to the Directors and shall call a special meeting no later than 10 days after receiving a written request from two or more Directors.  Board meetings may be held by telephone conference call or such other means whereby the participants are able to hear one another.  The presence of a majority of the Directors shall constitute a quorum.  In the absence of a quorum, the Board of Directors shall take no formal action except to adjourn the meeting to a subsequent date.

6.4.3 Officers of the Association.  Each year at its annual meeting the Association shall elect a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Secretary-Treasurer, who shall each serve from January 1 through December 31 following the annual meeting.  The duties of the Chairman are to make the arrangements for the annual meeting and facilitate all communications concerning the meeting with Association members. In addition, the Chairman presides over the annual meeting.  The Vice-Chairman assists the Chairman in his duties and presides over the annual meeting in his absence. The Secretary-Treasurer maintains the bank account of the Association, keeps the minutes of its annual meeting, and assists the Chairman and Vice-Chairman with any necessary communications.  Vacancies in office shall be filled by the Board of Directors at the annual meeting or a called meeting.

6.4.4 Executive Committee.  The Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Secretary together constitute the Executive Committee of the Association.  The Executive Committee is authorized to take actions on behalf of the Association necessary for the ordinary operation of the Association, including supervising the activities of the Association’s Administrative Assistant and expenditures from the Association’s bank account.  The Executive Committee shall not be authorized to grant or deny accreditation or make any other substantive decisions regarding an institution’s accreditation status, application for accreditation, annual assessments, 5-year reviews or 10-year visitations.  The Chairman shall make a report to the Board of Directors at the annual meeting and any called meetings.

6.4.5 Amendments.  Amendments to this Section 6.4 shall require a 2/3 vote of the Directors present at any meeting, provided a quorum is present.

Chapter 5