Seminary receives ATS and WASC re-accreditation for the maximum ten-year period
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07/16/09
In an overwhelming endorsement of Fuller Seminary’s work, effectiveness, and plans for the future, the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) have both granted re-accreditation to the seminary for ten years, the maximum accreditation period possible.
A dessert reception for the entire seminary community was hosted at Fuller’s Pasadena campus on Wednesday, July 15, to celebrate the accreditation decisions, which were received in June.
Provost Sherwood Lingenfelter, who led the accreditation review process, and President Richard J. Mouw commended the efforts of the many individuals at Fuller who engaged the process through a significant investment of their time, careful analysis and review, and thorough execution of the final WASC and ATS reports. “A lot of hard and thoughtful work is represented in this approval,” said Lingenfelter.
The notification letters from WASC and ATS offered much commendation for Fuller’s structures, processes, and plans. “The Seminary has taken a number of significant steps to think strategically about its future, especially in this highly uncertain financial environment,” wrote Ralph A. Wolff, president and executive director of the Senior College Commission of WASC.
For example, “The [WASC review] team noted several well-designed processes in support of learning,” Wolff commented, and “the team was also impressed with the institution’s creative efforts to assess spiritual formation in the context of both course work and field experience.”
The WASC team also noted that “Fuller has not only kept the issue of diversity as a centerpiece of its mission but . . . is determined to be seen as ‘setting the standard for excellence in diversity and global theological education.’” The team commended the seminary for “the depth of its understanding of this cross-cutting priority and for the infrastructure that it has put in place toward achieving this goal.”
The WASC team also affirmed the widespread involvement of Fuller’s campus community in the review process.
“Team members representing both WASC and ATS found the design and implementation of the review process meaningfully addressed the standards of each agency,” Wolff noted. “The Team found that Fuller Theological Seminary fulfilled its intended outcomes for this accreditation review.”