wfn.org | College prep school approved as church-related institution

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 15, 2001	News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.     10-71B{467}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- The number of United Methodist-related academic
institutions has increased by one.

Carrollton Christian Academy, a ministry of Carrollton (Texas) First United
Methodist Church, became the 124th school approved by the denomination's
University Senate as a church-related institution. The pre-collegiate school
was approved during the senate's summer meeting.

The institutions related to the United Methodist Church are in diverse
settings across the United States, from rural communities to large cities.
Student enrollment ranges from 200 to 15,000.

The University Senate is an elected group of 25 higher-education
professionals who determine what schools, colleges, universities and
seminaries meet the criteria for listing as institutions affiliated with the
United Methodist Church.

Carrollton Christian Academy is the first pre-collegiate school approved by
the senate since 1981, according to Ken Yamada, an executive with the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville. The church
has nine other college preparatory schools, some with elementary grades.

The academy was founded in 1980 as an outreach ministry of Carrollton First.
The school offers pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade education and has a total
student enrollment of 719. It is fully accredited by the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools.

The senate, established in 1882, is one of the oldest accrediting bodies in
the country. Its mission was to ensure that schools, colleges and
universities related to the church were worthy of carrying the
denomination's name. In recent years, regional bodies have accredited
academic institutions, and the senate has focused more on how institutions
are related to the United Methodist Church.

The senate has adopted "marks of church relationship" for United
Methodist-related schools. An accredited church-related school must:
7	Identify itself as such in printed resources and official listings.
7	Respect, honor and provide the teaching of religion, specifically
theological teaching in the Christian tradition within the curriculum
7	Recognize the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church and
seek to create a community of scholarship and learning that facilitates
social justice.
7	Respect and honor religious practice, specifically worship and
service for students and faculty.
7	Encourage the exploration of the place of religious belief and
practice in the larger society.
7	Allow faculty and students to explore the place of religious belief
and practice. 
7	Include among its faculty, administrative officers and trustees
people who understand and respect the school's relationship with the United
Methodist Church.

Using those criteria, the senators approved Hiwassee College in
Madisonville, Tenn., and North Central College in Naperville, Ill., for
continued listing as United Methodist-related institutions. An academic
institution is reviewed once every 10 years, or more often under special
circumstances.

The denomination's 13 theological schools, plus all other seminaries that
educate the church's clergy, must have senate approval. Church-related
seminaries are reviewed every 10 years based on criteria in the Book of
Discipline and other factors established by the Division of Ordained
Ministry of the Board of Higher Education and Ministry as well as the
senate.

Theological schools not related to the denomination also must meet certain
criteria to be listed by the senate. These institutions are reviewed every
four years. A commission on theological education assists the senate in
evaluating non-United Methodist-related schools of theology and employs five
criteria. The criteria are freedom of academic inquiry; opportunity for
growth in the United Methodist tradition; compatibility with the Social
Principles; racial and gender profile of faculty and students; and academic
quality.

During the senate's most recent meeting, five nonrelated theological schools
and seminaries were approved to educate United Methodist ministers: Eden
Theological Seminary in St. Louis; Evangelical School of Theology in
Myerstown, Pa.; Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn.; Union Theological
Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Va.; and
Vancouver (British Columbia) School of Theology.
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United Methodist News Service
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