In what has been a two-and-a-half year marathon, the finish line is now in sight for the crucial self-study phase in the seminary’s pursuit of regional accreditation. This phase of the process involved the collective input of many faculty, staff, administrators, students, trustees, and alumni. The resulting draft self-study report was posted on the seminary’s website in October and then submitted to Dr. Wayne McCown, the Middle States evaluation team Chair. During his initial visit on November 11, 2008, Dr. McCown provided very positive feedback as well as numerous suggestions for improvement.

The final report has recently been submitted to each member of the evaluation team with the official visit scheduled for March 29 through April 1, 2009. Based on the resulting evaluation team recommendation, the Middle States Commission is expected to make a formal determination in early June. The continued input and prayer support of the entire seminary community is greatly appreciated as we seek to continually glorify God in and through the accreditation process.

Calvary enters its final six weeks of the self-study process on Monday, February 16th, as it seeks regional accreditation with Middle States Commission on Higher Education. On Monday, the seminary submits the final draft of its self-study document to the members of the MSCHE visiting team, completing a project two years in the making.

Following Monday's submission, the seminary will begin preparation for the March 29-April 1 site visit of the Middle States visiting team. The team, to be comprised of four members, will be chaired by Dr. Wayne McCown of Northeastern Seminary (Rochester, NY). The team's visit will culminate in the development of a formal recommendation to the Middle States Commission on whether Calvary should move from Candidate Status to accreditation. Upon reviewing the visiting team's recommendation, the Commission decide on the matter at their June meeting.

Visiting team chairperson Wayne McCown was a member of the first Middle States team to visit the seminary. The 2004 team considered Calvary's application for Candidate Status. Dr. McCown visited the seminary again on November 11, 2008, to review Calvary's initial draft of its self-study, which was completed October 29, 2008.

The self-study report is the result of collaborative efforts amongst a wide representation of the seminary community, including current students, alumni, faculty, staff, and board members. Chaired by New Testament professor Dr. Al Huss, the self-study team formed into small groups which spent the 2007-2008 academic year gathering information on how well the seminary is accomplishing its mission. Volumes of raw data, including financial information, institutional policies, student learning assessment results, and dozens of surveys and constituency assessments, contributed to the production of the seminary's self-study.

According to the comical stereotype, though not too removed from reality, the most common question asked on a journey is “Are we there yet?”  Somehow the answer to this question would seem to be self-evident—“When we stop the car and start to unload, we are there!”  The question I would like to examine, and perhaps the more informative question, is “Where are we now?”

 The journey to accreditation is basically composed of three stages—candidacy, self-study, and peer review/evaluation.  In the larger context, CBTS has attained candidacy, we are in self-study, and with a peer evaluation team visit scheduled for spring 2009, we are on our way to accreditation.  However, that is sort of like saying that we have been in the United States, we are now in Pennsylvania, and we are on our way to Gramma’s house.  Accurate, but not helpful!

 The current stage of our journey, self-study, is composed of three phases.  In the first phase, the self-study steering committee formulates a self-study design and establishes work groups (WGs) with guidelines for their work.  To reflect the seminary’s day-to-day practice in carrying out our mission, goals, and objectives, we structured our self-study around four WGs—boardroom, office, classroom, and campus.  Each WG is chaired by a member of the self-study steering committee—Boardroom by Mr. Ron Clarke, Office by Dr. Jeff Tuttle, Classroom by Dr. Charles McLain, and Campus by Mr. Paul Gibbs.  In order to gain as complete a perspective of seminary life as possible, each WG is staffed with representation from across our constituency -- including alumni, trustees, students, faculty, administration, and support staff.

 The second phase, where we are now, involves the focused activity of the WGs.  In this most intense and arduous portion of the journey, each WG is mandated (given the charge) to examine specific areas of the seminary.  The Boardroom’s mandate focuses on the seminary’s planning and resources, the Office’s on the day-to-day administration of the seminary, the Classroom’s on the areas of faculty and curriculum, and the Campus’s mandate is centered on students and student life issues.  At the same time, each WG is mandated with some common issues which cross over all areas of seminary life—e.g., integrity. 

 The mandate of each WG is ultimately centered in assessment—the heart-beat of institutional improvement and renewal.  The assessment process involves a four-step progression.  Step #1 – the articulation of the seminary’s mission, goals, purpose, aim.  This step has been accomplished and is a matter of record.  Step #2 – the accumulation of evidence.  This step involves the gathering of data which provides evidence of our efforts to carry out our stated mission.  This process is currently underway.  Step #3 – the analysis of the evidence.  In this step each WG will answer two questions:  “What is it that we say we do?” and “Do we do what we say we do?”  In documenting their responses to these questions, each WG will submit a report of their findings to the self-study steering committee.  Step #4 – action.  This step, which is is not part of the WG’s mandate, involves formulating and implementing a plan to correct, to strengthen, or to clarify weaknesses based on the self-study steering committee’s report.

 The third phase of self-study involves the steering committee taking the individual WG reports and formulating the final report to be submitted to the Middle States Committee on Higher Education (MSCHE).  MSCHE has provided guidelines for the Self-Study.  These guidelines take the form of fourteen ‘Standards’ (or ‘Characteristics of Excellence’) and their respective ‘Fundamental Elements.’  These Standards and Fundamental Elements provide the guidelines for the activity of each WG since every educational institution’s function falls within the scope of one of these Standards and is explained and illustrated by the Fundamental Elements for each Standard.

 The sign on the map says, “You are here” and there is an arrow showing you exactly where that is.  The arrow at this point of the journey points to the second phase of the self-study process—WG activity, more specifically, to the phase of gathering evidence of our practice in preparation for analysis and reporting.

We are pleased to announce that Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) has designated Dr. Wayne McCown to chair CBTS’s accreditation evaluation team. Dr. McCown is currently the Vice President and Dean at Northeastern Seminary and has been involved in seminary education for over 35 years. He is also a former president of Wesleyan Theological Seminary. Moreover, he has personally chaired eight evaluation teams with a number of accrediting agencies, including Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NASC), the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), and Middle States (MSCHE). The role of the evaluation team chair is crucial, as the entire self-study process culminates with the spring 2009 team visit to assess whether the Seminary meets the Commission’s accreditation standards.

Dr. McCown is no stranger to CBTS. He previously visited the seminary in March of 2004 as an evaluator on the initial Applicant Assessment Team. At that initial point in the process (in which we were requesting consideration to file as a candidate for accreditation), Dr. McCown’s contribution was extremely helpful in getting CBTS off to a good start on the road to accreditation. We praise the Lord for his willingness to serve and look forward to his future participation – both in guiding CBTS during the final stage of the process and in chairing the evaluation team. (Dr. McCown will make a preliminary visit later this year to review the draft of our self-study report and to discuss our readiness for the full team visit.)