Accreditation Self-Study

LTSP's Decennial Self-Study

2010-2012

The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) was established in 1864 and licensed to offer degrees in the study of theology and for the practice of professional ministry by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a member of, and accredited by, the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS), which accredits freestanding theological schools as well as theological schools affiliated with public or private institutions of higher learning, and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), one of the national regional accrediting institutions.  As a member in good standing in both of these accrediting bodies, LTSP received its last decennial affirmation of accreditation in 2002.  In the spring of 2012, LTSP will carry out the process of its next decennial affirmation of accreditation. The decennial affirmation requires LTSP to undertake a self-study process in order to demonstrate that we are meeting or exceeding accepted standards of best practices as an institution of higher education.

This self-study presents the LTSP community and all its constituencies (students; alums; administration; faculty; staff; donors; ELCA congregational, Synodical, Churchwide bodies; and other denominational partners) with the opportunity to engage in a comprehensive self-reflective endeavor to ask important questions about the identity and mission of LTSP:

  • What has been, continues to be, and will be the mission of LTSP?
  • Are we accomplishing the goals we have set for ourselves?
  • How are we evaluating our own goals and institutional standards?
  • In what ways do we need to build on, change, or improve the goals of theological education at LTSP for the next ten years?

In order to help us undertake this extremely important task, a Steering Committee was composed of a cross section of LTSP.  The Steering Committee includes:

President of the Seminary - Phil Krey (ex officio)

Dean of the Seminary - J. Paul Rajashekar (ex officio)

Business Office Manager - Martin Schwab

Faculty representative - John Hoffmeyer

Staff representative - Louise Johnson

Board representative - Sara Lilja

Student Body President - currently Laura Gorton

Editor - Addie Butler

Self-Study Director - David D. Grafton

Six different Workng Groups, made up of a cross section of LTSP constituencies, will undertake the actual work of reflection, conversation, and the drafting of reports. Each Working Group will be given a mandate to answer a variety of questions, related to their particular area of responsibility, as to how LTSP fares in relation to its own particular goals, how it might build upon or improve those goals, and how it meets the acceptable standards of higher education within its accrediting bodies. These Working Groups, which will be coordinated by the Steering Committee and the Director of the self-study, are:

  • Educational Assessment
  • Faculty and Administration
  • Information Resources
  • Institutional Mission and Integrity
  • Institutional Resources
  • Student Services

Commencing in the spring of 2010, the Steering Committee and Working Groups began the self-study process.  The work of these committees will continue throughout the fall and into the spring of 2011.  This self-study will also include public convocations, meetings with the current student body, the Alumni association, denominational judicatories, as well as current staff and faculty.  By the fall of 2011 we will have constructed a public self-study document.   (Please see the timeline for the self-study.)  Throughout this time, the Working Groups will solicit the valuable participation of the many constituencies of LTSP.  

In order to help us undertake this process, and to faithfully engage in the task with integrity and public accountability, the reflections and assessments of our own self-study will be evaluated by a group of peer evaluators. A joint team from ATS and MSCHE will visit our school and review our self-study from 4-7 March 2012.  During a three-day visit, they will take the opportunity to meet with students, staff, faculty, administration, and Board members.  They will then report to our accrediting agencies their own evaluation of our mission, and our ability to meet or exceed the standards of theological and higher education set by ourselves and our peer institutions. Thus, the ongoing assessment of our own identity and mission is accountable to the particular standards of higher education which we have voluntarily associated ourselves with as members of both ATS and MSCHE.

We have before us an important task of reflection, assessment, and evaluation of the ministry and mission of The LutheranTheological Seminary at Philadelphia as we look forward to the next ten years of faithful service. If you have questions, comments, or concerns regarding this 2010-2012 self-study, please contact dgrafton@ltsp.edu.

Sincerely,

David D. Grafton
Director of the Self-Study

A convocation to introduce the process to the LTSP community was held on 23 March 2010.  View "What is Accreditation?" (pdf file) by David D. Grafton.

A convocation to review the findings of the Self-Study and to review the Evaluation Team visit (PowerPoint file) will be held on 21 February 2012.

 

updated  2.21.12