About
Accreditation
Concordia Theological Seminary is accredited by The Association of Theological Schools (ATS), which accredits theological institutions in North America and Canada. The seminary is also accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC). Teams from both agencies will review the institution’s ongoing ability to meet the criteria for accreditation during a comprehensive evaluation visit on March 15–18, 2010. The school has been accredited by HLC since 1981 and by ATS since 1968.
Accreditation is a process that evaluates quality and provides a road map for institutional improvements. It assures students that their academic programs meet nationally recognized standards and is required for the seminary to receive federal funds for student financial aid. It assures financial supporters that CTS is engaged in appropriate educational efforts and that those efforts conform to normative expectations of quality. While it is not an audit, accreditation functions as an external, independent judgment about the strengths and weaknesses of the institution and encourages wise use of its resources and careful attention to its mission.
To that end, an institutional self-study has been prepared by the administration, faculty, and staff of Concordia Theological Seminary for submission to both accrediting agencies. Each chapter of the self-study has as its focus one of the ten General Institutional Standards created and issued by ATS. Within these sections, the data has been correlated to address the five Criteria required by HLC.
As part of the process, public comments are also invited on the quality of the institution or its academic programs. See Third Party Comment Notice below.
Concordia Theological Seminary’s community has embraced this self-study and its adjoining visits as opportunities to build on the school’s strengths as well as to discover and implement necessary institutional changes that will further the seminary’s mission of “exist[ing] to form servants in Jesus Christ who teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all.”
Third Party Comment Notice
ATS General Institutional Standards
HLC Criteria for Accreditation