A. Purpose
Accreditation is a service which the Association provides to its member schools with the following aims:
- to ensure that standards of quality theological education programs of schools in the region are maintained; and
- to encourage the schools to continue improving their degree programs.
B. Composition
The Accreditation Commission is composed of the Board of Trustees of ATESEA plus three (3) persons appointed by the Board from member schools.
C. Duties
The duties of the Accreditation Commission shall be:
- To set standards for Accreditation and notations,
- To receive and evaluate applications for accreditations,
- To recommend accreditation and notations to the Board of Trustees for action,
- To receive and evaluate reports from member schools concerning progress in regard to removing notations, and
- To encourage continuous effort by the schools to improve the quality of their education.
D. Operating Procedures
Accreditation is a continuous process which is undertaken in the following stages:
- Self-survey by the applicant school and the submission of Self-Survey Reports to ATESEA Office
- Initial Accreditation Visit
- Annual Report by Accredited Schools
- Review following visit by accreditation team.
The ATESEA office will inform the schools to be visited some 5-6 months before the scheduled visit. ATESEA will request the concerned schools to:
- Conduct Self-Survey Reports using the Standard Form (for schools undergoing initial visit) and submit the same to ATESEA office;
- Review their programmes and operations using the ATESEA accreditation standards and notations found in the report of the previous visiting team with adequate information for it to understand the school’s background, academic programme, material resources, human resources, finances, etc.;
- Schedule the sessions for the team to meet with the administration, the faculty, the student body, the Board of Trustees/Board or Governors, the representative church leaders and other stakeholders for the purpose of raising questions regarding their (accrediting team members) areas of responsibility to discover the opportunities, problems, etc. facing the school;
- When all requisites for the visit are complied with, ATESEA will assign an Accrediting Team to visit the schools. Self-survey reports are to be submitted at the latest 3 months before the scheduled visit.
In the course of the accreditation visit, the team is requested to:
- Exercise a pastoral, sometimes mediating, function between the various sectors of the school;
- Hold a final session with the faculty to report on its findings and discuss various options in dealing with the opportunities and problems facing the school, including review of the notations from the previous visit where applicable;
- Meet with administrators to review its findings and evaluate the visit;
- Prepare its recommendations for the Accreditation Commission;
- Prepare written reports for submission to the Accreditation Commission and the schools visited.
After the initial accreditation visit, schools with accredited programmes will be sent an annual questionnaire to determine whether or not the standards are being maintained and efforts have been exerted to remove the notations.
Subsequent visits by teams to review accredited programmes will take place on a rotating basis, with schools in each of the three sub regions (Philippine-Taiwan, Indonesia and mainland South East Asia including Hong Kong and Malaysia) being visited in four-year cycle.
The Accreditation Commission will meet annually to evaluate the reports of the Accreditation teams and review the questionnaires submitted by the schools. The Accreditation Commission may recommend:
- Accreditation of non-accredited programs
- Changes in notation
E. Accreditation Costs
Schools shall be assessed a fee to help cover the costs for accreditation visits. Expense for food and accommodation of the accreditors during the visit shall be responsibility of the schools being visited.