Petition for Educational Experiment

Commission-accredited schools must petition for approval prior to implementing an innovative educational program or approach that is not addressed or not allowed in the Standards. Such changes, if approved, will be treated as experiments that must be evaluated over several years to determine their effectiveness and ongoing status (with periodic reports required). In its petition, the school must demonstrate that the experiment ensures educational quality, congruence with the school's educational mission, and coherence with the values of theological education (per Policies and Procedures IV.G).

Examples of experiments include offering any educational program not based on courses or credits (see Standard 3.10 and Board's Guidelines for Competency-Based Theological Education [PDF]) or offering a PhD degree where half or more of the coursework is not completed on the school's main campus (see Standard 5.15). Per Policies and Procedures IV.G.1, the Board requires schools petitioning for an experiment to specify the length of the experiment (typically three to five years), during which time the school will evaluate the results and periodically report those results as directed by the Board when it approved the experiment. In its final report, the school must either notify the Board that it is terminating the experiment (if the results are negative) or request that the experiment be changed to an ongoing exception (if the results are positive). If the latter, the Board will review the results of the experiment to determine whether to terminate it or continue it as an ongoing exception.

Given the potential complexity of this type of change, schools are encouraged to consult with their Commission staff liaison before submitting a petition for this type of substantive change. In completing this petition form, please include links to additional documentation as requested or as deemed helpful. Your Commission staff liaison will contact you if there are any questions regarding this petition.

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Please note: you are able to save and return to this form as needed. Click "Save" at the bottom of any page and enter your email address. An email will be sent to you from Jotform (via noreply@jotform.com) which contains a link to your form in progress.

3.       If approved, when would this experiment begin and for how many years is the school requesting this experiment be conducted before a final decision on its ongoing status is made by the Board?

6.       Describe the resources and support the school has, in order for it to implement this experiment:

11.       If approved, when would this experiment begin and for how many years is the school requesting this experiment be conducted before a final decision on its ongoing status is made by the Board?

6.       If approved, when would this experiment begin and for how many years is the school requesting this experiment be conducted before a final decision on its ongoing status is made by the Board?

When finished, please submit this petition to the ATS Accrediting Records Coordinator by hitting the "submit" button below. You can expect an automated confirmation email within a few minutes. There is no fee for this (or any) Commission petition. Please do not send any paper copies or any emailed attachments; submit only this completed, online form (including any links to additional information requested).

NOTE: Petitions for experiment are decided by the Board of Commissioners only at their semi-annual meetings usually in February and June (see submission deadlines on ATS petitions and notifications webpage).