Last week, we introduced Alexandra Thomas and the experience she brings to Winebrenner Seminary. Her background in organizational development, assessment, and ministry provides a timely opportunity to revisit how we understand our relationships with accrediting agencies.
We have written previously on InDepth about why accreditation matters. These relationships provide external accountability, help us evaluate the quality of our work, and open opportunities for students and graduates. Three priorities guide how we approach them.
These are voluntary relationships.
Winebrenner chooses to participate in relationships with accrediting agencies. In doing so, we invite others to examine our work, ask questions, and hold us accountable to shared standards. That choice carries responsibility. We commit time and resources to evaluating our practices, documenting what we learn, and responding to areas that need attention. We enter these relationships because we believe they help us serve students and fulfill our mission.
The mission always comes first.
Winebrenner exists to equip leaders for service in God’s kingdom. This mission gives direction to our academic programs, organizational decisions, and collaborative relationships. It also guides our participation in accreditation. As we prepare reports, welcome visiting teams, and consider recommendations, we need to keep asking: How does this work help us equip leaders for service in God’s kingdom? What are we learning about the needs of our students? Where do our practices need to change so we can fulfill our mission more faithfully? Accreditation provides valuable opportunities to examine those questions with people beyond our own organization. The mission gives that examination its purpose.
We steward collectively.
At Winebrenner, no one “owns” a particular program, process, or area of work. We have different responsibilities, and those responsibilities matter. Each of us is entrusted with work that contributes to the health and effectiveness of the whole organization. This means accreditation involves all of us. Faculty, staff, administration, and trustees contribute to the work of understanding how well we are fulfilling our mission. Students and graduates offer perspectives that help us see where our efforts are bearing fruit and where we need to grow. Someone may coordinate a report or oversee a particular relationship, but the responsibility for serving students well is shared. Our willingness to learn from one another, share information, and make improvements together is part of faithful stewardship.
These three priorities belong together. We voluntarily enter relationships that support our mission, and we collectively steward the responsibilities those relationships bring. As Winebrenner continues to adapt to the changing needs of learners and the Church, these commitments will guide how we work together to equip leaders for service in God’s kingdom.
- Brent C. Sleasman, President