Accreditation Commission: The Master’s University Still on Probation, President Transition Required by End of 2019

Today, the WASC Senior College and University Commission posted a letter dated March 4 which describes their decision to keep The Master’s University and Seminary on probation. The letter also informs the school that the search for a new president to replace John MacArthur should be completed by the end of 2019 (see also this post). According to the letter, TMUS’s board of directors had decided to extend that date until later. The WASC team determined that was not in keeping with the plan previously established.

The Commission saw the lack of movement of finding MacArthur’s replacement as a sign of concern regarding organizational integrity. The Commission stated:

In addition, the institution made a commitment to transition its chief executive officer from the position of president to Chancellor of the Seminary within 18 months of the date of the visit. Yet, at the panel interview, the president mentioned that the Board has extended that date and had still not taken steps to define the requirements and job description for the institution’s next president. The Commission is concerned that TMUS still struggles in the area of operational integrity and transparency.

For this and other reasons, the Commission decided TMUS was out of compliance with the accreditation standards.

The Commission found that The Master’s University and Seminary is not in compliance with WSCUC Standards 1 and 3 and acted to continue the sanction of Probation.

Being on probation can lead to dire consequences for an institution of higher learning.

Under U.S. Department of Education regulations, when the Commission finds that an institution fails to meet one or more of the Standards of Accreditation, it is required to notify the institution of these findings and give the institution no longer than two years from the date of this action to correct the deficiencies. If an institution has not remedied the deficiencies at the conclusion of this sanction period, the Commission is required, under U.S. Department of Education regulations, to take an “adverse action,” which in this case would take the form of withdrawal of accreditation.

TMUS is required to respond to the following concerns:

1. The Board should ensure the successful succession and transition of the Presidential role including conducting a national search by 12/31/2019. (CFRs 3.8, 3.9)
2. The Board and Administration should continue to communicate with their constituents in the TMUS community regarding personnel actions and leadership succession. (CFRs 1.7, 3.2, 3.6)
3. TMUS should establish systematic two-way communication practices to promote consistent and sustainable flow of information among administrators, faculty, staff and students. (CFRs 1.6, 3.7, 3.10)
4. TMUS should establish and implement a formal procedure that allows for a safe environment for staff and faculty to express grievances and ethical concerns. (CFRs 1.7, 3.2)

The Commission’s Standards 1 and 3 are as follows (read all of them here):

Standard 1: Defining Institutional Purposes and Ensuring Educational Objectives

The institution defines its purposes and establishes educational objectives aligned with those purposes. The institution has a clear and explicit sense of its essential values and character, its distinctive elements, its place in both the higher education community and society, and its contribution to the public good. It functions with integrity, transparency, and autonomy.

Standard 3: Developing and Applying Resources and Organizational Structures to Ensure Quality and Sustainability

The institution sustains its operations and supports the achievement of its educational objectives through investments in human, physical, fiscal, technological, and information resources and through an appropriate and effective set of organizational and decision-making structures. These key resources and organizational structures promote the achievement of institutional purposes and educational objectives and create a high-quality environment for learning.

Each of these standards has criteria for review (CFR) which are identified in the letter. When CFR is referred to above in the letter, those are the criteria which are of concern to the Commission.

6 thoughts on “Accreditation Commission: The Master’s University Still on Probation, President Transition Required by End of 2019”

  1. John will be 80 years old June 2019. Rather than being forced out by the Commission, he should become Chancellor and the Board should find a new President. A new president will get a honeymoon period to improve the culture and climate, and the probation will be over. Jesus is Lord, God is sovereign, the Kingdom will continue to grow like the mustard seed.

  2. Dr T, speaking of church colleges going down the tubes, have you read about the Angelus Temple’s Dream Center purchasing a 55 campus chain of for-profit colleges including Argosy University, the Art Institutes and South University?
    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/business/argosy-college-art-insititutes-south-university.html

    This was a disaster from the start, the New York Times article, “Almost immediately, the organization discovered the schools were in worse shape than expected, with aging facilities and outdated technology”.

    The Dream Center thought the colleges would provide an opportunity for more of their struggling clients to get an education plus they believed the business would profit $30 million the 1st year profit (to support their extensive Dream Center programs). The schools were actually LOSING $38 million per yr.

    The Dream Center must have had the world’s worst diligence team, to not even inspect the campuses. Also how did they think overpriced, sometimes unaccredited education would help their clients?

  3. Dr T, speaking of church colleges going down the tubes, have you read about the Angelus Temple’s Dream Center purchasing a 55 campus chain of for-profit colleges including Argosy University, the Art Institutes and South University?
    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/business/argosy-college-art-insititutes-south-university.html

    This was a disaster from the start, the New York Times article, “Almost immediately, the organization discovered the schools were in worse shape than expected, with aging facilities and outdated technology”.

    The Dream Center thought the colleges would provide an opportunity for more of their struggling clients to get an education plus they believed the business would profit $30 million the 1st year profit (to support their extensive Dream Center programs). The schools were actually LOSING $38 million per yr.

    The Dream Center must have had the world’s worst diligence team, to not even inspect the campuses. Also how did they think overpriced, sometimes unaccredited education would help their clients?

    1. Wow. Thank you for bringing our attention to this other recent U.S. Evangelical mismanagement scandal. Just like with John MacArthur, just like with Mark Driscoll, just like with James MacDonald and the entire board at Harvest Bible Chapel, and the debt-driven Gateway MegaChurch, and the self-described “global leaders” at Willow Creek Community Church, we continue to wonder: why is Jesus consistently absent in their own words and actions?

      1. I am a strong Christian with a lifelong career in commercial real estate. I love real estate but churches should not be in the real estate business.

        I think churches should stick to their knitting also. I think perhaps the Dream Center folks were perhaps well meaning but had no business taking over a large educational organization. If the schools were making $30 million a yr, the sellers prob wpukd not have been selling.

  4. No surprises here. The organizations built by men like JMac are every bit as corrupt as the money grubbing man himself. Jesus did not tell us to go build schools or to make ourselves into superstars with all the trappings of fame and bus loads of Mammon. I fully expect the school to have it accreditation revoked in the end. This JMac is no more interested in giving up control to someone else than the other JMac that Warren has been posting about. This lust to lord power over others is anti-Christ at its most very basic foundation.

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