Connecting Vital Piety and Knowledge
The United Methodist Church’s commitment to education is rooted in the vision and actions of its founder, John Wesley. Education is a core value of The United Methodist Church and one that helped define the Methodist movement in 18th century England. It is not surprising that one of the first pronouncements of the first Methodist Education Committee in 1837 was that Methodists should encourage education, which “may begin in an infant school and end in Heaven.”
Organizing Church Educational Institutions
The Board of Education was established in 1868 and was birthed to “receive, invest, and augment” the contributions collected for higher education, as well as to supervise the church’s schools and colleges. Shortly thereafter, the Board of Education appointed a commission to devise a plan for reorganizing the educational work of The Methodist Episcopal Church with an aim toward achieving “unity, breadth, and effectiveness” for its educational institutions.
By 1892, General Conference legislation established a University Senate: “There shall be a University Senate, composed of practical educators, who shall determine the minimum equivalent of academic work in our Church Institutions for graduation to the Baccalaureate degree.”
Setting Higher Education Standards
The University Senate was born to bring order out of chaos and to establish a system of quality schools. Subsequently, the University Senate became the first body in the United States to establish and use – on a nationwide basis – standards for educational institutions. From 1892 – 1938, the University Senate was THE accreditation body for Methodist-affiliated schools – and really was the model “regional” accreditation bodies would follow in successive years.
Today, the University Senate of The United Methodist Church sets and maintains the standards of United Methodist-related education ensuring that our institutions are functioning at a high level of excellence in all areas of strategy and operation including church-relatedness, program quality, financial integrity and stewardship, and governance.
University Senate Guidelines
The University Senate Guidelines serves as a comprehensive resource that outlines the structure, responsibilities, and policies governing the University Senate of The United Methodist Church. This is essential for maintaining the standards of United Methodist-affiliated institutions of higher education and ensuring they adhere to the principles and values of the Church.
