The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges has continued its accreditation warning for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
At its mid-June meeting, the SACS Commission on Colleges board of trustees continued Southwestern Seminary’s warning for another 12 months for “failure to comply” with core requirements in its Principles of Accreditation regarding financial resources and financial responsibility. Unlike last year’s warning, this year the accrediting agency board did not mention any failure to meet standards regarding the fiduciary responsibility of the seminary’s board of trustees.
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“A Special Committee was not authorized to visit the institution,” the commission’s online report of board actions noted.
Last summer, the accrediting body placed the seminary on warning for failing to comply with its standards regarding the fiduciary responsibility of the board of trustees, as well as the two restated issues regarding finances.
Under SACS Commission on Colleges Principles of Accreditation, an institution is required to have “sound financial resources and a demonstrated, stable financial base to support the mission of the institution and the scope of its programs and services.” The institution also is expected to “manage its financial resources in a responsible manner.”
An educational institution also is expected to have “a governing board of at least five members that: is the legal body with specific authority over the institution; exercises fiduciary oversight of the institution; ensures that both the presiding officer of the board and a majority of other voting members of the board are free of any contractual, employment, personal or familial financial interest in the institution; is not controlled by a minority of board members or by organizations or institutions separate from it; is not presided over by the chief executive officer of the institution.”
‘Positive step forward’
Removing the issue of the trustee board’s fiduciary responsibility from the latest warning represents “a positive step forward for the institution,” President David Dockery stated in a release from the seminary’s communications office.
Dockery acknowledged the seminary has “ongoing work to do” to address the remaining issues.
“Due to the timeline of financial reporting and the need to demonstrate positive trends over multiple fiscal years, it was our expectation that a full review of financial progress would not be possible until June 2025,” Dockery stated.
“We pray for the Lord’s ongoing enablement as we take the next steps, even as we stop to give thanks for this visible marker of progress in our efforts toward institutional stability.”
A financial overview released by the seminary’s board of trustees in June 2023 revealed from 2002 to 2022, annual operating expenses at Southwestern Seminary rose 35%, while full-time-enrollment figures dropped 67%, resulting in a cumulative $140 million operating deficit.
The seminary ran an operational deficit 19 years during the period from 2002 through 2022, spending an average $6.67 million more than it received in revenue those years.
In his report to the recent 2024 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, Dockery said — based on the first 10 months of the annual budget — the seminary’s operational budget this year “will be considerably better than last year and dramatically improved over the previous year.” He also reported the seminary should finish the year with cash reserves and no short-term debt.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Ken Camp and originally published by Baptist Standard.
