The Commission denied reaffirmation, continued accreditation, and placed . . . on Warning: Erskine College, Due West, South Carolina [f]or twelve months for failure to comply with Core Requirement 2.5 (Institutional effectiveness), Comprehensive Standard 3.2.10 (Administrative staff evaluations), Comprehensive Standard 3.2.13 (Institution-related entities), Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.1 (Institutional effectiveness: educational programs), Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.2 (Institutional effectiveness: administrative support services), Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.3 (Institutional effectiveness: academic and student support services), Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.5 (Institutional effectiveness: community/public service), Comprehensive Standard 3.3.2 (Quality enhancement plan), Comprehensive Standard 3.5.1 (General education competencies), Comprehensive Standard 3.5.4 (Terminal degrees of faculty), Comprehensive Standard 3.7.2 (Faculty evaluation), and Comprehensive Standard 3.12.1 (Substantive change) of the Principles of Accreditation.

In other words, Erskine was audited and “failed.” SACS commissioners “denied reaffirmation, continued accreditation, and placed [Erskine] on Warning.” The full text of the report is found at this link. See pages 5 and 6 for the part relevant to Erskine. Explanations of citations are found on the SACS website.

According to e-mails and other communications from President David Norman, the items cited by SACS are rather insignificant and easily corrected by the September 2013 deadline.

There are 12 violations cited by SACS. According to individuals I have spoken with in higher education, this is a staggering indictment of Erskine’s leadership and indicative of systemic administrative failure, and the September deadline cannot be met. However, according to those I spoke with, if progress is apparent, leniency will be shown and more time granted by SACS for remediation.

The following is what will happen if Erskine fails to comply with SACS’ instructions:

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN DECEMBER 2013? The SACSCOC Board of Trustees will consider the accreditation status of Erskine College following review of a First Monitoring Report submitted by the institution addressing the standards cited above for noncompliance and the report of the Special Committee that will visit the institution in fall 2013. The Board will have the following options: (1) reaffirm accreditation and remove the institution from Warning, without an additional report or with a Fifth-Year Follow Up Report; (2) deny reaffirmation of accreditation, continue accreditation, continue Warning and request an additional report; (3) deny reaffirmation of accreditation, continue accreditation, continue Warning or place the institution on Probation, authorize a Special Committee, and request an additional report; and (4) remove the institution from membership with the Commission on Colleges. Commission staff will not speculate on what decision might be made by the Commission’s Board in December 2013. [from a publicly available document provided by SACSCOC]

As to be expected, FACEBOOK sites lit up. On the Alumni for Erskine site, Ms. AS Bowen posted the following insightful and informative comments:

Having been on almost a dozen SACS committes [sic] for 10yr and mid cycle evaluations of schools, I know for a fact that when something came up short (like the details/progress mentioned in the letter), the committee gave the school the opportunity at the time of their week long visit to produce said items. To still be in the final report as a “does not meet” indicates these things do not exist like they should.

I also know that there are volumes of instructions provided literally years in advance of this 10yr visit to aid the school in doing what needs to be done and documenting it appropriately. . . .

That is a REALLY long list. I don’t know that I have ever been on a visiting committee where we indicated more -maybe 5- failure to comply statements. . . .

And while some of these standards may be a bit esoteric, there are some that are so straightforward and easy to achieve that heads should role [sic] for letting them go unmet.

Outspoken Erskine student Mr. Eric Goodwin nearly had a meltdown:

This is no more than the official recognition of what has been reality on Erskine’s campus for several years now. From the administration to the students, talk is abundant and action is rare. It is the Erskine disease: bullshit to cover laziness. Some of you know it best as THRIVE, but it is everywhere: even the Euphies. At some point I guess it catches up to you – SACS finally got us.

In spite of Erskine’s longstanding and continuing conflict with the ARPChurch, Erskine WAS NOT cited by SACS for a GOVERNANCE noncompliance. The 12 citations primarily involve the administration of Erskine as an educational institution. In spite of the scare tactics by the secular alums the past two years, decrying the ARPChurch’s attempts to regain control over Erskine, the SACS commissioners did not note undue influence by the ARPChurch as a citation.

For those of us who were present at the 2010 “Snow” Synod, who read the Moderator’s Commission’s Report, and who have been following Erskine’s rebellious decline over the past two years, we are not surprise by SACS’s “warning.” We have been predicting it. We have been expecting it.

At the 2010 “Snow” Synod, Mr. Ken Wingate, a member of and spokesman for the Moderator’s Commission and the Chairman of the SC Commission on Higher Education, warned a thorough audit by SACS would have dire consequences for Erskine. He said, “You have a problem of systemic failure as an institution due to board and administrative failure.” The response of the secular alums, the secular trustees, and the incompetent administration of then President Rand Ruble was a spin campaign of attack. They said Mr. Wingate and the other members of the Moderator’s Commission were “wrong”; they charged the Moderator’s Commissioners had “made it all up” and were “mean and “power hungry.” Are these things now being said of SACS?

I wonder what former board chairman, Mr. Scott Mitchell, who filed legal action against the General Synod is saying now? I wonder what former President Randy Ruble, a former SACS auditor, the man who appointed as Academic Dean a coach known far and wide for his work as an “Advisor for The Jump Rope Institute,” and who bears considerable responsibility for this accreditation debacle, is saying now? I wonder what former trustees David Chesnut and Parker Young and current trustee Richard Taylor who joined in filing legal action against the ARPChurch are saying now? I wonder what anti-ARP Church trustees Nan Campbell, Lisa Senn, Crosland Stuart, and others are saying now? I wonder what Chairman (and ARP Elder) David Conner and trustee (and ARP Minister and former General Synod Moderator) Andy Putnam who have worked assiduously to write the ARPChurch out of the bylaws are saying? I WONDER IF THEY ARE SAYING SACS IS NOW EXERCISING UNDUE INFLUENCE!?

Even more importantly, I wonder what prospective students and donors are saying right now. Erskine’s accreditation is now under a dark and ominous cloud, and will be for a number of years at least! Both student recruitment and efforts to raise needed funds for an institution already on the financial brink will undoubtedly be severely hurt.

Well, I know what I am saying: THE 2010 MODERATOR’S COMMISSION WAS RIGHT! All the warnings of the Moderator’s Commission are now checked off!

+ ARPTalk Blog, 864-882-6337, wilson6114@bellsouth.net

+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, 2 Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 864-379-2131, 864-379-2167, norman@erskine.edu

+ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033, 404-679-4500, Fax: 404-679-4558, questions@sacscoc.org

+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729

[2] Reformed Theological Seminary Receives Reaffirmation by SACS

13 December 2012

Reformed Theological Seminary has received reaffirmation of its accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC), the regional accrediting agency for colleges and universities in the southeastern region of the United States.

RTS received the best possible outcome of the reaffirmation process, reaffirmation with no recommendations for improvement. This reaffirmation continues RTS’ accreditation for a 10-year period through 2022. The announcement was made this week at the SACSCOC annual conference in Dallas, Texas.

“I cannot say how thankful we are for the tremendous efforts and leadership of Mrs. Polly Stone, our director of institutional assessment, and Dr. Robert Cara, our chief academic officer,” said Michael Milton, chancellor and CEO of RTS. “Polly and Bob have labored as unto the Lord in this. We view our relationship with accreditation agencies as a way to be faithful stewards of the Lord’s resources entrusted to us. This approval of our seminary by SACSCOC demonstrates the strong efforts of our team, the blessings of God, and we pray, the continued trust we hope our alumni and supporters can have in RTS.”

Reformed Theological Seminary is accredited by SACSCOC to award masters and doctorate degrees. RTS is also accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS).

Required every 10 years, reaffirmation of accreditation involves an intense self-study and peer review process. As part of the process, faculty and administrators from SACSCOC and ATS member schools visited the RTS campuses in spring 2012 and evaluated the seminary. This evaluation included a review of academic programs, finances, governance, faculty academic qualifications, student services, facilities, and institutional effectiveness. SACSCOC made the final decision at its December meeting this week.

+Reformed Theological Seminary, 2101 Carmel Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28226, 704-366-5066, Fax: 704-366-9295

+ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033, 404-679-4500, Fax: 404-679-4558, questions@sacscoc.org

[3] What a Difference a Day Makes

12 December 2012

One minute we were all happily contemplating how best to celebrate Christmas in a recession, and the next the whole country is up in arms over the proposed legislation announced yesterday to introduce gay marriage. Quite what can have possessed David Cameron to charge willy nilly down this particular road remains a mystery to all; not least to his own party which is now visibly breaking apart at the seams. And R.S. Harris’ highly commended book, ‘Is There a Case for Same Sex Marriage?’, which Voice for Justice UK published yesterday in association with Anglican Mainstream, is already providing compelling insight and argument helping fuel the debate!

But the question remains: why has [U.K. Prime Minister] David Cameron chosen to push an issue that will radically redefine society as we know it, and was always wanted at most by only a tiny minority of the population? After all, only around 7000 same sex couples have so far chosen to enter into a civil partnership, and not all of them will want to convert this to ‘marriage’ – in fact some are fiercely opposed to the very idea. So why, when we have so many pressing problems in the U.K. today – like a triple dip recession, an escalating nuclear arms race in the middle east, the ever present threat of terrorism, and a disintegrating political situation in Northern Ireland, to name but a few … why, in heaven’s name, are the 62 million people who make up our population being asked, at huge financial cost, to jettison the institution that has been foundational to the growth and stability of society for thousands of years? Is it really right to go down this route to satisfy a mere handful, who may or may not want it?

Can it be that Mr. Cameron is actually trying to divert our attention away from these infinitely more serious problems, which have the added distinction of being real and not manufactured? Or is he puppet to [U.K. Liberal Democrat Party leader] Nick Clegg’s skillful manipulation of the strings, performing a dance to satisfy the demands of an ailing coalition that has lost all of its other demands?

Whatever the answer, he can’t seriously believe the Church will meekly accept the gossamer thin assurances now being put forward of statutory exemption. Especially not when the likes of Peter Tatchell are already crying unfair and promising challenge in the European Court. Please, if nothing else, give us some honesty here!

R.S. Harris’s book ‘Is There a Case for Same-Sex Marriage’ is now available from Amazon.com as an e-book, Price UK£6.49, and is available in hard copy from Voice for Justice for UK£9.99.

+ Voice for Justice, Post Office Box 3837, Swindon SN6 9DS, England, 01793-862120, info@vfjuk.org

[4] Headlines from Christian Concern

Headlines of the past week from Christian Concern:

— U.K. MP’s and Peers Launch Campaign against Same-Sex Marriage

— Grassroots Conservatives Quit Tory Party over Same-Sex Marriage

— Essex, England Homosexual Couple to Sue U.K. Government over Proposed Exemption of Church of England from Performing Same-Sex Marriages

— Lambeth Council Refuses License for Lap Dancing Club

+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page

[5] Headlines from The Christian Institute

Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:

— Male Church of England School Teacher to Return Next Year as a Woman

— Facebook to Offer Real Money Casino Games under New Deal

— Scotland to Consider Presumed Consent Organ Donation Law

+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk

[6] Articles from LifesiteNews.com

Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:

— Iowa Judge Rules Government Documents Must List Mother’s Same-Sex Spouse as Child’s ‘Parent’

— Philippines’ Anti-Life Reproductive Health Bill Passes Final Reading in House and Senate

— The New Eugenics

— U.S. Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, D-Pennsylvania, Compares Connecticut School Massacre to Killing of Abortionists

— Socialist Uruguay on Road to Homosexual and Transsexual ‘Marriage’

— Obama Nominates Ex-Lobbyist for Makers of ‘Plan B’ Abortifacient to Top Legal Spot at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

— U.S. Congress Expected to Expand Access to Taxpayer-Funded Abortions for Military Women

— Federal Court Forces Christian-Owned Business Hobby Lobby to Obey HHS Mandate

— Australian Father of Seven Released from Prison after Eight Months Served for Pro-Life Activism

— ‘Black Day’ as Irish Republic Government Plans to Legalize Abortion

+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page

[7] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:

— Is U.S. Department of Homeland Security Giving Americans 50 Million Reasons to Think Obama Is Gearing up for a Civil War?

— Obama Administration Asks Federal Judge to Dismiss Cases of Americans Killed by Drones

— Paragould, Arkansas Police Chief Says Citizens Are Subject to ID Checks by SWAT Teams

— ChinaAid Obtains Secret Central Committee Document Ordering Crackdown on Evangelism on College and University Campuses

— Report Recommends France Legalize ‘Accelerated Deaths’

— Belgium Looks at Euthanasia for Minors, Alzheimer’s Sufferers

— Hungarian High court Annuls Law Linking Family to Heterosexual Marriage

— Female Texas State Troopers Caught on Tape Giving Two Women Body Cavity Search during Routine Traffic Stop

— Orchard Park, New York Police Lieutenant Sued by Family for Warrantless Forced Entry into Home

— Planned Parenthood Video Promotes Sadomasochism

— After Twenty-Five Minute Chase, Thirteen Cleveland, Ohio Police Officers Fire 137 Rounds Killing Two Unarmed Motorists

— Socialists Pushing Accelerated Death and Euthanasia

— Serial Polygamist Newt Gingrich Now Supports Gay Marriage

— Hunger and Homelessness Continue to Surge under Obama

— Massachusetts Taxpayers to Pay US$700,000 to Attorney of Convicted Murderer Who Demands Sex Change Surgery

— University of North Carolina Hires Professor That Writes Pornographic Poetry about College Students

— Pennsylvania Gunman Kills Woman in Church and Two Others before Dying in Shootout with Police

— Homosexual Couple Attempts to Force Christian School in New Mexico to Be Pagan

+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 North Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page

+ China Aid, Post Office Box 8513, Midland, Texas79708, 432-689-6985, Fax: 432-686-8355, info@ChinaAid.org

+ France 24, 5, rue des Nations Unies, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, 33-1-73-01-24-24, Contact Page

+ Politics.hu, 36-30-370-3561, editors@politics.hu

+ The Daily Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT, England, 020-7938-6000, news@dailymail.co.uk

+ American Life League, Post Office Box 1350, Stafford, Virginia 22555, 540-659-4171, Fax: 540-659-2586, info@all.org

+ Political Outcast

+ Newsmax, Post Office Box 20989, West Palm Beach, Florida33416, 561-686-1165, Fax: 561-686-3350

+ Last Resistance, Contact Page

+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com

[8] The Religion of Peace

Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:

— Difficult Christmas for Asia Bibi and Younis Masih

— US Soldiers Ordered Not To Criticize Radical Jihadists

— Politically Correct Insanity Cripples the U.S. Military

— Iranian Islamists Strategize with al-Qaida on 1Q 2013 Attacks on France and Germany

— Muslim Thugs in Helsingborg, Sweden Savage Eighty-Seven-Year-Old Woman Who Tried To Stop Them from Beating Puppy

— Prosecutors Say Florida Muslim Planned to Blow up New York City Landmark

— CBS Chicago Newscaster Calls Real Quotes from Osama Bin Laden, Turkey Prime Minister, Fort Hood Jihadi, and Time Square Bomber “Mock Testimony”

— Film Shows Obama-Supported ‘Syrian Rebels’ Forcing Boy to Behead Captive with Sword

— Can Islam Reform?

— Islamic Indoctrination in American Schools

— Israel Indicts Suspects in Tel Aviv Bus Bombing

— Jihadist Leaders of Obama-Backed Libyan Rebellion Fought Against U.S. in Iraq

— Ex-Obama Official Funding Al-Qaida-Tied Rebels in Syria

— Hezbollah Weapons Depot in Lebanon Destroyed by Israel Held Missiles Capable of Being Equipped with Chemical Warheads

— Iran Imprisons and Abuses American Christian Pastor Saeed Abedini

— Obama Administration Gives Immunity to Mumbai, India Massacre Masterminds and Operatives

— Analysis of Social Media in Libya on Day of Benghazi Jihad Massacre Finds No Reference to Muhammad Video That Obama Blamed for Attack

— Muslims Shoot Three More Polio Workers in Pakistan; Eight Dead in Forty-Eight Hours

— Christianity ‘Close to Extinction’ in Middle East

— In Egypt, 50,000 Muslims Led by Sword-Wielding Men March through Christian Areas, Shouting Egypt Is “Islamic, Islamic, Despite the Christians”

— In London, Muslim Women Accused of Being “Witches,” Beaten and Abused for Adopting Western Lifestyle

— Tunisian Muslim Cleric Calls for “Sterilizing the Wombs of Jewish Women”

— Islamic ‘Fear Campaign’ Keeps Egypt’s Christian Copts From Polls

— Grand Ayatollah Ahmad Al Baghdadi Al Hassani Says all Christian Women May Be Raped

— Future Looks Bleak for Egypt’s Coptic Christians

— Jihadists Slaughter Thirty-Nine in Kenya

— In Pakistan: Muslim Mob Burns Man Alive Accused of Desecrating Qur’an

— In New York, Three Muslims Charged with Training to Be Jihad-Martyrdom Suicide Bombers

— Head Imam at Australia’s Biggest Mosque Declares Fatwa against Christmas

— “Moderate” Tunisian Cleric Calls for Killing All the Jews

— Afghani Rape Victim Receives 100 Lashes

+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com

+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 North Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page

+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page

+ Examiner.com, 555 17th Street, Suite 700, Denver, Colorado 80202, contactus@examiner.com

+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com

+ Assyrian International News Agency

+ International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Post Office Box 1192, Jerusalem, 91010, Israel, 972-2-539-9700, 972-2-539-9701, Contact Page

+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com

+ The Telegraph, Victory House, Meeting House Lane, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TT, England, 0800-316-6977, telegraphenquiries@telegraph.co.uk

+ FrontPage Magazine, Post Office Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, California 91499, Contact Page

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26 December 2012

Christian Observer Publishing