Accreditation

The Seminary is sponsored by the Church of God headquartered in Cleveland, Tennessee and operates under a charter of incorporation from the state of Tennessee and Bradley County. The School and its programs are approved by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The Seminary is also approved by the State Approving Agency for the training of eligible persons under the terms of the Veterans Education Benefits, and is authorized under Federal law to enroll international students.

Pentecostal Theological Seminary is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award masters and doctoral degrees. Pentecostal Theological Seminary is also approved by SACSCOC to offer lower level courses, i.e., certificate level courses. Questions about the accreditation of Pentecostal Theological Seminary may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).

The Pentecostal Theological Seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS – 10 Summit Park Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15275-1103: Telephone number 412-788-6505; e-mail ats@ats.edu) to offer the Master of Divinity (MDiv), the Master of Arts in Church Ministries (MACM), Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MACMHC), the Master of Theological Studies (MTS), Master of Arts in Counseling (MA(Counseling)), Master of Arts in Christian Studies (MACS), and the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degrees. The Seminary is also approved to offer fully online all of its degree programs. 

Students or other persons may contact the Southern Association of Colleges or the Board of Commissioners of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) for information on the Seminary’s accreditation by calling the phone numbers listed.

SACSCOC Public Disclosure Standard/Policy

Policy and Procedures for Credit Hours

Reference: SACS Commission on Colleges Federal Requirement 4.9

The institution has policies and procedures for determining the credit hours awarded for courses and programs that conform to commonly accepted practices in higher education and to Commission policy.

Pentecostal Theological Seminary (hereafter, PTS) has consistent policies and procedures for determining course credit hours that provide coherence and structure to its academic programs. In order to ensure the institution’s policy compliance with the standards in question, PTS reviews and practices policies and procedures that are consistent with the federal definition of the credit hour, i.e.. Federal Requirement 4.9 of the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement, and SACSCOC Credit Hours Policy.
Policy

PTS operates on the semester system, with the exceptional offerings of intensive courses during summer and winter, and has adopted the federal definition of a credit hour. In keeping with federal regulations, PTS defines a credit hour as an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement. In keeping with this, PTS adheres to the following policy guidelines:

• Awards one credit hour for at least 750 minutes of faculty instruction that adheres to the Carnegie unit for contact time,
• Expects for all lecture and seminar courses that students will spend a minimum of two hours outside the classroom for each hour spent in class,
• Expects equivalent amount of work for courses that are not primarily based on lectures or seminars, e.g.. internships, practica, clinical experiences, thesis.

In a typical semester course, e.g.. Pentecostal Spirituality and Theology I, PTS awards 3 credits based on the calculation that students meet once a week for 165 minutes (8 a.m.. to 10:45 a.m..), with the minimum of 5 minute break during class, for 14 weeks that, when calculated upon, amounts to the minimum of 2250 minutes for the semester. Such practice ensures that the amount of time spent for faculty instruction meets the minimum of 750 minutes per credit hour. This credit hour policy applies to all degree programs (graduate and post-graduate) that awards academic credits regardless of the mode of delivery including, but not limited to, online, blended, lecture, and seminar.
Procedures

Students are expected to engage and work in class that seek to attain the expected course learning outcomes regardless the particular format of a course, whether it is fully online, a blend of face-to-face contact with some content delivered by electronic means, or one delivered in lecture or seminar format. Courses that have less structured classroom schedules, e.g.. research seminars, independent studies, directed studies, internships, practica, or any other academic work leading to the award of credit hours, are also expected to have clearly stated expected course learning outcomes as well as the workloads that meet the standards set forth above.

The calculation for summer and winter intensive courses also follow this same standard of the minimum of 750 contact minutes for each unit of credit. In a typical summer course, e.g.. Historical Theology I, students are expected to meet from Monday to Friday. Students will have a full day of class from Monday to Thursday (e.g.. 8 a.m.. to 5 p.m..) and an abbreviated class time on Friday (e.g.. 8 a.m.. to 12 p.m..) that may include a final examination. At the end, the total contact hours for faculty instruction are expected to be at least 2250 minutes (37.5 hours). Prior to the in-classroom sessions, i.e.. Phase II of the course work, students are expected to complete the Phase I of the course work that include readings, reflection and writing evidenced in the course assignments to be evaluated by the faculty instructor. Furthermore, students are expected to complete Phase III of the course work that usually amounts to submission of a research paper or project. Among others, the expected student work in Phases I and III is in keeping with the stated policy above that students are expected to have spent a minimum of two hours outside the classroom for each hour spent in class.

PTS maintains its official Academic Calendar on its website here. The Curriculum and Educational Resource Committee (CERC) of PTS is charged with the responsibility of following up with the policy on credit hours in its review and approval of all courses and for certifying that the expected student learning for the course meets the institution’s credit hour standards. The determination of credit hours is made when a new course or a revision to an existing course is proposed. When examining a course syllabus for adaptation into PTS catalog, the Committee examines the course’s contact time as well as the assignments and evaluation mechanisms to determine its adherence to the institution’s policy in place.

Policy Revision Date: 04.20.2015