We very much regret and are disappointed by the decision taken by Queen’s University today (18 December), which will mean that, for September 2019, school-leavers wishing to study Theology at the highest academic level will no longer be able to enrol at Queen’s.
Along with other denominational theological colleges that have a relationship with a Russell Group University, Union has a long, positive and mutually beneficial relationship with Queen’s. The recommendations of this latest review in effect belittle the oversight of external examiners from prestigious UK universities and the effectiveness of the University’s own quality assurance processes. By suggesting that students of Theology at Queen’s have not been exposed to a breadth of theological perspective runs counter to, and contradicts, the reports of external examiners for Theology at Queen’s over many years.
Not by choice, over the last number of years, Union College has become the sole provider of undergraduate degree programmes at the University. The other colleges that once made up the Institute of Theology at Queen’s - the Methodist Church’s Edgehill College, Irish Baptist College and Belfast Bible College - were for various reasons unable to continue to offer Queen’s undergraduate programmes. Union College has become the only College able to offer the full range of the Theology curriculum within the Institute.
In responding to the decision taken today, it is important to be clear on a number of areas especially the BA in Theology. Following the Strategic Review of Theology at Queen’s in 2016, members of Union College’s Faculty were proactive in contributing to the development of a new undergraduate degree programme, the BA in Theology, which widened the curriculum and met the Review’s recommendation for increased cultural and intellectual diversity. As to why Northern Ireland’s three other theological colleges found themselves unable to work with Queen’s University is, of course, an open question.
With students taking 30% of their modules in related humanities, such as Philosophy, Anthropology and others, which guaranteed that students were exposed to a variety of subjects and approaches as part of their undergraduate experience.
Recognising that Queen’s itself initiated this significant change, it is therefore, regrettable that the University initiated a further review of this programme in Sept 2018 in the very first week of its delivery and has not allowed it to run for sufficient time so that it may be appropriately monitored and evaluated.
At the same time, some of the recommendations of this current 2018 Review Panel are very speculative and totally unsubstantiated. The Review infers that a lack of diversity in the College staff and variable staff profiles “has the potential to impact negatively on the student experience”. These conclusions have no basis in fact and are not supported by student testimonials, or the University’s own monitoring procedures over many years. Is the real issue that there is no place for a Christian college linked to the Queen’s University of today?
While obviously seeking to maintain our confessional commitment and Christian ethos, the College’s goal has never been to shirk the difficult and hard questions that relate to religious faith and belief. The College continues to be actively engaged in research that extends our theological understanding of important issues in contemporary life.
Union College will consider its formal response to the Review and will continue to support, academically and pastorally, our students who have embarked on their studies.