The General Assembly also heard the College’s detailed response to the QUB Review and the events that led up to April’s decision. These were contained in a detailed and robust report to the Assembly to enable members to be fully aware of what had taken place.
The report concluded by saying that the Review had been ‘based on a flawed and confused review process that did not permit engagement on the substantial issues; lacks supporting evidence for its claims and conclusions [and] did not adequately or respectfully include Union College in its consultations.
The management of Union Theological College is undertaken by the Union Theological College Management Committee, with general and strategic oversight given by the PCI’s Council for Training in Ministry. Addressing the General Assembly, Council Convener, Rev Nigel McCullough, acknowledged that it had been a difficult year. He said that, “We do not believe that the decision to sever the link was arrived at after a full and robust review process.”
Mr McCullough explained that when the 4 other colleges involved in the Institute of Theology stepped back from involvement in teaching undergraduates, Queens conducted a Strategic Review in 2016. A central concern then, was the ability of a single college to deliver a sufficiently diverse undergraduate degree programme. “Union College worked with the University at that time and the agreed solution was a BA in Theology, which comprised 70% Union modules and 30% modules drawn from other Queens departments. This programme was due to commence in September 2018, and indeed it did, and it was the agreed solution to the diversity concern,” he said.
The Review that came in 2018, “was entirely unexpected, considering the fact that the BA in Theology had not even begun…We feel that no review would have taken place were it not for the reaction to last year’s Assembly,” Mr McCullough said.
He was referring to the intense reporting and public comment that followed some of the decisions taken at the 2018 General Assembly. The Convenor also told the General Assembly that as a major stakeholder, no opportunity was given to the College to respond to the report, or its conclusions, before key decisions were taken by the university. This included suspending student intake for September 2019 and the withdrawal of all future undergraduate and post graduate programmes.
The College report adds that, ‘The ending of the relationship is highly regrettable but the Council and the College are committed to ending it well. While the adjustments to be made are significant, the Council is in no doubt that an exciting future for the College lies ahead.”
In looking to the future, the General Assembly also heard that the College was developing its student base through online and campus based courses, through the introduction of 10 new courses, with 7 being fully online in September. The courses, in a variety of subjects, will be at Master’s degree level, as well as graduate and postgraduate certificate and diploma level. A PhD will also be offered.
The Council’s report also states that the ‘potential to develop this work is significant and this could prove to be great resource for the global church as well as having the potential to provide income for the college.’
In December 2018 a Review Task Group was set up by PCI to review the options for the college, the training of ministers and what financial savings might be made. To enable this and to look at a range of options for the future, specific resolutions will be put to the General Assembly by the General Council tomorrow.
The questions, discussion and debate on the Council for Training in Ministry’s report, lasted over two hours and covered a wide range of other important areas of its work. These included the development of online teaching, pastoral care of ministers and their families and more flexible pathways to the ordained ministry.
The Council also has responsibility of looking after all aspects of selection, training and ongoing development of ministers. In addition, it selects, trains and develops auxiliary ministers, accredited preachers and deaconesses, who in turn serve in congregations and communities across Ireland.
During the course of the afternoon’s session, the General Assembly accepted 13 candidates as students for the ordained ministry, which represents a significant increase in ministry students for September 2019.
You can read the the Supplementary Reports to the General Assembly, which contains the report of the Union Theological College Management Committee and its response to the review (pages S15 to S27) here.
Other business was also before the General Assembly. For further details, click here.
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Tomorrow is the last day of the 2019 General Assembly. Public business commences at 10am and will close at 1.30pm.