Accreditation


St. Mark’s College was chartered to offer theological degrees by the legislature of the Province of British Columbia in 1956, with the passage of the St. Mark’s Act.
 
The College’s programs are recognized by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver (RCAV) and the Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese (CISVA), and have been assessed as ATS-equivalent by the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education (CAPPE). The College is a member of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities of Canada (ACCUC).

Association of Theological Schools (ATS)



St. Mark’s Accreditation Re-Affirmed by the Board of Commissioners of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS)


We are pleased to announce that the accreditation for St. Mark’s College has been affirmed for another 10 years until March 31, 2033, by the Board of Commissioners of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS). 

This decision comes as the culmination of an institutional self-study, and an October 2022 evaluation visit by an ATS accreditation committee. Included in this re-accreditation is ongoing permission for Comprehensive Distance Education.

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St. Mark's College is accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools.

The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
The Commission on Accrediting

10 Summit Park Drive
Pittsburgh PA 15275-1110

Telephone: 412-788-6505

The following degree programs are approved by the Commission on Accrediting:
  • Master of Arts in Religious Education
  • Master in Catholic Educational Leadership
  • Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies
  • Master of Arts (Theological Studies)

About the ATS

The mission of the Association of Theological Schools is to promote the improvement and enhancement of theological schools to the benefit of communities of faith and the broader public.

“More than 270 graduate schools of theology in the United States and Canada form The Association of Theological Schools. Member schools conduct post-baccalaureate professional and academic degree programs to educate persons for the practice of ministry and for teaching and research in the theological disciplines. These schools differ from one another in deep and significant ways, but through their membership in ATS, they demonstrate a commitment to shared values about what constitutes good theological education.

Membership is open to schools located in the United States and Canada that offer graduate theological degrees, are demonstrably engaged in educating professional leadership for communities of the Christian and Jewish faiths, and meet the standards and criteria for membership established by the Association. The current member schools, numbering more than 270, include Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox graduate schools of theology that reflect a broad spectrum of doctrinal, ecclesiastical, and theological perspectives."
Information from the ATS website

ATS Educational Effectiveness Statement

St. Mark’s College is committed to promoting an authentic Christian humanism, marked by the pursuit of academic excellence and animated by a joy of searching for, discovering, and communicating truth and meaning in every field of knowledge. We engage students in the integration and synthesis of faith and reason so as to return them to society charged with a commitment to think rigorously, to act justly and to serve faithfully.

Steeped in the richness of the Catholic intellectual tradition, we are a place of community, study, prayer and dialogue. We provide diverse graduate degrees, diplomas and certificates as well as relevant opportunities for Continuing Education, all through an approach emphasizing intimate class sizes, accessible faculty, flexible delivery and student engagement. These include a host of degrees and certificates for teachers, ministerial leaders, administrators, social service workers and other professionals that take place in a learning environment conducive to thoughtful discussion and inquiry into the central questions challenging humanity. Grounded in the message of the Christian Gospel, we welcome and encourage diversity, and are accepting of all people travelling on the journeys that are life and faith.

Our distinctive vision of higher education is marked by an emphasis on the pursuit of academic, personal and professional goals, while encouraging the members of our community to a deep commitment to addressing the challenges and opportunities of our times. This is the vision expressed by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council in the Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes:

The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men (and women) of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts… United in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit in their journey to the Kingdom of their Father and they have welcomed the news of salvation which is meant for everyone.

Values

Academic Excellence – emphasizing the importance of inquiry, dialogue and research, and supportive of the specific educational goals - academic, professional or ministerial, of our students.

Stewardship - the need to continually renew and recommit ourselves to the message of Christianity and, in the best spirit of the Second Vatican Council, to be in constant dialogue with the world so as to best understand how to relate that message to the needs of today.

Community - understood according to the early Christian term koinonia, and emphasizing the importance of caring, mercy and compassion at the heart of all that we live as students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Leadership - acknowledging our commitment to forming women and men of character, who, faithful to Christian Truth, strive to improve their workplaces and communities through their commitment to the need for equity, social justice and hope.

Academic Freedom - as the meeting place of faith and reason, we value the importance of unfettered inquiry and freedom of conscience for both students and faculty, fully cognizant of the saving Truth revealed for us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Education Quality Assurance

St. Mark's College is an Education Quality Assurance (EQA) designated institution. The designation is awarded to public and private institutions in B.C. that meet or exceed quality assurance standards set by the province of B.C.. Learn more



Monitoring and enforcement: The province of B.C., through the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training, is responsible for:

    Establishing EQA designation policy
    Setting and enforcing QA standards
    Granting permission for institutions to use the EQA designation mark
    Granting or revoking designation





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