Affiliation Agreement Bethany Theological Seminary and Earlham School of Religion
Recitals
This Agreement, a revision of the Affiliation Agreement dated August 2, 1994, is entered into this _____ day of ________________, 2000, by and among:
EARLHAM COLLEGE, a body corporate, organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Indiana and its graduate school of theology, EARLHAM SCHOOL OF RELIGION (hereinafter collectively referred to as "ESR"); and BETHANY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, an Indiana not-for-profit corporation ("Bethany");
ESR and Bethany, their respective governing boards having agreed to affiliate for the purpose of providing graduate theological education to their respective student bodies in cooperation with one another.
The relationship of affiliation is motivated by an interest in providing a learning environment for students of each school which is enriched by the proximity and cooperation of the two institutions, their faculties, students, administrations and governing boards.
ESR and Bethany each intends to maintain its individual accreditation as a graduate degree-granting institution. The physical proximity of the schools enables each to draw upon the other for resources to enhance its curriculum and broaden the opportunities available for learning and enrichment.
To facilitate the affiliation, Earlham College has leased to Bethany ground upon which Bethany has constructed a new building to house its central campus programs.
Accordingly, the parties agree as follows:
I. SHARED ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
The parties hereby agree to share certain administrative responsibilities and services for the mutual benefit of both schools as follows:
1.Academic Services: ESR will assume oversight for academic services through employment of the Coordinator of Academic Services. The Coordinator’s office, however, will be located in the Bethany Center. The Coordinator of Academic Services will report directly to the Dean of ESR, and will be accountable to the Academic Dean of Bethany. The compensation of the Coordinator of Academic Services will be recommended to the Earlham President by the Dean of ESR and the President of Bethany Seminary and will be shared equally by the two schools. A detailed position description is attached as Exhibit A to this agreement and constitutes part of this agreement.
2.Business Management: Bethany will assume oversight for the business operations of the two schools through employment of the Business Manager. The Business Manager will report directly to the President of Bethany, and will be accountable to the Dean of ESR. The compensation of the Business Manager will be recommended to the Bethany Board by the President of Bethany with the agreement of the Dean of ESR. Bethany will be responsible for 60% of this expense; the balance will be paid by ESR. A detailed position description is attached as Exhibit B to this agreement and constitutes part of this agreement.
3.Information Technology: ESR will assume oversight for information technology at the two schools through employment of the Director of Information Technology. The Director of Information Technology will report directly to the Dean of Earlham School of Religion. The Director will be also be accountable to the Director of Earlham Computing Services and to the Academic Dean of Bethany Theological Seminary. The Compensation of the Director of Information Technology will be recommended to the Earlham President by the Dean of ESR and the President of Bethany Seminary and will be shared equally by the two schools. A detailed position description is attached as Exhibit C to this agreement and constitutes part of this agreement.
4.Support Staff: Support staff for the above positions will be employed by the school in which the executive's office is located and their compensation paid by the schools on the same ratio as that of the executive unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
5.Oversight and Coordination: The President of Bethany and the Dean of ESR, in consultation with the Partnership Administrative Planning Committee (PAPC), will be responsible for oversight and coordination of the shared administrative services of the two schools, with the goal of ensuring effective and balanced administrative services to both seminaries. PAPC, the members of which include the Earlham President, the President of Bethany, the Dean of ESR, and the Academic Dean of Bethany, also serves as an oversight consultative body for shared academic services as described below and for other matters pertinent to the affiliation.
6.Expense Allocations: Budget expenses for shared administrative positions shall be allocated between the two schools in the same ratio as the compensation for these positions, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. The parties will consult with each other as needed regarding such expenses during the budget-building processes of the two schools. Each school will be responsible for funding its allocation of approved budgets.
It is the intent of the parties to allocate expenses for shared resources in an equitable manner. The allocation of expenses in this Agreement is based on the assumption that the enrollment of the two schools will be roughly equivalent. As it is anticipated that there will be fluctuations in the size of each school's student body, the parties agree to review the expense allocations included in this agreement if the enrollment of one of the schools exceeds that of the other by such a margin that the ratio of FTE enrollment exceeds a 40/60 split for two consecutive years.
For purposes of the preceding paragraph, FTE shall be defined as the total number of semester hours for which students of the school were enrolled, divided by twenty-seven (27). Such review of the expense allocation shall take into account the actual expense data available at the time as well as any reliable available projections of expense. Any changes in the expense allocation shall be made only by agreement of both parties.
7.Changes in Personnel: If any of the shared administrative positions become vacant during the term of this Agreement, the President of Bethany and the Dean of ESR will establish a search process and committee suitable to the vacant position. The final approval for appointment of the Business Manager/Treasurer shall be the responsibility of the President and Board of Bethany; of the Coordinator of Academic Services shall be a joint decision of the President of Bethany and the Dean of ESR; and of the Coordinator of Information Technology shall be a joint decision of the Director of Computing Services, the President of Bethany, and the Dean of ESR.
8.New and/or Changed Positions: Bethany and ESR may, by mutual agreement, modify the shared administrative positions described above and/or create new shared positions as changing needs and circumstances may dictate.
II. SHARED ACADEMIC SERVICES
A.Joint Academic Planning Committee: The Joint Academic Planning Committee (JAPC) is established to assure coordination of the academic programs of ESR and Bethany.
1.Membership: The JAPC shall consist of the chief academic administrator, one faculty member, and one student from each school, plus the Coordinator of Academic Services, who shall convene the Committee.
2.Responsibilities: The JAPC will plan the coordination of the academic calendar, joint curriculum development, and joint faculty development. It will also provide a forum for the faculty of either school to bring proposals that it would like to have considered by the faculties jointly. Consulting with JAPC as needed, the Coordinator of Academic Services will be responsible for administration of joint academic activities.
3.Existing Understandings: The work of the Coordinator of Academic Services and the Joint Academic Planning Committee will be guided by the following understandings regarding a common curriculum:
a. The curriculum will include core courses, advanced courses (with core courses as prerequisites), and courses independent of the core/advanced pattern.
b. Bethany and ESR core courses will be sufficiently similar that each provides the foundation necessary for access to advanced courses in both curricula. In any given year, a particular core course may only be taught at one of the schools.
c. Bethany and ESR course offerings will be packaged and scheduled in a pattern designed to allow both residential and commuter students to fulfill degree requirements within a reasonable period of time.
d. Bethany and ESR are committed to develop and teach the joint curriculum in a manner that represents and welcomes the faith perspective of each school's heritage, that encourages dialogue across confessional and cultural differences, and that prepares students for ministry in Quaker, Brethren, and other religious contexts.
e. The two schools will operate on a common academic calendar coordinated with the calendar of Earlham College. The academic year will consist of a 14-week fall semester, a 2-week January intensive, and a 14-week spring semester. The offering of early or late summer intensives shall be at the discretion of each school individually.
f. Bethany and ESR, in concert with Earlham College, will both use semester hours as the basis of determining course credits in the curriculum. Under this system, each standard course earns three semester hours of credit.
g. Students from one school may cross-register for courses offered by the other school without regard to the tuition or fee structure of the other school. To facilitate and encourage cross-registration, all courses in the joint curriculum will be listed in each school's catalog, and a joint listing of course offerings for a given term will be supplied in advance of registration.
h. Bethany and ESR will utilize a common system of evaluating student course work, which features credit/non-credit notations and brief narrative evaluations. An option for conversion of credits to letter grades will be available to students who request such for the purposes of admission to graduate schools and seeking employment.
i. Bethany and ESR will participate in each other's search processes leading to the appointment of new faculty in order to represent the curricular interests of the partner school. The manner in which the affiliate shall participate in a school's search process shall be decided by the school which is conducting the search for new faculty. The final decision for selecting and hiring a new faculty member rests with the hiring institution, and each school will respect the freedom of the other to select and integrate new faculty members.
j. ESR and Bethany will undergird the joint curriculum through a wider arena of shared life in community, including common worship, joint faculty and faculty-student meetings, jointly sponsored social events, and other connectional experiences.
B.Curricular Cost Sharing: It is the intention of the parties that each school shall assume sole responsibility for compensation of the faculty it employs. At the same time, the schools recognize the need for equitable cost sharing for the courses Bethany students take at ESR and the courses ESR students take at Bethany.
To this end, Bethany and ESR agree in principle to develop a cost-sharing formula based on the previous years' net cross-registrations. For the purposes of establishing such a formula, courses taught by ESR faculty shall be deemed to be ESR courses even if dually coded; courses taught by Bethany faculty shall be deemed to be Bethany courses even if dually coded; courses team-taught by Bethany and ESR faculty shall be omitted from the calculations. Care will be taken to ensure that the formula adopted is cost-effective for both schools, so that it encourages rather than discourages cross-registration.
C.Coordination of Faculties/Faculty Development: Faculty development is an extremely important mission of each of the schools. Each is the only graduate school of theology and ministry education for its denomination, and education in its own manner and heritage is vital to each. Both schools depend on the ability to offer an educational program specific to its denomination's tradition in order to attract and maintain the support of their denomination. Accordingly, it is agreed that:
1. Each school will, in its sole discretion, determine the size, composition and compensation of its faculty. Each school will be solely responsible for all personnel matters relating to its own faculty. Any specific agreement by the schools made from time to time to coordinate plans for the size and composition of their faculties, or set levels of compensation for faculty in consultation with one another shall not constitute a waiver of the right of each school to make such decisions independently of one another.
2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties agree to make efforts to establish diversity in academic disciplines among the two faculties and attempt to avoid duplication, except with respect to tradition-specific matters. Additionally, the parties agree to endeavor to assist each other where possible with short-term needs for teaching faculty, such as where faculty resignations or sabbaticals create vacancies. Such short-term needs will be met on a case-by-case basis, and will be accomplished through curricular cost sharing rather than by participation in paying the salary of the partner school's faculty.
III. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS
1. Maintenance of the Commons: Each school shall share equally in maintaining the Commons area between the two schools.
2. Public Statements and Descriptions: Each school will consult with the partner school when it is deemed desirable to design and issue publicity and marketing materials which describe the relationship and affiliation and specific programs thereof.
3. Other Expenses: All costs and expenses not specifically designated as shared expenses in this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of and charged to the individual school incurring the expenditure.
4. Cost of Services Provided by Earlham College: Any expenses charged to Bethany by Earlham College shall be charged at a rate consistent with charges made to ESR or other departments of the college on a non-discriminatory basis. The formula for calculating such charges will be made available upon request.
5. Indemnification: Each school hereby agrees to indemnify the other against any claims made by any third party against the other school by virtue of acts or omissions of the partner school's employees or agents. Each school hereby agrees to maintain adequate insurance to cover it for liability due to personal injury and loss occasioned while on its premises. For purposes of this Agreement, the Commons area shall be considered to be jointly owned and managed by both schools on an equal basis.
6. Modification and Termination: Each school recognizes the need for periodic review and perhaps modification of this Affiliation Agreement. The signatories agree to undertake a review of this Agreement every three years, beginning in the year 2002. This Agreement may be terminated by either party by providing notice of intent to terminate to the other. Such termination shall be effective at the end of the academic year, and shall be given at least one year prior to the effective date.
7. Entire Agreement. This constitutes the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the affiliation of the schools, and supersedes and replaces any other understandings or agreements, written or unwritten. Any changes made in the agreement must be made in writing and signed by both parties.
8. Authorized Agents. The only individuals who may bind the parties to this Agreement, make any changes, or sign the notice of termination shall be the President of Bethany Seminary and the President of Earlham College.
9. Titles and Headings: The titles and headings used throughout the Agreement are for convenience and are not intended to limit, alter or affect the meaning of the Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the day and year first above written.
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Earlham School of Religion By _____________________________ |
Bethany Theological Seminary By _____________________________ |
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Earlham College By _____________________________ |