A significant goal for FTC in recent years has been to achieve accreditation for two of the three levels of its academic programs from the Association of Christian Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA). African colleges and universities with a broader range of academic programs often seek their accreditation from the ministries of education in their countries, but it is a great advantage for theological colleges in Africa to be accredited by ACTEA. The staff members and volunteers who manage the accreditation process for ACTEA are all seasoned theological educators and fully understand the mission and purposes of theological colleges. An affiliate of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa, this organization understands and supports the mission of FTC in preparing men and women for pastoral ministry and church leadership.
FTC has progressed through the various stages toward accreditation. The process began with “Correspondent” status, during which the college began to acquaint itself with the accreditation process and benefitted from numerous opportunities for networking with the personnel from other theological colleges. The next level of accreditation is called the Affiliate status, granted when an ACTEA staff member has visited the college and concluded that the college has a reasonable chance to achieve accreditation in the future. The more active part of the process began for FTC in early 2014, when it applied for and was granted Candidate status. Theological colleges are allowed up to four years for the completion of an extensive self-evaluation process, culminating in the submission of a Self Evaluation Report (SER). FTC submitted the first draft of its SER in April, 2017 and the final version in June, 2017. In the next stage of the process, the ACTEA Visitation Team came to the Kaimosi campus in September 2017 to take a careful look at our programmes and facilities. The visit will be followed by a number of internal review processes, culminating in a decision by ACTEA’s governing board regarding FTC’s accreditation. The accrediting process is focusing on FTC’s diploma and bachelor’s degree programmes, since ACTEA does not accredit certificate programmes. In other words, FTC’s certificate programmes are not eligible for accreditation, but will benefit from the broader review FTC has been receiving.
FTC will benefit in a number of ways if ACTEA grants accreditation for its diploma and degree programmes. FTC students who at some point might wish to enroll in post-graduate programmes would be able to do so if they could meet the other expectations of that university or college. Students considering enrollment in FTC will find that it is important that FTC has achieved a continent-wide standard of quality. Finally, those considering giving financial support to FTC will find it important for the college to have achieved this important recognition of quality.
For further information about ACTEA’s accreditation process, see their web site: acteaweb.org