Australian College of Theology
| Australian College of Theology | |
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| Established | 1891 |
| Type | Theological consortium |
| Location | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Website | www.actheology.edu.au |
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The Australian College of Theology (ACT) is an Australian theological education provider. The college was one of the first Australian non-university providers to offer an accredited bachelor's degree and a research doctorate. Over 15,000 people have graduated since the foundation of the college, one-third of these in the last decade. It is a company limited by guarantee (as of September 2007).
The Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, the Most Reverend Phillip Aspinall, the Archbishop of Brisbane, presides as chairman at a general meeting of the Australian College of Theology Limited. The Most Reverend Philip Freier, the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, served as the chair of the directors from 2002 until May 2008. His successor is Emeritus Professor David Barr AM.
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[edit] History
The college was established by the 1891 General Synod of the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania. The college was founded in order to provide for the "systematic study of divinity", especially among clergy and ordination candidates, there being no realistic opportunities for them to earn a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree at English universities.
The ACT is a national consortium of affiliated colleges with 19 theological and Bible colleges approved to deliver its accredited courses. About 1200 equivalent full-time students (including 90 international students), or 2500 individual students and research candidates are enrolled in courses.
On 12 November 2004 the delegate of the Minister for Education, Science and Training approved the college as a higher education provider (HEP) under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth). This approval took effect in March 2005. As a HEP, the ACT administers the FEE-HELP programme, by which students enrolled in accredited higher education courses of the ACT may receive an income contingent loan for their tuition fees.
In addition, as a HEP under the Higher Education Support Act, the ACT was required to undergo a quality audit conducted by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA). In November 2006 the college was the first non self-accrediting HEP to be so audited. The AUQA Audit Report was completed in January 2007 and publicly released on the AUQA website in February 2007.[1][2]
In July 2010 the college received self-accrediting authority under the terms of the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes. This authority must be reviewed by 30 April 2015. The college is the first institution to be awarded self-accrediting status under the protocols. This means that the college can accredit its own courses in theology and ministry within the scope of the self-accrediting authority specified by the Department of Education and Training in New South Wales.[3]
[edit] Affiliated colleges
- Anglican Youthworks, New South Wales
- Bible College of South Australia, South Australia
- Crossway College, Queensland
- Laidlaw College, Auckland, New Zealand
- Malyon College, Queensland
- Mary Andrews College, New South Wales
- Melbourne School of Theology, Victoria
- Morling College, New South Wales
- Presbyterian Theological Centre, New South Wales
- Presbyterian Theological College, Victoria
- Queensland Theological College, Queensland
- Reformed Theological College, Victoria
- Ridley Melbourne – Mission & Ministry College, Victoria
- School of Christian Studies, New South Wales (associated with Macquarie University)
- Sunshine Coast Theological College, Queensland
- Sydney Missionary and Bible College, New South Wales
- Trinity Theological College, Western Australia
- Vose Seminary, Western Australia
[edit] Courses
The accredited higher education courses have grown from the Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree, first accredited in 1975 and the research degree of Master of Theology (MTh) in 1976. The Master of Arts (Theology) (MA[Th]) degree was added in 1988. 1992 saw the accreditation of the Bachelor of Ministry (BMin) degree — the first of several coursework degrees in theology with a ministry major. The Doctor of Ministry (DMin), a doctorate modelled on Australian university professional doctorates and North American Doctor of Ministry degrees, was first accredited in 1998.
The courses of the college are accredited by the Director-General of the New South Wales Department of Education and Training under the Higher Education Act 2001 (NSW). These courses are mutually recognised by all the other states under the terms of an agreement of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) to recognise higher education courses accredited in the provider’s host state, which in the college’s case is New South Wales.
- Diploma of Theology
- Advanced Diploma of Theology
- Diploma of Ministry
- Advanced Diploma of Ministry
- Associate Degree of Theology
- Bachelor of Theology
- Bachelor of Theology (Honours)
- Bachelor of Ministry
- Bachelor of Ministry (Honours)
- Bachelor of Christian Studies
- Graduate Certificate of Divinity
- Graduate Diploma of Divinity
- Master of Divinity
- Graduate Certificate of Theology
- Graduate Diploma of Theology
- Master of Arts (Theology)
- Graduate Certificate of Ministry
- Graduate Diploma of Ministry
- Master of Arts (Ministry)
- Graduate Certificate of Christian Studies
- Graduate Diploma of Christian Studies
- Master of Arts (Christian Studies)
- Master of Theology
- Doctor of Ministry
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Doctor of Theology
[edit] Notable alumni
- Philip Edgecumbe Hughes, New Testament scholar, Professor at Westminster Theological Seminary
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 33°52′24″S 151°12′16″E / 33.8732°S 151.2045°E
