¶ 632. 1.
There shall be in each annual conference a board of higher education and
campus ministry or equivalent structure to provide for these functions and
maintain the connectional relationships. The number of members shall be
determined by the annual conference, including representation from appropriate
constituencies.
2. The annual conference board of
higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure shall provide for
the connectional relationship between the Division of Higher Education of the
General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the conference, district, and
local church and shall provide for a ministry in higher education related to the
objectives and scope of work of the General Board of Higher Education and
Ministry and the Division of Higher Education. A person serving as a member of
the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry from that annual conference
shall, by virtue of his or her office, be a member of the conference board of
higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure (see
¶¶ 607.6 and 710.5).
3. The annual conference
chairperson of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure
shall be a member of the annual conference council on
ministries.
4. The responsibilities of an
annual conference board of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent
structure include:
a) General
Responsibilities--(1) To interpret and promote the United Methodist
ministries in higher education that are supported by the general Church and
those specifically related to the annual conference.
(2) To recommend the policies
guiding the annual conference in its program of ministry in higher
education.
(3) To train and provide
resources for district committees and local church ministry areas of higher
education and campus ministry.
(4) To apprise United Methodists
of their historic commitment to and present mission in higher
education.
(5) To work with the annual
conference council on ministries and with districts and local churches to
interpret and promote higher education ministries supported by special days and
funds: Black College Fund; Hispanic, Asian, and Native Americans (HANA)
Educational Ministries; United Methodist Student Day; World Communion Sunday;
and other funds and special days related to higher education ordered by the
General Conference or annual conference.
(6) To promote use of the United
Methodist Loan Fund and to designate appropriate persons to represent the United
Methodist Loan Fund on campuses, such persons normally being Wesley Foundation
directors or ecumenical campus ministers supported by the annual conference; to
provide the Office of Loans and Scholarships with the names and addresses of
those persons; and to apprise students of alternative ways to apply for loans in
the event there is no campus minister.
(7) To evaluate schools,
colleges, universities, and campus ministries related to the annual conference,
with concern for the quality of their performance, the integrity of their
mission, and their response to the missional goals of the general Church and the
annual conference.
(8) To confer at once with
representatives of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry to
determine what resources and aid the board may be able to provide and to enable
the Division of Higher Education to carry out its responsibilities in the event
that any educational institution, Wesley Foundation, or other campus ministry
moves to sever or modify its connection with the Church or violates the rules
adopted by the division in accordance with ¶ 1416.3.
(9) To provide that two or more
annual conferences may, on recommendation of their boards of higher education
and campus ministry or equivalent structures, join in constituting an area or
regional committee or commission on higher education and campus ministry, the
membership, scope, and functions of which shall be determined by the cooperating
conferences in consultation with their bishop or bishops. The area committee or
commission shall include a majority of its members from the participating annual
conference boards of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent
structure with appropriate representation of college presidents, campus
ministers, students, and ethnic persons.
b) Fiscal
Responsibilities--In addition to its general responsibilities, the annual
conference board of higher education and campus ministry shall carry out the
following fiscal duties:
(1) To present to the council on
ministries and then to the council on finance and administration of the annual
conference the financial needs for adequate support of the schools, colleges,
universities, theological schools, campus Christian movements, Wesley
Foundations,75
and other campus ministries related to the annual conference for apportionment
to the churches within the conference.
[FTN] 75. See Judicial
Council Decision 191.
(2) To determine the distribution
of the funds received from undesignated gifts, returns from special days, and
annual conference and district Advance Specials for higher
education.
(3) To establish, where
appropriate, foundations or other means to ensure the ongoing support of the
annual conference program of ministry in higher education.
(4) To counsel United Methodist
schools, colleges, universities, and campus ministries related to the annual
conference with regard to their charters and constitutions, reversionary
clauses, and liability.
(5) To counsel United Methodist
institutions about property and endowments entrusted to the institutions and to
maintain and enforce trust and reversionary clauses in accordance with the
provisions of the Division of Higher Education under ¶
1416.3c.
(6) To monitor fiduciary and
legal relationships with United Methodist schools, colleges, universities, and
campus ministries and to assist annual conferences in their responsibilities in
these matters.
(7) To administer the scholarship
funds rebated to the annual conference by the Office of Loans and Scholarships
in accordance with the guidelines of that office.
(8) To encourage the
establishment of loan and scholarship funds in the annual conference and local
churches and to administer the loan and scholarship funds of the annual
conference.
c) Responsibilities
with Schools, Colleges, and Universities--In addition to its general
responsibilities, the annual conference board of higher education and campus
ministry or equivalent structure shall carry out the following duties with
regard to United Methodist schools, colleges, and
universities:
(1) To make known to the
district, subdistricts, and all local churches the names and location of all
United Methodist educational institutions and, wherever possible, provide
resources interpreting their work and special missions.
(2) To assist institutions
related specifically to the annual conference in their efforts to raise funds,
scholarships, recruit students, and extend services to the annual
conference.
(3) To assume responsibility,
after consultation with the annual conference committee on nominations and the
nominating committee of the institution's board of trustees, for the nomination
of those trustees who are to be nominated and elected by the annual conference
to the boards of trustees of United Methodist schools, colleges, and
universities. In the event that the annual conference confirms or elects
trustees nominated by trustee-nominating committees, to consult with those
committees, having special concern for the selection of persons who will
appropriately address the financial, missional, and educational progress of the
institution.
(4) To provide for interpretation
of the programs of United Methodist schools, colleges, and universities
throughout the educational program of the annual conference, especially in
cooperation with those committees and persons responsible for youth and young
adult ministries.
(5) To interpret systematically
to the districts, subdistricts, and local churches the conference program with
United Methodist schools, colleges, and universities, encouraging their support
and participation.
(6) To represent the annual
conference in its relationship to United Methodist schools, colleges, and
universities, especially those related to the annual
conference.
d) Responsibilities
with Campus Ministries--In addition to the general responsibilities listed
above, the annual conference board of higher education and campus ministry or
equivalent structure shall have the following responsibilities with regard to
campus ministry:
(1) To have available the names
and addresses of all campus ministries supported by The United Methodist Church
and to supply the names and addresses of campus ministries supported by the
annual conference to all districts and local churches.
(2) To ensure representation of
the annual conference board or equivalent structure on the boards of all campus
ministries supported by the annual conference.
(3) To interpret systematically
to the districts, subdistricts, and local churches the conference program of
campus ministry as a ministry to the whole campus (students, faculty, staff, and
administration), encouraging their support and urging United Methodist students
of all ages to participate.
(4) To hold the Wesley Foundation
board of directors responsible for the direction and administration of the
foundation in accordance with the policies and objectives of the annual
conference board of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure
and the standards of the Division of Higher Education of the General Board of
Higher Education and Ministry.
(5) To ensure that the Wesley
Foundation board is related functionally and cooperatively to the United
Methodist local church or churches in the immediate vicinity of the college or
university and to the council on ministries or other organization of the
district in which it is located.
(6) To determine whether or not
Wesley Foundation boards, when incorporated, may hold property and to ensure
such property is held and administered according to The Book of
Discipline of The United Methodist Church and the laws of the state
in which the foundation is located.
(7) To determine the policies for
nomination and election by the annual conference of Wesley Foundation boards of
directors.
(8) To determine, in consultation
with local boards, the personnel needs of Wesley Foundations; to establish
procedures for selection and termination of professional staff; and to consult
with the bishop and cabinet when securing the appointment of ministerial staff
members.
(9) To establish and review
covenants and agreements for ecumenical campus ministry and to ensure that they
are in harmony with the policies, standards, and goals of the Division of Higher
Education and the annual conference board of higher education and campus
ministry or equivalent structure.
(10) To oversee the management of
the annual conference program of campus ministry in Wesley Foundations, local
churches, and ecumenical campus ministries; to determine where new campus
ministries are needed, and to plan for their establishment and financial
support.
(11) To provide resources for
local churches and districts with programs of ministry with students or to
campuses and, where those programs receive financial support from or are
designated as ministries on behalf of the annual conference, to ensure that the
policies, standards, and goals of the conference board of higher education and
campus ministry or equivalent structure are observed.
(12) To establish the procedures
for the nomination and election of United Methodist college students as lay
members to annual conference.
e) Public Policy--In
addition to its general responsibilities, the annual conference board of higher
education and campus ministry shall have the following duties with regard to
public policy and relationships to the state:
(1) To provide counsel, guidance,
and assistance to United Methodist schools, colleges, universities, and campus
ministries within the annual conference regarding their relationships to the
state.
(2) To interact with public
higher education as it reflects on the wholeness of persons and the meaning of
life.
(3) To identify and work with the
annual conference, church-related colleges, and campus ministries on issues of
public policy that bear on higher education, such as issues bearing on access,
equity, academic freedom, peace, and justice.