# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S471
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Report of Board for Higher Education : 471

equ ely in the Lutheran tradition, with great stress on the
‘Classical. languages, and based on an integrated preparatory
Ege ‘ool. cqurse-under church auspices; the other, conforming to
“the current sectarian elimination of primary stress on the
exegetical languages, and based.on a mosaic of widely differing
public high school educations, often filled with wholly irrelevant °
courses.

In) 1941 the Springfield authorities entered. a strong plea with
‘Synod .for an additional year, so that they might more ade-
‘quately train the type of student who now enters their semi-.
‘nary. The final paragraph of their report reads:

Since additional time is.needed at this institution for the fuller
ion in religion and in.the languages, it would seem advisable
ynod to discontinue the two high school years and to lengthen
one year the period of time allotted to our present curriculum
“we may intensify the religion and language instruction to which
2 erence has just been made.” (Proceedings, Thirty-eighth Regular
\onvention, Fort Wayne, Ind., 1941, page 43.)

Without commenting on the. validity of this request, it should be
Epointed out that such extension of the Springfield curriculum would
entirely eliminate the time differentials in the training provided by

the two systems, Springfield and St. Louis. The Springfield Seminary
f4iwould then have a four-year college course. The fourth year of this
‘qurse would be theological seminary type work. Since. it is an
iccepted practice in American education to assign liberal arts credit
efor the fourth year of college work even though it be highly profes-

sional, the institution would then be in a position to award the B.A.
degree. Two additional. years of seminary work beyond the college
would give a total of three years of theological training.

. In spite of our best intentions, we are often powerless to stem
the overwhelming force of circumstances. There is every reason to
suppose that if an additional year is granted, the B.A. degree award
would become a reality. Circumstances already impel the institution
in that direction. The Springfield graduates are frequently called
iipon to teach in elementary schools. The B.A. degree is becoming
more and more necessary for teacher certification, Furthermore, the
institution itself recognizes the trend by designating its: courses as
college freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior.

.. Once the B.A. degree is awarded, the next inevitable step would
. be student pressure for recognition of the three. years of theological
work by a B.D. degree. Nor is it visionary to suppose that this, in
‘turn, might eventually lead to the M.S.T. award. '

Next in the sequence of events, as experience indicates, would be
the validation of the B.A. and B.D. degrees with the accrediting agen-
cies. The current accreditation standards require among other things
:.the separation of the liberal arts division from the professional school. :
’ Consequently, two separate faculties of specific size and competence
- would need to be set up. Accreditation standards, likewise, require