# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2004_S225 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) HIGHER EDUCATION 225 come from donors for endowments, capital expansion, and opera- tions will soon be fiscally nonviable. The Board for Higher Education/Concordia University System Board is the duly elected program board given the responsibility and authority to determine when an institution is no longer fiscally viable. However, it is prevented from making and implementing a decision in a timely manner without the involvement of various en- tities. A program board, elected by the Synod in convention, should be able to do its business on behalf of the Synod without involving the entire Synod in convention. At best a program board should re- port its activity and accept criticism from the Synod’s Board of Di- rectors as noted in Bylaw 3.183 d 2. Until authority is granted to the BHE/CUS Board to make decisions regarding the future of an institution based on reported fiscal results, the Synod will continue to face financial risks with the operation of institutions of higher education. therefore be it Resolved, That the convention adopt the following action: Re- vise Bylaw 3.409.1 to read: PRESENF/PROPOSED WORDING 1. have authority, after receiving the consent of the Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod by its two-thirds vote and also the consent of either the Council of Presi- dents by its two-thirds vote, or the appropriate Board of Regents by its two-thirds vote, to expand, consolidate, relocate, ehange-te-e juntor-eelHese-tevel-er separate, or close a college/university from the-Syned. In the case of closure of a eehege-untversity-er semi- nary, the approval of a two-thirds majority of the Synod in con- vention is else required. Board of Regents, Concordia University, River Forest, LL; Board for Higher Education/Concordia University System 5-09 To Consolidate Concordia University System Wuereas, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod was orga- nized for the accomplishment of corporate work in the kingdom of God, including to recruit and train pastors, teachers, and other pro- fessional church workers and provide opportunity for their contin- uing growth; and WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod owns and operates the Concordia University System, consisting of many schools at many sites; and WHEREAS, Certain circumstances have led to a compromise of the effectiveness of the Concordia University System, including the following: Fiscal constraints Increased number of non-Lutheran students Decreased number of church-worker students Fiscal inability to provide faculty for few church-worker students Duplication of services Inadequate enrollments to provide a true university setting with a number of academic disciplines and colleges; and WHEREAS, The Synod needs to exercise the most efficient stew- ardship of its financial, programmatic, real property, and person- nel resources; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod direct the Board for Higher Educa- tion/Concordia University System to conduct a study for consoli- dating the Concordia University System into fewer universities; and be it further Resolved, That the Synod in convention direct the Board of Di- rectors to reallocate its assets, as necessary, to meet its Objectives in the Constitution and its financial obligations; and be it finally Resolved, That the Secretary of the District be instructed to sub- mit this resolution as an overture to the 2004 Synod convention. Montana District 5-10 To Propose Study and Plan to Provide Regional Pre-Seminary and Lutheran Teacher Training WHEREAS, One of the hallmarks of “walking together” as a Synod has been the training and certification of pastors and teach- ers for ministry throughout our Synod; and WHEREAS, Due to the rise of “competition” between the Con- cordias of the Concordia University System (CUS) for men and women for both their pre-seminary and teacher-education pro- grams—a “common” standard for said training is nonexistent; and WHEREAS, Those Concordias with few pre-seminary students and Lutheran teacher students cannot fiscally support the faculties for such programs as well as other schools with larger enrollments; therefore be it Resolved, That the Synod in convention assign the Board for Higher Education to study the possibility of limiting pre-seminary and teacher-training programs to three “regional” areas—East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast; and be it further Resolved, That this study also address the possibility of realign- ing those faculties throughout our Concordias to those three re- gional schools so that the same faculty strength can be assured at each school; and be it further Resolved, That the Board for Higher Education study and pro- pose a unified curriculum for each program, thereby assuring each school and student the same training and courses for said programs, and be it finally Resolved, That a progress report and/or proposal to go forward in this regard be given to the next Synod convention. St. John Hamlin, NY 5-11 To Delete Bylaws re Financial Management of Surplus Institutional Funds Rationale Bylaws 6.63 and 6.03 j 2 both address a time and period in the history of higher education when all operating funds for higher ed- ucation institutions were provided by the Synod Treasurer from a common pool of funding. Tuition, fees, and gifts received at an in- stitution were transferred to the Synod treasury and drawn out as needed to maintain the operation of an institution. Today, institu- tions of higher education are largely responsible for their own fi- nancing of operations, either from tuition/fees or through donor gifts. Their operations are supported by a line-of-credit through the Office of Higher Education when revenue flow subsides. Any ex- cess operating funds are pooled to maintain the line-of-credit for institutional support when needed. The manner in which business operations within the LCMS system of higher education have changed and how resources are managed must be part of an ongo- ing decision rather than a statement in a Bylaw. The BHE/CUS Campus Policy Manual will provide directives for handling cash reserves. Resolved, That Bylaws 6.63 and 6.03 j 2 be deleted from the Handbook and the responsibility for handling cash reserves be ad- dressed by the BHE/CUS Board and local Board of Regents. Board for Higher Education/ Concordia University System §-12 To Commend Our Seminaries WHEREAS, The events of Sept. 11, 2001 were unparalleled in human history, and the events that followed at the New York City “A Prayer for America” thrust our Synod into turmoil; and