# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_2023_S179
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

7. UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
University System may at its option replace any member
so disqualified or continue with the reduced visitation
team.
(i) Concordia University System, with the assistance of
its Institution Advisory Council, shall provide training
for members of visitation teams, according to policies
established by Concordia University System.
(j) Direct costs of the visitation process shall be borne
by the institution visited, regulated according to a
schedule devised, after input from the Institution
Advisory Council, and published triennially by
Concordia University System.
and be it further
Resolved, That Bylaws 3.3.1.1.1 (c) and 3.3.1.2 (a) be
amended to clarify the relationship of the President’s official
visitation with that of CUS as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Powers and Duties – Ecclesiastical
3.3.1.1
As the chief ecclesiastical officer of the Synod, the
President shall supervise the doctrine taught and practiced
in the Synod, including all synodwide corporate entities.
3.3.1.1.1 The President of the Synod has ecclesiastical
supervision of all officers of the Synod and its agencies, the
individual districts of the Synod, and all district presidents.
…
(c) He shall at regular intervals officially visit or cause to
be visited all the educational institutions of the Synod to
exercise supervision over the doctrine taught and
practiced in those institutions.
(1) With regard to Synod’s colleges and universities,
regular visitation shall be conducted through the
Concordia University System as described in Bylaw
3.6.6.4 and following.
(2) He may in addition and at any time specially visit
or cause to be visited any educational institution of
the Synod to exercise his ecclesiastical supervision.
…
Powers and Duties – Administrative
3.3.1.2
The President shall oversee the activities of all
officers, executives, and agencies of the Synod to see to it
that they are acting in accordance with the Constitution,
Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod.
(a) He shall at regular intervals officially visit or cause to
be visited all the educational institutions of the Synod
and thereby exercise oversight over their administration
as it relates to adherence to the Constitution, Bylaws,
and resolutions of the Synod.
(1) With regard to Synod’s colleges and universities,
regular visitation shall be conducted through the
Concordia University System as described in Bylaw
3.6.6.4 and following.
(2) He may in addition and at any time specially visit
or cause to be visited any educational institution of
the Synod to exercise his administrative oversight.
…
and be it further
Resolutions

Resolved, That CUS shall, no later than Sept. 1, 2024, on the
basis of the Lutheran Identity Statement adopted in 2016 Res.
7-01A and draft materials presented to the convention (see
Report LR69, TB, 1:40–47) and after input from its Institution
Advisory Council, release the first operational edition of the
institutional Lutheran Identity and Mission Outcomes
Standards; and be it further
Resolved, That CUS shall, no later than Sept. 1, 2024, after
input from its Institution Advisory Council, release the first
edition of uniform standards for the commissioned ministry
and pre-seminary programs offered by Synod colleges and
universities; and be it further
Resolved, That Synod affirmation be granted herewith to
Concordia University Chicago; Concordia University, Irvine;
Concordia University, Nebraska; Concordia University, St.
Paul; and Concordia University Wisconsin/Ann Arbor and
their presently approved ministry programs, with a summary
of the report of the first visitation and reaffirmation process
for each institution and program to be prepared and available
to the Synod not later than 20 weeks prior to its 2026
convention; and be it further
Resolved, That the CUS and its universities be instructed
to make every effort to complete the process of development,
reaffirmation, and reporting as scheduled, with the
understanding that the initial implementation is the first step
in a developmental process; and be it further
Resolved, That in order to account for the possibility that a
school or church work program could be disaffirmed as the
result of a negative visitation, Bylaws 2.8.1–2 be amended as
follows to become Bylaws 2.8.1–4 (including the division of
existing Bylaw 2.8.2 into Bylaws 2.8.2–2.8.3 and the addition
of Bylaw 2.8.4) to clarify that only LCMS faculty of colleges
and universities currently affirmed by the Synod have the
authority to declare church workers qualified for rostered
service within the Synod, and then only within programs so
affirmed by the Synod:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
2.8.1
Candidates shall be declared qualified for first
calls.
(a) They are those who before the effective date of the
first calls will have satisfactorily completed the
prescribed courses of studies and will have received
diplomas from their respective educational institutions
seminaries of the Synod or in Synod-affirmed programs
of colleges or universities of the Synod, or have fulfilled
the requisites of a colloquy or other approved education
program of the Synod (Bylaws 2.7.2 and 2.7.3).
…
2.8.2
It shall be the responsibility of the Synod’s colloquy
committees or, subject to the policies of the Colloquy
Committee for Commissioned Ministry and within
programs for which their respective institutions are
currently affirmed by the Synod, the faculties of
educational institutions of the Synod Synod colleges and
universities to declare colloquy candidates qualified for
first calls.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION | 179