Accreditation

Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, an integral part of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is fully accredited by the Maryland Higher Education Commission of the State Board of Education of Maryland, and the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The Seminary is also accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, with the following approved degree programs: M.Div., M.A. (Theology).

Concerns regarding compliance with accrediting standards may be addressed to either of the following associations:

The Commission on Accrediting of the Association of
Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
      10 Summit Park Dr.
      Pittsburgh, PA 15275-1103
      Telephone: (412) 788-6505     
      Fax: (412) 788-6510

Commission on Higher Education of
 the Middles States Association
     3624 Market St.
     Philadelphia, PA 19104-2680
     Telephone: (215) 662-5606

Mount St. Mary’s Seminary on January 4, 2007 (Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton) was affiliated with The Pontifical Faculty of Theology of the Immaculate Conception, at the Dominican House of Studies, in Washington, D.C. which is authorized to grant the first-cycle degree of Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.).  

Mount St. Mary’s Seminary's Preparation for 2015 Periodic Evaluation Visit

Mount St. Mary’s Seminary invites comments from its constituencies about the school in preparation for its periodic evaluation by its accrediting agencies. Mount St. Mary’s Seminary is currently engaging in a self-study process in preparation for a comprehensive evaluation visit in April, 2015 by committees representing The Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools and The Commission on Higher Education of the Middles States Association. The committees will review the Seminary’s ongoing ability to meet the Standards for Accreditation.

The public may submit written comments regarding the Seminary's qualifications for accreditation to:

Rev. J. Daniel Mindling
Seminary Academic Dean
Mount St. Mary’s Seminary
McSweeny Hall, Rm. 016
16300 Old Emmitsburg Rd
Emmitsburg, MD 21727-7797

Statement of Educational Effectiveness

Mount St. Mary’s Seminary provides education and formation for candidates for the Roman Catholic Priesthood. The school has developed a variety of direct and indirect measures to assess the extent to which the students are achieving the outcomes described in our catalog for the various degrees and programs they are pursuing. Faculty and Administration regularly review this data in the ongoing assessment of the educational effectiveness of the Seminary and to measure the success and timely completion of its degree and certificate programs. The following is a summary of the recent data.

Pre-Theology Certificate Program

This two-year formation program has as its purpose the preparation of candidates for entry into the theologate. The achievement of the goals of the program are measured by the formation team using direct and indirect measures of achievement in intellectual, spiritual, pastoral and human formation. 

• 91% percent of candidates who received the Certificate in 2010/11 subsequently enrolled (as of fall 2011) into graduate theological programs of priestly formation.

• 86% percent of candidates who received the Certificate in 2011/12 subsequently enrolled (as of fall 2012) into graduate theological programs of priestly formation.

Master of Arts in Philosophical Studies  (M.A.P.S.)

• Of those who matriculated in 2010, 36% have graduated as of spring 2012, 54% withdrew from the M.A.P.S. degree program (though not from the pre-theology program) and 9% retain degree completion eligibility. 

• Of those who matriculated in 2011, 12% graduated as of spring 2012, 87% retain eligibility. The graduates successfully passed the two-fold concluding exercise of a qualifying paper and comprehensive examination designed to measure student achievement of the degree program outcomes.

Master of Divinity (M.Div.)

• 81%  percent of those earning the M.Div. degree in 2010/11 were ordained Roman Catholic priests within two months of graduation. 100% of graduates received a grade of “pass” on the direct and indirect assessment tools designed to measure achievement of the degree program outcomes in intellectual, spiritual, pastoral and human formation.

• 81% percent of those earning the M.Div. degree in 2011/12 were ordained Roman Catholic priests within two months of graduation. All graduates received a grade of “pass” on the direct and indirect assessment tools designed to measure achievement of the degree program outcomes in intellectual, spiritual, pastoral and human formation.

Master of Arts (Theology)

• The 2010/11 graduates completed the capstone exercise of a three-part portfolio of directed M.A. (theology) research projects and an oral comprehensive examination designed to measure student achievement of the degree program outcomes. 75% completed the degree within 3 years of matriculation, 12.5% in 4 years, 12.5 % in 5 years. 

• The 2011/12 graduates completed the capstone exercise of a three-part portfolio of directed M.A. (theology) research projects and an oral comprehensive examination designed to measure student achievement of the degree program outcomes. 78 % of completed the degree on time, 11% failed, and 11% retain eligibility to complete in 2013. 

Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.)

This degree is offered under an affiliation agreement (approved by the Vatican Congregatio de Institutione Catholica and in keeping with the Apostolic Constitution class="apple-converted-space" Sapientia Christiana), with The Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception (at The Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C.). 
The education effectiveness of the degree program was measured by the concluding exercise, a two phase (written and oral) comprehensive examination coram professors from both institutions designed to measure student achievement of the degree program outcomes.

• In 2011/12, 100% of candidates graduated having successfully completed the concluding exercise;  50% in their first attempt, 50% in their second attempt.    

Overall Seminary Completion Rates, Ordination Curriculum

• First-year theology students, who entered as full time students in the Seminary’s ordination curriculum in the fall of 2006 and completed the overall ordination curriculum, achieved a 5-year graduation rate of 70% by May 2011.

• First-year theology students, who entered as full time students in the Seminary’s ordination curriculum in the fall of 2007 and completed the overall ordination curriculum, achieved a 5-year graduation rate of 67% by May 2012.