To: The Board of Directors at LSTC
We are Worth It: Invest In Our Future, Keep HLC
We, students and graduate students at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, aware that the board is in the midst of a conversation about LSTC’s relationship with the Higher Learning Commission, and an investigation regarding the costs and benefits of said relationship for the institution, find it appropriate and imperative to add our voice to the conversation.
As students acquiring graduate degrees, we are all too aware that the world we will be entering soon is highly competitive. We are aware that some of us will be applying sometimes even for the same jobs. In that context, we are aware that losing HLC accreditation could easily take our applications from the top of the pile down to the bottom, and for no fault of our own.
If the school drops accreditation, students lose credibility.
LSTC’s Ph.D. program is known worldwide for its quality and its global nature. Because of it, LSTC has developed some great international relationships with churches and denominations from around the world. That is why many of us are here. Many of us are international students. We understand that there is a possibility that dropping HLC could hurt our chances back home, and may force us to enter more school upon return if we are to one day teach.
As the board and staff investigate the costs and benefits, we pray that you keep in mind that the benefits of keeping HLC include us! Losing HLC would come at an incredible cost to us. It would cost us a lot. Some of us will have to transfer schools and repeat coursework if we want a more beneficial diploma. Uprooting our family and investing thousands of dollars, as we have done, will prove to have been in vain if that degree for which he had hoped is compromised in any way if it becomes worthless due to lost accreditation.
We do not want our diplomas to be worthless. We do not want our studies to have been in vain. We have invested in this school that we love, and we do not want to be sacrificed in return. If the school drops accreditation, students lose credibility. We are worth the investment. We trust that you will feel the same.
We urge you, with all sincerity, and with one voice: We are worth it. Invest in our future. Keep HLC.
With Love and Urgency,
As students acquiring graduate degrees, we are all too aware that the world we will be entering soon is highly competitive. We are aware that some of us will be applying sometimes even for the same jobs. In that context, we are aware that losing HLC accreditation could easily take our applications from the top of the pile down to the bottom, and for no fault of our own.
If the school drops accreditation, students lose credibility.
LSTC’s Ph.D. program is known worldwide for its quality and its global nature. Because of it, LSTC has developed some great international relationships with churches and denominations from around the world. That is why many of us are here. Many of us are international students. We understand that there is a possibility that dropping HLC could hurt our chances back home, and may force us to enter more school upon return if we are to one day teach.
As the board and staff investigate the costs and benefits, we pray that you keep in mind that the benefits of keeping HLC include us! Losing HLC would come at an incredible cost to us. It would cost us a lot. Some of us will have to transfer schools and repeat coursework if we want a more beneficial diploma. Uprooting our family and investing thousands of dollars, as we have done, will prove to have been in vain if that degree for which he had hoped is compromised in any way if it becomes worthless due to lost accreditation.
We do not want our diplomas to be worthless. We do not want our studies to have been in vain. We have invested in this school that we love, and we do not want to be sacrificed in return. If the school drops accreditation, students lose credibility. We are worth the investment. We trust that you will feel the same.
We urge you, with all sincerity, and with one voice: We are worth it. Invest in our future. Keep HLC.
With Love and Urgency,
Why is this important?
I and other students have a deep concern for the worth of our degrees once we receive our diplomas from LSTC. We want LSTC to be the best it can be, and we want our hard work to pay off when we go out into the academic world applying for jobs.