732. 1. There shall be in each annual conference a Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry or equivalent structure. The number of members shall be determined by the annual conference, including representation from appropriate constituencies.
2. The Annual Conference Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry or equivalent structure shall provide for the connectional relationship between the Division of Higher Education of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the conference, district, and local Church and shall provide for a ministry in higher education related to the objectives and scope of work of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the Division of Higher Education.
3. The annual conference chairperson of higher education and campus ministry shall be a member of the annual conference council on ministries.
4. The responsibilities of an annual conference board of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure include:
a) General Responsibilities.--(1) To interpret and promote the United Methodist ministries in higher education which are supported by the general Church and those specifically related to the annual conference.
(2) To recommend the policies guiding the annual conference in its program of ministry in higher education.
(3) To train and provide resources for district committees and local Church work areas of higher education and campus ministry.
(4) To apprise United Methodists of their historic commitment to and present mission in higher education.
(5) To work with the annual conference council on ministries and with districts and local churches to interpret and promote higher education ministries supported by special days and funds: Black College Fund; Hispanic, Asian, and Native Americans (HANA) Educational Ministries; United Methodist Student Day; World Communion Sunday; and other funds and special days related to higher education ordered by the General Conference or annual conference.
(6) To promote use of the United Methodist Loan Fund and to designate appropriate persons to represent the United Methodist Loan Fund on campuses, such persons normally being Wesley Foundation directors or ecumenical campus ministers supported by the annual conference; to provide the Office of Loans and Scholarships with the names and addresses of those persons; and to apprise students of alternative ways to apply for loans in the event there is no campus minister.
(7) To evaluate schools, colleges, universities, and campus ministries related to the annual conference with concern for the quality of their performance, the integrity of their mission, and their response to the missional goals of the general Church and the annual conference.
(8) To confer at once with representatives of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry to determine what resources and aid the board may be able to provide and to enable the Division of Higher Education to carry out its responsibilities in the event that any educational institution, Wesley Foundation, or other campus ministry moves to sever or modify its connection with the Church or violates the rules adopted by the division in accordance with 1516.3.
(9) To provide that two or more annual conferences may, on recommendation of their boards of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structures, join in constituting an area or regional committee or commission on higher education and campus ministry, the membership, scope, and functions of which shall be determined by the cooperating conferences, in consultation with their bishop or bishops. The area committee or commission shall include a majority of its members from the participating annual conference boards of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure with appropriate representation of college presidents, campus ministers, students, and ethnic persons.
b) Fiscal Responsibilities--In addition to its general responsibilities, the annual conference board of higher education and campus ministry shall carry out the following fiscal duties:
(1) To present to the council on ministries and then to the council on finance and administration of the annual conference the financial needs for adequate support of the schools, colleges, universities, theological schools, campus Christian movements, Wesley Foundations,67 and other campus ministries related to the annual conference for apportionment to the Churches within the conference.
(2) To determine the distribution of the funds received from undesignated gifts, returns from special days, and annual conference and district Advance specials for higher education.
(3) To establish, where appropriate, foundations or other means to ensure the ongoing support of the annual conference program of ministry in higher education.
(4) To counsel United Methodist schools, colleges, universities, and campus ministries related to the annual conference with regard to their charters and constitutions, reversionary clauses, and liability.
(5) To counsel United Methodist institutions about property and endowments entrusted to the institutions and to maintain and enforce trust and reversionary clauses in accordance with the provisions of the Division of Higher Education under 1516.3c.
(6) To monitor fiduciary and legal relationships with United Methodist schools, colleges, universities, and campus ministries and to assist annual conferences in their responsibilities in these matters.
(7) To administer the scholarship funds rebated to the annual conference by the Office of Loans and Scholarships in accordance with the guidelines of that office.
(8) To encourage the establishment of loan and scholarship funds in the annual conference and local Churches, and to administer the loan and scholarship funds of the annual conference.
c) Responsibilities with Schools, Colleges, and Universities--In addition to its general responsibilities, the annual conference board of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure shall carry out the following duties with regard to United Methodist schools, colleges, and universities.
(1) To make known to the district, subdistricts, and all local Churches the names and location of all United Methodist educational institutions and, wherever possible, provide resources interpreting their work and special missions.
(2) To assist institutions related specifically to the annual conference in their efforts to raise funds, scholarships, recruit students, and extend services to the annual conference.
(3) To assume responsibility, after consultation with the annual conference committee on nominations and the nominating committee of the institution's board of trustees, for the nomination of those trustees who are to be nominated and elected by the annual conference to the boards of trustees of United Methodist schools, colleges, and universities. In the event that the annual conference confirms or elects trustees nominated by trustee-nominating committees, to consult with those committees, having special concern for the selection of persons who will appropriately address the financial, missional, and educational progress of the institution.
(4) To provide for interpretation of the programs of United Methodist schools, colleges, and universities throughout the educational program of the annual conference, and especially in cooperation with those committees and persons responsible for youth and young adult ministries.
(5) To interpret systematically to the districts, subdistricts, and local Churches the conference program with United Methodist schools, colleges, and universities, encouraging their support and participation.
(6) To represent the annual conference in its relationship to United Methodist schools, colleges, and universities, especially those related to the annual conference.
d) Responsibilities with Campus Ministries--In addition to the general responsibilities listed above, the annual conference board of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure shall have the following responsibilities with regard to campus ministry:
(1) To have available the names and addresses of all campus ministries supported by The United Methodist Church, and to supply the names and addresses of campus ministries supported by the annual conference to all districts and local Churches.
(2) To ensure representation of the annual conference board or equivalent structure on the boards of all campus ministries supported by the annual conference.
(3) To interpret systematically to the districts, subdistricts, and local Churches the conference program of campus ministry as a ministry to the whole campus (students, faculty, staff, and administration), encouraging their support, and urging United Methodist students of all ages to participate.
(4) To hold the Wesley Foundation board of directors responsible for the direction and administration of the foundation in accordance with the policies and objectives of the annual conference board of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure and the standards of the Division of Higher Education of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
(5) To ensure that the Wesley Foundation board is related functionally and cooperatively to the United Methodist local Church or Churches in the immediate vicinity of the college or university and to the council on ministries or other organization of the district in which it is located.
(6) To determine whether or not Wesley Foundation boards, when incorporated, may hold property and to ensure such property is held and administered according to The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church and of the laws of the state in which the foundation is located.
(7) To determine the policies for nomination and election by the annual conference of Wesley Foundation boards of directors.
(8) To determine, in consultation with local boards, the personnel needs of Wesley Foundations, to establish procedures for selection and termination of professional staff, and to consult with the bishop and Cabinet when securing the appointment of ministerial staff members.
(9) To establish and review covenants and agreements for ecumenical campus ministry and to ensure that they are in harmony with the policies, standards, and goals of the Division of Higher Education and the annual conference board of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure.
(10) To oversee the management of the annual conference program of campus ministry in Wesley Foundations, local churches, and ecumenical campus ministries; to determine where new campus ministries are needed, and to plan for their establishment and financial support.
(11) To provide resources for local Churches and districts with programs of ministry with students or to campuses, and, where those programs receive financial support from or are designated as ministries on behalf of the annual conference, to ensure that the policies, standards, and goals of the conference board of higher education and campus ministry or equivalent structure are observed.
e) Public Policy--In addition to its general responsibilities, the annual conference board of higher education and campus ministry shall have the following duties with regard to public policy and relationships to the state:
(1) To provide counsel, guidance, and assistance to United Methodist schools, colleges, universities, and campus ministries within the annual conference regarding their relationships to the state.
(2) To interact with public higher education as it reflects on the wholeness of persons and the meaning of life.
(3) To identify and work with the annual conference, church-related colleges, and campus ministries on issues of public policy that bear on higher education, such as issues bearing on access, equity, academic freedom, peace, and justice.
67See Judicial Council Decision 191.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 732
1996 United Methodist General Conference