KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
In his first time addressing the student body since Master’s University was placed on probation by their accrediting association, President John MacArthur called a number of allegations against the school “untrue” and an example of “persecution.”
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The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) sent out an Accreditation Visit Team (AVT) from their Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) to review the educational and administrative practices of the school back in March.
At the first chapel of the university’s academic year on Aug. 27, MacArthur addressed the assembled student body, according to two students who wish to remain anonymous.
Students said that in addition to “playing down” the WSCUC report, MacArthur went on to call a number of the allegations made against the school “untrue” and “surprising.”
The WSCUC report said that the board does not meet the requirement for governing board independence standards since “many” board members are employed by the institution or another organization for which the president has authority, making it so “board members cannot independently evaluate a chief executive officer to whom they report.”
Calling those issues related to the board “logistical or procedural problems,” MacArthur said that school administrators were addressing those concerns, but did not specify exactly how or what they were addressing, according to the students.
However, WSCUC President Jamienne S. Studley said the issues relating to board independence and the way in which Master’s University has set up their board is not just a “procedural issue.”
“Ms. Studley said the issues of board independence and responsibility are not merely procedural or logistical,” said a spokesperson for WSCUC in a follow-up email.
Furthermore, MacArthur did not specify which of the allegations he was calling “untrue,” and he did not specifically address the other issues that the AVT reportedly found, including: alleged conflicts of interest regarding student financial aid; staff without qualifications for their positions; MacArthur’s son-in-law allegedly overseeing a contract from which he benefited from; how the institution handles reported rape cases; or “a climate of fear, intimidation, bullying and uncertainty” among staff and faculty members.
In reference to these allegations, MacArthur told students, “As Paul said to the Corinthians, ‘There are many adversaries’ as you advance the Gospel, (and) as you advance the name of Christ, it’s never going to be easy… The scripture says all who are godly in this present age will suffer persecution, and that kind of goes along with it.”
Additionally, MacArthur stated that the claims made against the school were sent to an anonymous email run by the AVT so that people can “complain” about the school and “do it in an anonymous way,” according to MacArthur.
People in attendance noted MacArthur seemed “dismissive” of the emails because, as he said during the address, there were “only 40 complaints” filed out of the 15,000 people that were given access to the email.
“That’s a fairly minuscule number,” MacArthur said. “I was really surprised there wasn’t 100 complaints.”
But, according to Studley, the anonymous email account that is set up per standard procedure for any school the AVT visits generally averages a far lower number than 40.
“We received more than 35 messages to a confidential email address in response to our request for comments and concerns about The Master’s University and Seminary,” said Studley. “A typical response for an institution under review would be about five messages.”
Additionally, while the number of complaints sent to the anonymous email was already considered high, that number does not include the allegations that were made during the in-person staff and faculty interviews conducted by AVT, according to Studley.
MacArthur also stated that “the committee has already removed a part of their original report.”
However, Studley said that a portion of the report was not removed, but rather there was a portion of the commission letter regarding how the university handled reports of sexual assault and rape that needed to be clarified.
“We did not redact,” Studley said. “We did revise the report to better capture the basis for the commission’s decision. Our question was not whether they handled that specific instance correctly, it was whether today they have the capacity to handle VAWA (Violence Against Women’s Act) and Clery Act concerns.”
MacArthur went on to say that some of the issues brought up by WASC were things that “we need to do better” and “others were just outright untrue.”
“We’ll happily let you know as the progress goes,” MacArthur concluded. “There’s nothing to worry about. We’re just seeing this as a way that the Lord is helping us do what we do better than in the past.”
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Oh, OK,so you have God on your side…
Well then, nothing wrong here!
At least you didn’t cry, “FAKE NEWS!”
Sounds like Trump.
Yes, Denny sounds like Trump.
Jimmy swings… and misses, badly.
You have to love the statement at the beginning of this article! “According to 2 students who wish to remain anonymous.” In otherwords the entire article is responding to the anonymous report of the 2 students! What a joke.
Jimmy;
The recording of the chapel is available online. The students merely tipped off the newspaper to the contents of the chapel message, which were of concern.
The article is not responding to the the report of 2 students, but to the concerning stance John MacArthur took when addressing the school. None of the article is based off the opinion of those students, but rather directly addressing MacArthur’s speech.
I can assure you as a student of the school myself that it was not just those two individuals who were shocked and dismayed at the disregard our President had towards the report.
I’ve seen too much in the news that supports their allegations. Masters wouldn’t have had their accreditation suspended twice in a row, for reasons that included not reporting sexual crimes on their campus, if there wasn’t some proof to that allegation.
If they just told the truth to begin with they wouldn’t be in all this trouble. I think they need to reread their Bibles and search their own soles before they continue to act like their innocent as the driven snow.
There’s nothing wrong with setting up a racquet for yourself. I like the part that says he is going to do it better than in the past, I indicating he will find ways not to get caught next time. It’s sad that believers get taken advantage of by people like this.
Hallelujah !!!
You don’t know what you are talking about. I love how people become experts without knowing the facts. Give us an example of this “raquet” you mention. Who’s being taken advantage of?
Jimmy swings again. Strike two!
It’s “racket,” people. And how about his son-in-law’s overseeing a contract that his own company benefits from? It’s called a “conflict of interest.”
You got me on the spelling error. Again, my point was you don’t know the details, just assumptions.
Jimmy, the details of why the school is placed on probation is available here:
https://www.wscuc.org/institutions/masters-university-and-seminary
Click on the link titled “Commission action letter, reaffirmation visit, June 2018 action” to read the report. It’s only 4 pages long and I would highly recommend reading it.
In answer to your question of who’s being taken advantage of, that would be the numerous long term staff members of the school who have been unjustly fired in the past 2 years by a COO who doesn’t even understand what FERPA, VAWA or the Clery Act are (which are essential to working in higher ed.) This same COO is the one put into power by MacArthur and is MacArthur’s son in law.
There’s a lot of details on this that are available through the report online and I’ve had personal exposure to. While I love the school, sadly the report is extremely accurate. I’ve personally seen the things the report details.
Read the report! It’s more accurate and articulate than I could be.
zeldafwilliams@live.com
This isn’t a racket. You only say that as your opinion, and can never be fact, because you don’t have experience with what’s going on
It’s oo bad that the people commenting here already have made ignorant decisions about this school that they know nothing about. Don’t make judgements without knowing the facts.
While some of the people here might be making ignorant decisions, sadly the concerns are not unfounded.
https://www.wscuc.org/institutions/masters-university-and-seminary
Click on the link titled “Commission action letter, reaffirmation visit, June 2018 action” to read the report.
The article’s report on the stance MacArthur took in chapel is accurate. I was there.
You can find the MacArthur audio here if you’d like to hear it yourself:
http://thewartburgwatch.com/2018/08/31/john-macarthur-speaks-to-seminary-students-allegedly-pays-his-son-in-law-very-well-and-claims-there-is-no-racism-in-authentic-evangelical-churches/
This organization is as corrupt as it gets. Read marcipreheim.com and you can find the stories of victims of sexual violence that was reported to TMU. Their response was to blame the rape victims. MacArthur was told about these issues and the official response was to cover it up. One instructor was moved to online classes so they didn’t have to deal with his history of extremely violent rapes of more than one woman. Read the comments of people saying that they know of other instances like those stated above. The commenters figured out who the perp is. They named him. I know they are correct because I know one of his rape victims.
Don’t give me any garbage about anonymity. Go ask the director of HR who is named in one of the stories.
James,
Just because Jane Doe says it is so – doesn’t mean it is. Also it is not “stories’ but “story.” In addition, your claim that the school moved a known sexual predator to a different area in an attempt to cover it up. . . is patently absurd and has no basis in reality.
You clearly have an axe to grind and have no idea what you are talking about.
Absurd? Ask Kent Haney what he knows about Daniel Roland. Ask why he was let go from Desert Christian High School. Ask why he was moved out of the classroom at TMU. Ask why Daniel Roland referred to the “situations” as “inappropriate relationships.”
And let’s not forget MacArthur’s response to those who asked why they had to learn of the WASC report from the media. He told them flat-out that the potential loss of accreditation was none of their concern, and school officials had no obligation to tell the students about it.
Talk about arrogant.
I think it is very important to note what MacArthur himself states (among many other things) in regards to those who are deemed qualified to lead Christian institutions:
“Nevertheless, those outside the church must recognize him as a man of impeccable reputation. How can a man have a spiritual impact on his community if that community does not respect him? Such an individual can do nothing but bring reproach or disgrace on the cause of Christ.” (MacArthur, John: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 1 Timothy [Moody; Chicago] page 119).
In this case, WASC—those outside the schools—are the ones who made the findings, placing The Masters’ University and Seminary on probation over moral and ethical violations: Findings such as bullying those under one’s authority and deliberate engagement in nepotistic conflicts of interest respectively. These are character issues, deliberate sins in the life of the University and Seminaries’ leader. Probation status did not stem from perfunctory findings, like failing to paper a file, or incorrectly processing a federal tuition grant.
The fact that an outside governmental agency objectively documented and determined that MacArthur’s leadership does not even meet the moral and ethical standards of the world, deems him unqualified to remain at the helm. MacArthur measures up neither to WASC’s nor his own standards.
MacArthur’s response? A half-confession in chapel: Something to the tune of “we’ll do better in the future!” One need examine what MacArthur himself says about such pleas:
“The all too common practice today is to forgive a leader who sins and immediately restore him to his ministry…To immediately restore them to the ministry, however, lowers the standard that God expects leaders to follow. And since leaders serve as the pattern of holiness and virtue for the congregation, the standard for the entire church is lowered” (Ibid, page 103-4). In this case it is the standard of the University and Seminary that is lowered—should he remain anywhere in the picture.
MacArthur should measure himself by his own standards of measure (cf. Matthew 7:1-5); he has fallen on his own sword.
Most important here is the cause of Christ, the Great Commission, the glory of God, and the sustainability and endurance of the University and Seminary (I am a graduate of the Seminary)—not MacArthur and his sycophant board members who are now trying to save face. They have feathered their own bed; it is time for them to fly away.
Independent investigation is critical to protect both parties. Anonymity is all fine and well, in terms of bringing forth an investigation, but in the end: it is just as easy to lie as anonymous as it is to tell the truth.
An independent investigation would clear this up and protect both parties in this until a conclusion is reached.