U of N School Leader's Responsibilities

All school leaders should be full time YWAMers as defined in the document "Who is a YWAM Staff?" written by YWAM's Global Leadership Team. A school leader carries a wide range of responsibilities. The following list highlights some of the responsibilities common to all U of N school leaders. Individual Colleges/Faculties and Centres may have additional requirements particular to their disciplines that are implemented and approved by that College/Faculty or Centres' International Committee.

U of N Course Registration: In order for your school to receive U of N credit, you should properly document your proposed course on a FORM A, and send it to your designated U of N Regional Records Office who will review it, record it and direct it on to the appropriate International College/Faculty office for registration and approval. If this is the first time this particular course has been registered at your base, you should ideally send the FORM A three to six months before beginning your school. Thereafter, your school must be re-registered for every new catalogue period (once every three years). When you send in your FORM A it must be accompanied by the appropriate course registration fee. When the course registration process is completed you will receive a "Course Affiliation Certificate" which you can proudly display!
Communicating with potential students: The school leader of a post-DTS school must inform all students that the Discipleship Training School (DTS/CDTS) is a prerequisite to all other U of N training schools and degree programmes. All U of N applicants must satisfactorily complete a Discipleship Training School (DTS/CDTS), including the outreach or field assignment, before being permitted to attend any other course/school, or being accepted into a degree programme. Students who have inadvertently done YWAM/U of N schools before a DTS will not receive credit for those schools except in extremely rare instances. In those highly unusual situations, the student may submit a formal appeal to the International College/Faculty Dean. In most instances the appeal will stop at this point. Should the International College/Faculty Dean believe it to be a legitimate appeal, it is forwarded to the Provost, then to the President and then finally to the Board of Regents.
Student Registration: In the first week of the school you should send the completed FORM B to your designated U of N Regional Records Office. FORM B gives us the basic background data for each student so they can be entered into the U of N International Student Records System. At this time the student will receive a U of N identification number if they do not already have one. Furthermore you will be sent a "Certificate of Completion" that you may give to each of your students at the end of the course.
Student grades: Within 48 hours of finishing the lecture phase of your course you should send in FORM C1 to your designated U of N Regional Records Office. FORM C1 journals the weekly course content and gives a grade for each student. Without FORM C1 it is not possible to give U of N credit to your students. If your course has a field assignment/outreach phase a FORM C2 needs to be sent to your designated U of N Regional Records Office within 48 hours of the completion of the field assignment/outreach. For further understanding on how to grade students see "Evaluation" and "Grading Explanation" in the School Leader's Reference Guide, and the corresponding section in the U of N catalogue.
School leaders and staff need to be full time YWAMers as defined in the document "Who is YWAM Staff?" Furthermore, they need to be qualified by calling and gifting and be trained in character and skills in order to run an effective U of N course. A recommended staff to student ratio is one staff person to every ten students. Due to the nature of some courses it might be necessary to have a higher or lower ratio. Please refer to the documents "U of N School Leader's Preamble," " U of N School Leader's Characteristics" and "U of N School Leader's Accountability" in the School Leader's Reference Guide.
Qualified teachers who represent and exemplify YWAM values in teaching and interaction with students, are vital to the dynamic learning process of a U of N school. At least some of the teachers should be international, from different denominational and cultural backgrounds, and should include both men and women as well as persons of different generations. All teachers in all U of N courses should be professing Christians. A FORM D résumé should be filled out by each teacher in your course who has not previously done so. These forms should be compiled and sent to your designated U of N Regional Records Office at the end of the school.
Course content: For existing U of N courses the purpose and basic curriculum guidelines for your school have been defined by your U of N International College/Faculty Committee or the International Centre Committee. To ensure that your school stays on course with the vision, it is essential that the school leader keep the purpose statements in focus, and that the specific goals and objectives of the school support the fulfillment of the overall purpose statement. While holding to the essence of the course's purpose, you are encouraged to adapt the course a certain amount, contextualizing it for the local situation. The course content may vary as much as 20% to 30%, but no more, from one location to another and still remain true to the overall course description. You may refer to the course description in the U of N Catalogue for the purpose and basic curriculum guidelines for your particular school. You may also contact your International College/Faculty Dean or International Centre Director for information.
Follow through on all announced courses. U of N Schools and Seminars should not be canceled. The published announcement of a U of N School or Seminar constitutes a social contract and a moral obligation. The follow through to fulfill what was announced builds confidence in the stability and longevity of the program. Instead of considering finances and lack of enrollment, school leaders are encouraged to pray students in and diligently follow up all inquiries. History has shown that prior to the beginning of certain schools many if not all students have enrolled in the final few weeks .
The lecture phase of a U of N school may vary in duration depending on the minimum requirements of the particular school, though 12 full learning weeks is recommended so that the student obtains the maximum number of credits available. You may refer to document "Full Learning Weeks" in the School Leader's Reference Guide.
The field assignment/outreach phase of a U of N school lasts a minimum of 8 full learning weeks, though 12 is recommended so that the student obtains the maximum number of credits available. You may refer to documents "Full Learning Weeks" and "YWAM/U of N Field Assignment/Outreach Policy and Procedures for all Schools" in the School Leader's Reference Guide.
Seminars: if you want to run a course that is shorter than the lengths prescribed above it may be run as a seminar rather than a school. Please refer to the document "Seminar Policy and Procedures" in the School Leader's Reference Guide.
A full learning week: each week of the course, whether it be the lecture phase or the field assignment/outreach phase must be a "full learning week." A typical "full learning week" for a U of N course is 40-50 hours including worship, prayer, teaching content hours, assignments/projects, small groups, personal study and other various learning activities. Please refer to the document "Full Learning Weeks" in the School Leader's Reference Guide.
Intercession: A minimum of three hours of intercession a week constitutes one of the only absolute requirements that applies to all of our schools. The importance of these three hours to the development of the student, the running of the school, the well-being of the base, and the turning of the nations to the Lord Jesus Christ cannot be overstated. We dare not fall into the trap of separating prayer from the word. Study and spiritual life have become far too compartmentalized in present-day Christian education. Keeping them together resulted, through the lives of John Calvin, Charles Finney, John Wesley and many other men and women of the church, in revival that changed the history of nations. We realize that your school schedule is crowded, but these three hours are crucial to effectively establish your school's goals in the lives of the students.
Personalized mentoring: regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings between staff and students are to be carried out for feedback, assessment and ongoing evaluation. A weekly one-on-one staff to student contact time is one of the most effective ways to provide personal encouragement and academic guidance throughout the school. It also serves as an avenue for the school leader to detect non-academic problems which may be the root of low academic achievement.
Live-learn concept: The U of N live-learn philosophy is a community learning concept. It is based on the scriptural principle of a body of believers who are one in spirit and working together as a team toward the same objectives. It is the concept of the extended family. It implies a sharing of resources, ideas, talents, and a working together in unity. The great variety of course-related activities provides a rich medium for deep relationships to grow among students of each course.
YWAM's Foundational Values and U of N's Founding Principles are to be taught, modeled and integrated into your school. Please refer to these two documents found in your School Leader's Reference Guide.
Orientation to YWAM, its values, callings, and ministry opportunities should be a part of every school. Leaders/staff have the privilege and the responsibility to actively engage in linking students to missions through a variety of means based on the students' unique individual interests, gifts, abilities and callings. We suggest you give each student a The Go Manual to be used as a personal resource tool to aid them in their understanding and pursuit of YWAM ministry opportunities. We want to make it easy for people to commit long-term to a YWAM ministry.
Orientation to U of N and the courses available to students, enabling them to see the bigger picture of missions training available to them through the University of the Nations. All students registered with the U of N are to be given an U of N Catalogue. Please contact your designated U of N Regional Records Office for current Catalogues.
Academic advising: Students desiring to pursue a degree programme with the University of the Nations should be referred to an Academic Advisor for the College/Faculty in which they want to pursue a degree.

And this surely must be the distinctive that marks and brands the University of the Nations: our focus on transformation rather than information; on application rather than knowledge; on truth rather than facts; on learning rather than teaching. If we will heed this call then we will be faithful to our calling.

U of N School Leader's Responsibilities

​