Accreditation
Program of Wicca
What is accreditation, and why does my program need it?
Written by Kara D Williams
Wicca is a legally recognized religion and, on paper, is protected by the federal government. Many of us have been in situations where non-pagans have not seen us as legitimate clergy, or even a legitimate religion.
In April of 2023 the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) opened The Accreditation Program of Wicca (APW) to help Wiccan institutions and programs of learning achieve acceptance outside the Wiccan and Pagan community. The hope is that we will come together as a community to take the next step in achieving acceptance of our religious education and our clergy on par with other religions in the United States.
What is Accreditation?
Accreditation creates a quality assurance that each institution meets educational standards. The standards establish education quality expectations that are common across all Wiccans and assess an institution’s ability to meet the needs of 21st century graduates and the community at large.
Accreditation in secular education began over a century ago. The movement started as a public reaction to the extreme differences between educational institutions that initially appeared to be similar. Accrediting bodies were voluntarily organized by educators to develop and implement common standards and procedures to measure educational quality. From its inception, accreditation has been a nongovernmental, completely voluntary, peer group method of identifying educational institutions or programs that meet published standards of quality. A variety of regional, national, and professional accrediting organizations came into being in the early 1900s in response to the public’s demand for reliable indicators of institutional quality.
The APW seeks to begin this process amongst Wiccan schools and programs so that we can become recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and so that we can provide standards by which students and the community can better evaluate programs of study in Wicca.
Accreditation standards with the APW are designed to support the need for institutions to follow different paths and methods of teaching beyond those of traditional campus-based programs or closed coven-based experiences. In other words, these standards have been sourced from Wiccan training as a whole and customized to meet the needs of our religion which differs from other religions’ educational training.
Additionally, by meeting the unique needs of modern students in a growing religion, the student, course and program delivery can expand an institution’s reach beyond that of traditional Wiccan training to a national and international presence.
How does this help the Wiccan Community?
When accredited Wiccan education institutions and groups are successful, not only do the students benefit, but this in turn also benefits Wicca. Students can choose the institutions that best meet their needs while being provided assurances that the chosen program has been required to comply with precise and rigorous standards. This is the purpose of all accreditation bodies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Community standards provide all training programs with legitimacy from those seeking to attend them and from other training programs in the community. If a festival coordinator wants to support a program, then having accreditation means the coordinator can be confident that the program was vetted. It’s a legitimate program with no legal issues or unethical practices. They can confidently invite such programs to teach or speak at their festival.
When a local Coven approaches a community center or other space to rent it for events, these usually non-pagan businesses can see that their group was vetted. It creates confidence within the non-pagan community and eases the Coven’s hurdles regarding local biases.
Certification programs benefit from accreditation by assuring students that their program meets standards, delivers what they say they will receive, and have ethical business practices. This also translates to other businesses being willing to partner with the program and its leaders.
Seminaries and other higher level education institutions benefit as we seek to achieve U.S. Department of Education acceptance so that our students can apply for federal student loans. Each institution within the APW can be confident of accepting training credits from other APW institutions, knowing that all the programs meet community standards.
What are the goals of this organization?
Our sponsoring body, The Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC), has worked for years to be able to offer the APW to the community. It is our hope that others will support this effort so that we can all come together to support clergy training that can be recognized outside of the pagan community. This recognition benefits us all, in education and as clergy in the United States. The ATC has fought for our legal rights since its founding and their support of this next step will hopefully lift us all up.
An important part of what accreditation gives programs, covens and institutions, is a demonstration to various federal and state regulators that accredited institutions are leaders in the field of Wiccan education and strive to prepare clergy and leaders equipped to contribute to the changing community landscape. It also provides the opportunity for APW accredited institutions to lead the change necessary in the field of Wiccan education by offering students the chance to increase their knowledge and skills while meeting their personal and professional responsibilities. It creates an image in the non-pagan world of professionalism and legitimacy.
Accreditation Program of Wicca Mission Statement
- The APW strives to bring Wiccan educators together in meeting and creating a network of religious training recognized for its high standards.
- The APW provides public information which allows students to find legitimate programs of Wiccan religious education.
- The APW works towards the long-term goal of attaining recognition for Wiccan religious training programs by the U.S. Department of Education.
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