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ACPE-CPE at the ECS Spiritual Care & Education Center is a long-established and respected program that is housed in     
St. Mark's Hospital, an HCA Healthcare facility located in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Education Center is owned by Episcopal Community Services (ECS), a nonprofit charitable organization whose compassionate approach broadly
​touches people where they live and where their needs are greatest. 

ECS is one of the largest employers of professional chaplains in the Intermountain West.​

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ACPE Announcement

​Dear Students: 
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On behalf of Episcopal Community Services (ECS), and its ACPE accredited Spiritual Care & Education Center at St. Mark’s Hospital, we would like to provide clarity about ACPE’s recent decision to pause their renewal process with the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). This decision was not taken lightly as ACPE has been the sole CPE program to have received direct recognition from the USDE and has maintained this distinction for more than 55 years.
 
Over the past several years, USDE requirements for how student progress and achievement are measured have changed. To comply with these changes, while still maintaining the highest level of CPE education, ACPE leaders have decided to embark on a course of self-study and reapply for recognition in the next 12 months.
 
In the meantime, some important things to know include:
  • This decision does not affect our CPE Program’s (or any CPE Program’s) ACPE Accreditation. The USDE is not our accrediting body. ACPE has a rigorous accreditation process that each CPE Program/Center participates in with our own Accreditation Commission.
  • All current CPE programs accredited by ACPE remain valid.
  • All CPE Units taken in pursuit of certification, endorsement, or otherwise remain applicable.
  • Our partners who certify chaplains (APC, NCAA, NAJC, ACCC, and others) continue to recognize ACPE CPE Units in their certification processes.
  • Seminaries can still choose to accept ACPE CPE Units for seminary programs. As in previous practice, every seminary decides on their own what CPE Units to accept in degree programs.
  • Faith Groups can continue to accept ACPE CPE Units for their formation and ordination processes.
  • For more information about the distribution of misleading information to ACPE members and partner institutions by other groups and associations concerning our decision to withdraw from the renewal process for USDE recognition, see Regarding Misinformation about ACPE’s Withdrawal from USDE Recognition on the ACPE website.
 
The ECS Spiritual Care & Education Center at St. Mark’s Hospital has been accredited by ACPE for 40 years, and ACPE continues to be the gold standard for CPE education. Our leadership and education team is committed to excellence and upholding the highest standards of quality and integrity in our Clinical Pastoral Education programs. We will continue to update you as ACPE moves forward into the work of discerning a relationship with the USDE. If you have any questions, or would like to speak about this further, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any one of our ECS educators or leadership team.