One of the major responses of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America to its Partners In Mission relationships throughout the Anglican Communion is the Overseas Leadership Training Program. This program of the Office of Anglican and Global Relations develops training opportunities for persons selected by our partner churches, to prepare those persons for future positions of leadership in their home provinces. Thus, the program’s focus is upon province-wide leadership planning and development. Grants made for the training of individuals are viewed as assistance to the Anglican Church in a particular province as it plans for ongoing leadership training, either within the church itself or within the wider community which the church serves.

Training undertaken should be such as to prepare the candidate to return to a specific work or leadership position in his/her home area upon completion. Requests for assistance, therefore, will be considered on the basis of the leadership needs of a particular Anglican Province. Preference will be given to candidates who require training for a specific job, which the bishop guarantees will be filled by the candidate when he/she returns home. We hope for a commitment from the bishop and the archbishop or other provincial authority that, upon returning home, the candidate will fill a specific job, such as a seminary instructor, for a period of at least three years.

The OLT Program identifies as a top priority the training of theological teachers/leaders so that the theological and training colleges of the home church are strengthened and enabled to develop future leadership. The primary focus of the OLT Program is to provide educational opportunities not otherwise available in an overseas province. Only academic programs which are not provided for within the applicant’s home province’s and/or country’s resources will be provided through the OLT Program.

Primary degree programs are generally not considered, though some exception may be made in the case of women candidates who have not had the opportunity for higher education, or in the case of theological candidates who have three-year certificates and for whom a Bachelor of Divinity would be considered an advanced degree. Priority is given to those programs of training which rank on the Master’s Degree level. Doctoral programs are also generally not considered unless a compelling reason exists to make an exception and a school can be found that will grant a full tuition, room and board scholarship.

The families, home provinces, dioceses and/or parishes of students are expected to contribute something to the total needs. As there are no funds for the support of families, it is viewed as the responsibility of the overseas churches to assume adequate support and maintenance of families of students who may be absent from home during the period of their study. FUNDS WILL NOT BE GRANTED TO BRING THE CANDIDATE’S FAMILY MEMBERS TO THE UNITED STATES.

The scholarship programs of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Church Mission Society and the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in England have agreed on a common policy that "applicants who have come to countries such as Britain or the US inadequately supported, hoping that, once there, they can turn to our agencies for assistance, will be told that as a matter of policy they must return home and apply through their diocesan bishop." Therefore, students who have come to the US through other funding sources, are currently studying at a college or non-Episcopal seminary, and who seek to apply to the OLT Program for assistance, will not be eligible for aid from the OLT Program.

There is a specific length of time agreed upon for any training arranged through the OLT Program. In most cases, that is the standard number of semesters or school years it takes for a full-time student to complete the certificate or degree that the province deems to be appropriate training for the specified leadership position. The college or seminary also has input into the decision of what degree or certificate is appropriate, and what length of time is needed to obtain it. That length of time is spelled out in the award/acceptance letter. FINANCIAL AID IS FOR THE LENGTH OF TIME AGREED UPON, and only in exceptional circumstances will assistance be granted for additional semesters. Requests for extensions would have to be made a year in advance, and no plans can be made on the assumption that an extension will be forthcoming. If a student has obtained funding for a degree through the OLT Program, he/she cannot be funded by the OLT Program for a second degree.

As per agreement with the Anglican Church of Canada, CMS and USPG, "We will continue to liaise with colleges/universities in our countries in order that they understand that our policy is that we like students to go home after completing a course and to reapply through their bishop if further training is required." Therefore, a seminarian who has come to the US via a World Council of Churches’ scholarship for one year will not be eligible to apply for an additional year’s funding through the OLT Program.

The scholarship officers of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, CMS and USPG have also agreed to the following statement of orientation:

"We have the expectation that the candidate will have an understanding of partnership principles, and as such will be committed to going home to serve in their own church following training in another country. Students who do not return to their countries after completing their training will be of great disappointment to us, as they will force us to take necessary action such as reporting them to immigration or the Home Office. When bursars/students overstay their visas, they are both jeopardizing our Society’s credibility with the government, as well as their church’s - and it could be difficult for people from their church to obtain visas in the future! The sending church should show clear commitment to the bursar by ensuring that he/she will be given a job or a role in the church for a special period of time on his/her return. We will take this into account when awarding bursaries. We will endeavor to work with the sending church in evaluating the effectiveness of our programmes."