Bishops in the Church of England are to bring their inspection of Wycliffe Hall forward in the wake of concerns about management at the college.

A committee from the Ministry Division headed by the Bishop of Norwich, the Right Rev Graham James, will carry out the inspection of the Church’s leading evangelical training college in October next year. The quinquennial inspection had not been due to take place until 2009.

News of the inspection emerged after a week when one a member of Wycliffe’s governing council resigned, complaining about the management style at the college. Several others of an academic staff of 13 had already left over the previous year, including Thought for the Day presenter Elaine Storkey and theologian Andrew Goddard. Claire MacInnes wrote in her resignation letter: “I am deeply unhappy with the way in which the Council has handled the staff restructuring, various dismissals, terminations of employment and resignations.”

A university review of the seven private halls at Oxford University, including Wycliffe, last month expressed reservations about the suitability of the education at Wycliffe for young students and recommended that the college no longer take young undegraduates. Earlier this year, three former principals called for the principal Dr Richard Turnbull to resign.

Wycliffe is in the Church’s evangelical tradition and senior staff there are concerned that it does not fall prey to the liberalising influences currently causing schism throughout the rest of the worldwide Anglican Communion. About half of its 135 students are training to be priests in the Anglican Church.

The inspection would be extremely unlikely to recommend any change to the college’s status as a training college for Church of England clergy but could advise on changes to management style, such as closer links and consultation with Oxford University.

Wycliffe vice-principal, the Rev Simon Vibert, defended his college’s record. He told The Times that the controversies surrounding the college represented a lack of understanding about how the hall operates. The inspection had been brought forward by just three months, he said. “In terms of where Wycliffe is at the moment, we are full,” he said. “We are quarter full already for ordinands next year. It does seem as though there are a few people who would rather that Wycliffe was not succeeding.” He acknowledged that part of the controversy concerned the style of theological education delivered by Wycliffe.

“There are those who think Wycliffe should be broader in its evangelical outlook. But a look at the trust deed of the college makes it clear it is an evangelical college.” The trust deed dates from 1875 and senior staff claim that many of the changes taking place in the college’s management are to do with trying to fulfil the demands of the deed while adapting to the institution’s growth. Dr Vibert said: “Many of the structures were designed to deal with a smaller college.”

The dispute at Wycliffe mirrors the disputes that have dogged both Oxford University and the Anglican Communion, as the former has attempted to restructure to bring it into line with modern practice and the latter has attempted to adapt to the liberal trends in modern theology. It also bears comparison with the controversies in the Church back in 1407, when the then-Archbishop of Canterbury convened a provincial synod in Oxford to bring order and discipline to the university. Its main purpose was to end Lollardy.This was the Bible-based evangelicalism - a radical form of “godliness” that emerged from the teachings of one John Wycliffe.