Full membership in the association will mirror the criteria established by the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities (IABCU):

• A post-secondary institution of Christian higher education accredited by a CHEA (Council on Higher Education Accreditation) recognized accrediting agency appropriate to the mission of the school.
• Affiliation with a Baptist association or convention
• Identification of itself as a Baptist institution and
• Commitment to the principles historically held by Southern Baptists.

All institutions who were members of ASBAP on or before July 1998 will be offered full membership regardless of the ASBCS criteria listed above.