Nations University

I know quite a bit about them.

You are right: they are free, except in the U.S., where they are 100 dollars per year. They can do this, because they have professors who volunteer from other Seminaries/Universities (many of their courses are designed by professors from one of the SBC seminaries), and they get quite a bit from donations, from what I understand (in the hundreds of thousands, from what I understand). They also have a slew of volunteers from all over the world.

They are rigorous; comparable in all respects to other accredited universities. In fact, they are currently seeking accreditation by the DETC. Also, several people who hold Bachelors degrees from Nations, have been accepted from this school, into various Masters degree programs at Liberty University. They are very much legitimate.

The only thing wrong with them, is that they are ran primarily by people affiliated with the "Churches of Christ," although their material is non-denominational. They are a University, not a Seminary, and so one does not have to agree with any of their beliefs. Because of this, it is really a non-issue.

Their classes are very similar to classes from accredited Universities Online classes. They use Moodle; the classes mostly consist of extensive reading, timed online tests, and some writing assignments. They are well arranged, deep, and challenging.

Hope that answers some questions.

 

You are most welcome.

 

is their doctrinal teaching representative of the CoC? Just curious.

 

havens, have you taken classes from here?
I'm glancing at the website and out of about ten classes in a wide variety of disciplines, I see either no textbook needed or just the Bible (I feel wierd saying that) for a text. Interesting.

Sometimes websites are not good indicators. Sometimes you have to really pop the hood and see what's there. So I'm not going to pass judgement just on what I saw there. I noticed that they're no longer admitting people to the M.Min, which is probably a good idea. The M.Div or MRS probably fills the needs and the M.Min is irrelevant.

 

Regarding soteriology, no. They are very "neutral", presenting the texts, and allowing students to form their own opinions.

They DO tend to stress a more amillenial eschatology though.

 

Yes.

The courses are designed for people that are in remote areas of the world, are poor, etc. Their are many courses that DO require textbooks, but many of the courses rely mostly on things like free online theology journals, writing contained in the syllabus, etc. For example, one of the classes I took, had a syllabus 200 pages long (a small book), plus about two dozen theological articles.

However, even many accredited seminary classes do something similar. Example: I have three books for my Evan and Church Growth Class at Liberty, but for two of the books, I only have to read one chapter. Most of the instruction is actually contained in the syllabus.

But a lot of the Classes do require books, which are Comparable to other Seminaries. Books like the Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology, Donald Guthries New Testament Theology, etc.

The DETC accreditation prices, are based on the number of course. They have cut a lot of stuff out.

As far as the rigor: when I first took classes from them, their writing requirements were not as tough as they needed to be (although, that was undergrad classes; I have seen many undergrad classes with NO writing requirements). Nations has really boned up on this though.

 

:thumbs:

That's what the Trinity School in India does.

I had some profs at SBTS that required us to buy their books or books they edited. We had no readings from them, but in mid stream they'd tell us that the books were for our reference or our libraries. Thankfully, those profs are gone

 

Havensdad I am currently a student at Liberty and saw Nations and your input I was curious if you had any additional insight on transfering credit from Nations Univ. to Liberty. For example could I take classes simulataneously from Nations and transfer them to Liberty for credit? The idea of a spending less for my BA is quite the advantage. Just curious if you may know.

 

Currently, they only accept unnaccredited Undergrad degrees for entrance into graduate programs (and you are on probation until you meet minimum GPA requirements): they will not accept "transfer credits." Also, this is not guaranteed.


This, though, might change very shortly, if Nations achieves DETC accreditation.

 

I also wanted to add, for the Graduate student, it is possible to take ICE exams to validate unnaccredited credits (up to 30, in the MDiv program): this is what I am currently doing.

 

If I understood that correctly LU wont accept transfer credits? I was thinking about either Greek or Hebrew courses through nations if they would transfer in into Liberty. Thanks
Greg

 

They will not accept transfer credits from unnaccredited institutions, no. They will grant entrance to a certain number of Nations Undergraduates, into their graduate program.


However, I took Greek at Nations, and I am using the Greek ICE exam to get 3 credits for it.

 

Thanks Brother that is what I was looking for. I am about a year away from my masters so possibly by then Nations will be accredited at nothing else I can ICE the credit as you suggested.

 

Nations University is a diploma mill. They're well-intentioned, but a diploma mill nonetheless. They're no accredited, and likely would not be able to receive valid accredication in their current state. They claim to be "seeking" accreditation through DETC, but DETC is itself a diploma and degree mill. I'd steer clear and seek a validly accredited educational institution.

 

It is interesting that you call them a diploma mill. In what way, brother?

DETC is certainly not a "diploma mill." They are a legitimate accrediting body, recognized by the Department of Education and the CHEA. In some circles (non religious), their accreditation is better received than ATS: I could name a dozen regionally accredited schools, which will accept transfer credits from DETC, but not from ATS.

DETC is very rigorous: only about 1 out of 10 schools which apply, ever actually achieve accreditation. So I am not sure what you are going on about there, unless you are one of those people who are down on distance ed.

As far as Nations, they are certainly not a diploma mill. They require a huge amount of real coursework: equivalent to their accredited counterparts. Also, as I have already pointed out, several NationsU grads have been admitted into Graduate programs at Regionally Accredited schools: all of them that I am in contact with, have a 3.0 or better average in those schools (I have a 4.0). It certainly SEEMS like they were well prepared by Nations.

So, NO they are not a diploma mill, YES they are seeking legitimate accreditation, and they are doing great work all around.

 

DETC is virtually equal to ATS as far as status. They are both specialized, national accreditors. To say DETC is a diploma mill itself is just unfounded. As Havensdad pointed out, DETC is legit as it's recognized by CHEA/DoE. I've participated in accreditation reviews for DETC, and I have confidence in their accrediting ability.