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Accreditation of Conservative Baptist Colleges

kathleenmariekg

kathleenmariekg

Active Member
I am curious about accredited vs unaccredited conservative Baptist colleges.

Are there some colleges that are well regarded, but not accredited?
 
Salty

Salty

20,000 Posts Club
Administrator
Most are IBF small colleges - such as Hyles Anderson Bible College.
They state: "The primary reason for this is to avoid the potential of outside influences or pressures to change our theological, doctrinal, and moral positions."
Accreditation | Hyles-Anderson College
 
Squire Robertsson

Squire Robertsson

Administrator
Administrator
On the other hand schools like Maranatha Baptist University, Watertown, WI, International Baptist College, Tempe AZ, and BJU are all accredited or in the process of getting accredited.
 
kathleenmariekg

kathleenmariekg

Active Member
Thank you for taking the time to explain all this to me.

Does anyone have any opinions about the pros and cons of accreditation?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | WVBS Online School

What type of degrees or certification do you offer? Is the WVBS Online Bible School accredited?
  • If you are a Formal or Informal student the WVBS Online Bible School issues a certificate of completion to you for each course you successfully complete. And, if you are a Formal student we issue a graduation diploma upon successfully completing all required courses. The WVBS Online Bible School has not sought accreditation through any accrediting association for several reasons. Some of which are: 1) they require additional courses other than Bible or Bible related courses such as English, science, physical education and other liberal arts courses in order to graduate; 2) the accrediting associations can only require or certify non-doctrinal (Bible) courses. They give as their reason that this keeps the “Separation of Church & State”; 3) the accrediting associations require certain standards and performance in financial matters which have nothing to do with any biblical standards.
  • The level of work required by the WVBS Online Bible School is equal to and even superior to many degree granting seminaries and colleges. Any graduate of the WVBS Online Bible School will be fully qualified to teach the Bible even in accredited institutions according to the accrediting organizations. This is because they have no authority or jurisdiction over any church’s doctrine. If any college or university refuses to hire a person in their Bible department because of a lack of certain types of degrees that is that college’s or that university’s rule not any rule from the accrediting associations.
 
Dr. Bob

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Reality of 99% of non-accredited programs is that they cannot possibly meet the basic requirements of real accreditation. They do not have the requisite faculty education, library, campus facilities, and academic strength of content to reach it.

There is NO COMPROMISE of the biblical/spiritual standards of a school to become accredited - matter of fact, the accrediting team for a school like Maranatha Baptist University was intentional comprised of leaders from other Christian universities. The old "myths" that a school has to give up Bible classes, chapel, dress standards, separation from the world, et al to be secularly accredited were long-ago dispelled. There is no "jurisdiction" or "control" of an agency over the schools. They are the bugaboo's that schools who offer shoddy sub-standard programs give to dupe their followers into thinking they are just as good or better than an accredited school.

The Italian word for that nonsense is "bologna". :)
 
Y

Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
kathleenmariekg said:
Thank you for taking the time to explain all this to me.

Does anyone have any opinions about the pros and cons of accreditation?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | WVBS Online School

What type of degrees or certification do you offer? Is the WVBS Online Bible School accredited?
  • If you are a Formal or Informal student the WVBS Online Bible School issues a certificate of completion to you for each course you successfully complete. And, if you are a Formal student we issue a graduation diploma upon successfully completing all required courses. The WVBS Online Bible School has not sought accreditation through any accrediting association for several reasons. Some of which are: 1) they require additional courses other than Bible or Bible related courses such as English, science, physical education and other liberal arts courses in order to graduate; 2) the accrediting associations can only require or certify non-doctrinal (Bible) courses. They give as their reason that this keeps the “Separation of Church & State”; 3) the accrediting associations require certain standards and performance in financial matters which have nothing to do with any biblical standards.
  • The level of work required by the WVBS Online Bible School is equal to and even superior to many degree granting seminaries and colleges. Any graduate of the WVBS Online Bible School will be fully qualified to teach the Bible even in accredited institutions according to the accrediting organizations. This is because they have no authority or jurisdiction over any church’s doctrine. If any college or university refuses to hire a person in their Bible department because of a lack of certain types of degrees that is that college’s or that university’s rule not any rule from the accrediting associations.
Click to expand...
Think if one desires to teach, or to go for an advanced degree, must be accredited!
 
Salty

Salty

20,000 Posts Club
Administrator
Yet - they present it as not coming under the authority of a godless govt.
I wonder if that is their thinking when the fire dept comes to do a fire inspection of their buildings????
 
Y

Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Salty said:
Yet - they present it as not coming under the authority of a godless govt.
I wonder if that is their thinking when the fire dept comes to do a fire inspection of their buildings????
Click to expand...
again, the big problem is when one desires to teach at a College/University, or wants to pursue Masters/Phd levels!
 
Salty

Salty

20,000 Posts Club
Administrator
I posted the basic question - on one of my fb pages -
here is the first answer I recd


With the government overreach happening now, and they want to open themselves up to bring told what to do?
Either they don't have a problem being told what they are allowed to teach, they're dumb, or they're money
hungry, trying to classify for grants so they can charge more


I asked him - what things? Will post his answer as soon as I get it.

UPDATE
  • accreditation means the government CAN tell them what to do. It puts them inside its reach. As far as I know, it's not a thing yet, but with the government we may have come January, especially, it's only a matter of time.


  • And I answered:
    - BUT can you give me a specific example of where a Bible college has had to compromise its standards or beliefs?
Updated at 826 pm ET
"Bible" colleges are a JOKE unless you're going to be in the "paying ministry" for your whole life. Nobody accepts the credits and with good reason; the education is so narrow as to be useless for anything else.
And when it's "truth time"... I'll tell you the dirty little secrets about why people go there and what happens to most when they're done.
If you think you can handle it.
 
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kathleenmariekg

kathleenmariekg

Active Member
Conservative Mennonite schools are not accredited and I think their reasons for not seeking accreditation are truthful and consistent with the rest of their belief system.

A lot of this just makes me sad. Something just doesn't feel right to me.
 
kathleenmariekg

kathleenmariekg

Active Member
Jerome said:
Which schools?
Click to expand...

They do not have anything that is equivalent to university. Their schools go to grade 10 now, and then students apprentice and attend residential Bible schools for weeks at a time.

Ministers are picked by lot from the general congregation.
 
kathleenmariekg

kathleenmariekg

Active Member
Jerome said:
Rosedale Bible College

• Conservative Mennonite Conference
• accredited by ABHE (Association for Biblical Higher Education)
Click to expand...

In general the conservative conferences do not allow members to dress as the people in those pictures, but there are a lot of different conferences, and there are moderate and liberal Mennonite conferences.

rlvaughn said:
Here are some Mennonite schools I believe are conservative and unaccredited.
Click to expand...

Yes, this is what I was referring to.
 
Ronnie Vaughan

Ronnie Vaughan

Member
There are some reputable unaccredited schools, but few and far in between. Here are several that I'm aware of:

Reformed Baptist Seminary - Reformed Baptist

Whitefield Theological Seminary | Reformed Seminary - Reformed/Presbyterian

Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary - Reformed/Presbyterian (the PCA in their region accepts many of their graduates)

Online Bible College - Christian Leaders College - Free Course - non denominational/Reformed theology but non-confessional (they are in the early stages of ABHE applicant status)
Calvin Seminary and a few other accredited schools accept their graduates. This one is unique in that it has a free Institute level, and the courses are transferable to the college. The only charges for the college are administrative fees (less than 2k for a degree but it's all online). Because of their application status they are in the process of making any academic improvements needed.

I know only one is Baptist, but Reformed Baptist often go to Presbyterian colleges and seminaries.
 
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