Andersonville Seminary seeking ABHE accreditation.

[labaptist]

This was posted on ATS's Facebook page

AMAZING NEWS
Andersonville Theological Seminary will seek accreditation through the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). This accreditation is recognized by the United States Department of Education. The process will be quite lengthy but can be achieved over a period of time. Remember, we are already an affiliate with ABHE. Also, many Christian colleges and universities have accepted our degrees for years.

I'm in their ThB program and the biblical material is excellent. Would think the only things they would need to do is add some General Ed classes and add some more faculty with accredited degrees.

 

[reverist]

This was posted on ATS's Facebook page

AMAZING NEWS
Andersonville Theological Seminary will seek accreditation through the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). This accreditation is recognized by the United States Department of Education. The process will be quite lengthy but can be achieved over a period of time. Remember, we are already an affiliate with ABHE. Also, many Christian colleges and universities have accepted our degrees for years.

I'm in their ThB program and the biblical material is excellent. Would think the only things they would need to do is add some General Ed classes and add some more faculty with accredited degrees.

Accreditation also has a ton of "procedural work" behind it also, including generating reports, developing fuller manuals, etc. That's why it takes so long! I am glad to hear this!

 

[ChrisTheSaved]

This was posted on ATS's Facebook page

AMAZING NEWS
Andersonville Theological Seminary will seek accreditation through the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). This accreditation is recognized by the United States Department of Education. The process will be quite lengthy but can be achieved over a period of time. Remember, we are already an affiliate with ABHE. Also, many Christian colleges and universities have accepted our degrees for years.

I'm in their ThB program and the biblical material is excellent. Would think the only things they would need to do is add some General Ed classes and add some more faculty with accredited degrees.

I contacted ABHE and asked them about this and they have not received an application yet. You clearly work for this mill...opps, I mean school. My dog could start a school and get ABHE affiliate status, they make no bones about that program being a huge money maker for them. This is some scummy stuff and I've been seeing this kind of stuff posted for years.

They buy their course, I mean CDs from a third party. We purchased one of these so called courses as a joke and we completed it in a matter of a few hours. Never had to even listen to the cd to answer the Sunday school level course work. There is no way this school could ever be accredited without a major overhaul.

 

[Greektim]

I contacted ABHE and asked them about this and they have not received an application yet. You clearly work for this mill...opps, I mean school. My dog could start a school and get ABHE affiliate status, they make no bones about that program being a huge money maker for them. This is some scummy stuff and I've been seeing this kind of stuff posted for years.

They buy their course, I mean CDs from a third party. We purchased one of these so called courses as a joke and we completed it in a matter of a few hours. Never had to even listen to the cd to answer the Sunday school level course work. There is no way this school could ever be accredited without a major overhaul.

You just dropped the mic!

That just happened!!!

Booo yah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[preachinjesus]

I'm just curious why ABHE is something to get excited about. It's not a highly reputable accreditation and is on the same level as TRACS.

Glad a school is planning on changing course and adding rigor and thoroughness to their degrees...but why not something more robust?

 

[ChrisTheSaved]

I'm just curious why ABHE is something to get excited about. It's not a highly reputable accreditation and is on the same level as TRACS.

Glad a school is planning on changing course and adding rigor and thoroughness to their degrees...but why not something more robust?

Ahh...this is a common misconception. Mainly in the US we perceive the oldest as the best. I'm in no way being combative I just wonder what facts you base this off of? Technical they conduct their entities the same manor as they all are required to meet the exact same standards. The USDofE just made a statement a few years back confirming that they are in fact meeting the same standards.

Funny thing is I feel that toughest accreditor and most student centered is the DEAC. The only one that requires proctored exams in each course.

Most people rank like this though..

RA
RA ATS
ATS
AHBE
DEAC
TRACS

But no to state the obvious once more, they are not changing course as they have claimed to be gaining accreditation before....nothing has come to fruition.

ABHE was very concerned about their post on facebook and here and I received a follow up phone call asking for weblinks. I was advised this was very concerning to them.

 

[labaptist]

I myself was wondering why they chose ABHE. I know they are "affiliated" with them but thought DEAC would be a better choice since Andersonville doesn't have any on campus classes or TRACS since they seem to be easier to get accreditation through. I have contacted several accredited seminaries and a few (Luther Rice, SWBTS, BMAS) would be willing to accept a degree from Andersonville which I think speaks highly of their graduates and their ability to do Master's level work.

 

[Robea]

Not saying I support Andersonville but if taking a course and completing it in a few hours is an indication of a bad school then all of the accredited Seminaries I have attended would qualify. If I sit down and just want to bang out a paper I can do so in a little over 4 or 5hrs. I think many who have been to seminary have had at leaast one course where they had to put to the test how fast they could get a paper done. lol I certainly did not do it but a couple of times just to see if I could.

 

[ChrisTheSaved]

I myself was wondering why they chose ABHE. I know they are "affiliated" with them but thought DEAC would be a better choice since Andersonville doesn't have any on campus classes or TRACS since they seem to be easier to get accreditation through. I have contacted several accredited seminaries and a few (Luther Rice, SWBTS, BMAS) would be willing to accept a degree from Andersonville which I think speaks highly of their graduates and their ability to do Master's level work.

I don't know who you talked to at BMAS but they would never happen, nor would SWBTS. I dont know about LR though.

edit: Just got off the phone with all three and non said they would take them as meeting admission requirements. All three have said they would have to be accredited degrees. This is more misinformation propagated by this flat out mill of a school. If anyone here thinks that Andersonville provides any type of credible education you are lying to your self.

 

[ChrisTheSaved]

Not saying I support Andersonville but if taking a course and completing it in a few hours is an indication of a bad school then all of the accredited Seminaries I have attended would qualify. If I sit down and just want to bang out a paper I can do so in a little over 4 or 5hrs. I think many who have been to seminary have had at leaast one course where they had to put to the test how fast they could get a paper done. lol I certainly did not do it but a couple of times just to see if I could.

I can assure you one can not complete any accredited course work in a few hours. At Liberty University just one course took me at 5-7 hours a week for 8 weeks and I am a fast typist. Unlike Andersonville which only has you cite the Bible, you have to cite 10-20 sources a paper. My undergrad degree was the same. If you are doing only a few hours of work Id like to know which seminary's you attended. But even by your own statement just one "paper" took you 5 hours. Id imagine that your courses would take more than one paper?

 

[Robea]

I can assure you one can not complete any accredited course work in a few hours. At Liberty University just one course took me at 5-7 hours a week for 8 weeks and I am a fast typist. Unlike Andersonville which only has you cite the Bible, you have to cite 10-20 sources a paper. My undergrad degree was the same. If you are doing only a few hours of work Id like to know which seminary's you attended. But even by your own statement just one "paper" took you 5 hours. Id imagine that your courses would take more than one paper?

It was a 12-15 page paper. Not saying that every course I took I could do that. Having two undergraduate degrees with theological and biblical emphasis provided a lot of the work was already done and in my memory. I am sure if I did not have undergraduate study in the subjects I would not be able to finish a paper that quickly. By the way I attended Boyce Colloge AA in Adult Christian Education. Canadian Bible College BA now relocated in Calgary named Ambrose University and Briercrest Seminary MA. ( All accredited and the last two are Canadian institutions) I know a lot of people that have been able to bang out a paper in a day. Not uncommon. Most people do not or cannot spend 5 to 8 hours in continuous sitting. But just because you may not be able to do it does not mean others can not. There are many ways to do a paper and I can structure a paper that is easier to write than another structure I would choose.

 

[labaptist]

I don't know who you talked to at BMAS but they would never happen, nor would SWBTS. I dont know about LR though.

edit: Just got off the phone with all three and non said they would take them as meeting admission requirements. All three have said they would have to be accredited degrees. This is more misinformation propagated by this flat out mill of a school. If anyone here thinks that Andersonville provides any type of credible education you are lying to your self.

I myself was surprised at SWBTS accepting the degree. I even asked in my e-mail to them if I would need to take a GRE or Miller Analogies Test to gain acceptance. Their response was that their accreditation was sufficient for them. Maybe this is a result of being an affiliate member of ABHE.

 

[reverist]

Just a few remarks: 1. Completing a research paper in a few hours, say 5-8, is indeed possible (at top speed, if I am very familiar with the material and know generally the sources I need, I can bang out 3 pages per hour; add 30-45 minutes for formatting and there you go, though this is by no means typical). 2. However, completing a research paper is just nothing like completing an accredited course. A standard graduate-level theology course will have 700-1000 pages of reading, 12-16 pages of writing (research papers, journal entries, critical book reviews), and typically exams and/or quizzes. Often times, they will have lectures that can range anywhere from 18-30 hours. Even if you speed up the watching and the lectures are on the low end, that's still nine hours alone of watching video. Even if you read and comprehend at incredible speeds, you will spend at least 20 hours reading. The exams will likely take you at least an hour total. Further, online or distance courses that are accredited nearly always have a threaded discussion component, on which they are expected to spend about two hours per forum (whether they do or not is a different story). So even if you were the greatest student of all-time, it seems extremely far-fetched to complete a course in faster than about 50 hours or so. Granted, I know that not all schools have associated lectures or videos (here's looking at Liberty), but the idea that one can accomplish the pedagogical outcomes in only a few hours, in an accredited course, is somewhat silly.

 

[Rev. Paul R. Jones]

Not that it matters but I am a current ThD student in Pastoral Theology at Andersonville. I have completed three course, one has been graded, and two more are in the final stages. I had to listen to 20 one hour lectures and take notes. Two of the courses had papers. The Gospel of Matthew part one had 40 hours of lecture, two essays, and one 20 page paper requiring 15 to 20 sources. These sources had to come from theological journals. The course also had four textbooks. I enrolled in the program last July 11, 2019. It is March 20, 2020 and I am working to complete the papers for these last two courses next week. I have still have seven classes to go. I am not the brightest bulb in the box, but there is a lot of work if you actually study. I have printed and read over 1200 pages of academic journals during my studies. My wife is waiting for me to ruin our current copy machine.
You can say what you want about accredited education. I attended the University of Richmond, Virginia Military, coursework through Boyce Bible College, and The Baptist Theological Seminary Extension in Richmond VA. My Master of Arts is from Trinity Theological Seminary when they were in Newburgh. And yes, they are also not accredited. I have found Andersonville to be a challenging program and I have learned much. As a bi-vocational chaplain I find the course work very relevant to my ministry.
I understand the concerns about accreditation but for me it was about tuition and more importantly about their statement of beliefs. Check the history concerning Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and their run ins with ATS and SEASC over tenure issues revolving around Biblical inerrancy, the virgin birth, and other subjects. The heretics left and the school returned to a conservative setting. You must have liberal and conservative faculty employed to maintain balance according to those two agencies. SEBTS was put on probation and survived, but 80 out of 120 faculty and employees resigned. They now are just ATS accredited. I would prefer not to waste my money on any accredited school if I have to compromise my faith to obtain a diploma. I entered seminary to be prepared to serve God. I do not think He cares about where you went to school.

 

[Marooncat79]

What were your papers regarding?

What kind of research?

 

[Rev. Paul R. Jones]

Sorry for the late reply. Paper on the postponed Kingdom of Heaven and 80 discussion questions on the lectures . All research was from academic journals on Galaxy software. A lot of reading but I learned a lot about dispensational theology.

 

[Rev. Paul R. Jones]

What were your papers regarding?

What kind of research?

See below.

 

[John of Japan]

Having a son who got his Ph.D. at Southeastern, I know some of the profs, and D. Paige Patterson, and somewhat of the history. So I'd like to correct some of your errors.

I understand the concerns about accreditation but for me it was about tuition and more importantly about their statement of beliefs. Check the history concerning Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and their run ins with ATS and SEASC over tenure issues revolving around Biblical inerrancy, the virgin birth, and other subjects.

There were not tenure issues over these doctrines, though the liberal profs at SEBTS claimed there would be. ATS was not concerned with doctrinal issues, though they did investigate SEBTS, putting it on probabation.

By SEASC do you mean SACS? It joined with ACT in the investigation. Both dropped it after the paperwork was done.

The heretics left and the school returned to a conservative setting. You must have liberal and conservative faculty employed to maintain balance according to those two agencies.

The liberals did not all leave at once. It took time. But again, neither of the two agencies cared about doctrine. It was not an issue. Really, why would they care? My master's is regionally accredited, and fundamentalist, but the accrediting agency doesn't care a fig newton about the doctrine, only the academic standards, discrimination based on race, and so forth.

Again, if those two agencies require both conservatives and liberals on the faculty, why is SEBTS still accredited? The last liberal is long gone.

SEBTS was put on probation and survived, but 80 out of 120 faculty and employees resigned.

I have it on good authority that there were only 33 full time faculty then, so your figures are mistaken. Some of the liberals did stick around for a few years, but they are long gone.

They now are just ATS accredited. I would prefer not to waste my money on any accredited school if I have to compromise my faith to obtain a diploma. I entered seminary to be prepared to serve God. I do not think He cares about where you went to school.

Laudable. But I do think God cares where you go to school. The Bible is full of passages about the will of God. I prayed long and hard about both undergrad and grad schools, and also about where I teach now. God cares!

 

[Rev. Paul R. Jones]

Having a son who got his Ph.D. at Southeastern, I know some of the profs, and D. Paige Patterson, and somewhat of the history. So I'd like to correct some of your errors.

There were not tenure issues over these doctrines, though the liberal profs at SEBTS claimed there would be. ATS was not concerned with doctrinal issues, though they did investigate SEBTS, putting it on probabation.

By SEASC do you mean SACS? It joined with ACT in the investigation. Both dropped it after the paperwork was done.



The liberals did not all leave at once. It took time. But again, neither of the two agencies cared about doctrine. It was not an issue. Really, why would they care? My master's is regionally accredited, and fundamentalist, but the accrediting agency doesn't care a fig newton about the doctrine, only the academic standards, discrimination based on race, and so forth.

Again, if those two agencies require both conservatives and liberals on the faculty, why is SEBTS still accredited? The last liberal is long gone.
I have it on good authority that there were only 33 full time faculty then, so your figures are mistaken. Some of the liberals did stick around for a few years, but they are long gone.


Laudable. But I do think God cares where you go to school. The Bible is full of passages about the will of God. I prayed long and hard about both undergrad and grad schools, and also about where I teach now. God cares!

 

[Rev. Paul R. Jones]

I obtained my information from the PhD dissertation written by a Doctoral student at William and Mary. Thank you for your corrections to my comments.
May God bless you in your ministry and bring you peace.
Paul