The word degree concerns me in that we will have to deal with finding a state to allow us to issue these degrees. (I think this has been mentioned.) I fear that this will, in turn, turn the free program into something that will have a cost attached (for nothing more than to pay the people necessary to file the proper paper work, etc.) Once this avenue is taken, it would be easy to justify future increases in price to pay for things we think need to be done. Before long, this institute would be no different from the other distance learning institutions out there.
Of course, I assume that we will run into the same issues when trying to set it up for these hours to transfer to an established college. If we could set this up in one of the states we live in, we may be able to avoid some of these issues.
I have never had reason to deal with the department of education, so I don't know what all will be involved. I can look into it here in the state of Oklahoma, just to get an idea of what would be involved. We could find a situation where we could find the state best suited to our needs, and then recruit a volunteer from that state to assist us.
Of course, if we offer only certificates, this problem could be avoided, at least to some degree. Like I said, we may run into the problem if we try to allow for our courses to be transfered to other institutions. I do not know how the accreditation agencies will look at an institute that isn't tied in to any state or other accreditation agency. Perhaps someone familiar with the Seminary Extension of the SBC could answer these questions. I don't know who that person would, be-- but I will try to find out. If anyone else knows anything about the Extension, please let let us know.