distance schooling

A school that I would highly recomend is Gulf Coast Bible Institute. You can check out their information at http://sites.gulf.net/gcbc/ or just type in key word Gulf Coast Bible Institute. I am currently taking their audit course and it seems pretty in depth! They have a VERY low cost too.

 

Liberty University has a good one. That's the one that jumps off the top of my head.

 

Hey Mickes,

I'm sure there are some very good schools that have distance learning but I don't know if I'd recommend it.

So much of the learning that goes on in a college setting comes from student-student and student instructor interaction.

I've taken distance classes before and found this interaction missing.

Unless you just have no other choice, I think you'd be better off to find a school you can attend on campus.

Mike

 

Nono of them are good... After trying Liberty and a few others and now enrolled at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Plymouth, MN (www.centralseminary.edu) I do not think that anything can take the place of what you receive by being in the classroom on a daily basis..

 

The School of Biblical and Theological studies is good. You can search for it on the web. It is accredited too.

 

A school that I would highly recomend is Gulf Coast Bible Institute. You can check out their information at http://sites.gulf.net/gcbc/ or just type in key word Gulf Coast Bible Institute. I am currently taking their audit course and it seems pretty in depth! They have a VERY low cost too.

Here is their new link Gulf Coast Bible Institute
BTW it's great!!! I'm on my first unit of it and LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

>>>>>>Find a program that is affordable for you and offers the classes of most benefit. Then don't worry about "accredited" or not. Other than teaching at the college level, no one has ever asked if ANY of my degrees were "accredited". <<<<<<

Having a degree from an accredited school is important in my opinion, for several reasons. It is important for the student because if the school is not accredited, chances are the quality of its offerings is not very good. For most above board and high quality schools, accreditation is something they strive for and although not automatic it is easy enough to get if they have a quality program. If a school is not accredited by one of the regional associations, then you have to wonder why. Why is it that they do not have what most good schools do have? Another reason is that an employer, if the employer is any good and cares about quality, is going to take a look at your education. If they don't then why get an education at all? If you are going to get an education, why not do it correctly and strive for high quality. If you just want the degree without the quality, then get one from a diploma mill and spend the rest of your life apologizing for it and trying to hide the fact that it is from a diploma mill. In my judgment, poor quality is so common in distance education, that you should assume it is bad until proven otherwise.

 

Are any of the Bible Colleges in the U.S doing International Training online?

 

Try looking at Andersonville Theological Seminary . They are acreditted, and Baptist. They are very reasonable. Courses are lecture on tape, and you work at your own pace (no specific deadlines).

I love it!

In Christ,
Trotter

 

Andersonville is not accredited by, nor is seeking accreditation by any recognized accrediting agency.

 

Queen's University in Canada has offered distance learning since the 1930's. They offer the courses in writing and you do your studies by tutor and write examinations at an accepted centre...another school or accepted proctor.

They felt a university degree should be available to much of rural and isolated Canadians. These degrees are accredited and nothing signifies on one's diploma whether they are distance or in class studies.

With the computer and email, the world of education has opened wide doors. It is up to YOU to make your course "accredited". What do you want? If you want it enough, you will do it, and then some.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Note that many excellent Baptist (and other Christian,for that matter) colleges do not seek accreditation as they feel that by doing so they would have to compromise doctrinal teachings. I don't have any ready references, but I can recall it being in the news about a school that had to agree to not teach Creation,(that evolution was the only true scientific answer,) teachers were to no longer sign a Doctrinal Statement as a condition of employment, and similar requirements that had nothing to do with the quality of education. I dn't know for sure personally, but I have talked to people who have expressed the opinion that (Jery Falwell's) Liberty University "...has gone downhill since they applied for accreditation..."

 

The accreditation process has no effect on doctrinal statement requirements, etc. It has to do with course requirements, financial stability, and the academic qualifications of the professors. Falwell's school has been accredited for over a decade.

 

Many of the larger employers are now asking for you to list degrees or coursework from "regionally accredited colleges or universities." If you have a degree from a college that is not regionally accredited it could also severely limit where you can do graduate work.

While Christian colleges are free to not pursue regional accreditation, I think they should be clear with their students what this could mean in the future. I began my academic work in a Christian college that was not accredited, and had my eyes opened when friends who were graduating were struggling to get into graduate schools for law, business and psychology. Some Christian college accepted their degrees, many did not. Very few public universities accepted their work.

I did not find that friends who were going to the mission field or entering church work had the same problems.

 

Here is a typical note on accreditation:"...The Seminary does not seek secular or religious accreditation by USDOE approved agencies.The primary reason institutions seek accreditation is for the purpose of receiving state and federal funds. We maintain that there is to be a separation between church and state in matters pertaining to ministry and education..." (See: web page )If you are planning on transferring to another institution, or if you plan on using your education outside the ministry environment, it is best that you check on whether your work at that institution will be accepted. Note that not all credits transfer even between Regionally Accredited Institutions. My (first)Bachelors Degree was in Engineering. The Calculus I took in one college was not accepted by the Engineering School. Approximately the same subject matter, but while the school was regionally accredited, it was not ABET (Engineering Accreditation) and I had to re-take a few classes. Bear's Guide to College Degrees, by John Bear, is a good resource that devotes at least one chapter to explaining Accreditation, (and is where I got the info that not all good schools are accredited). John Bear also explains that not all accredited schools are necessarily good.
Short answer: ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

[ September 11, 2003, 12:48 AM: Message edited by: Dr. Gerald Click ]

 

There is still time Doc. That is the wonder of distance education.

Bro. Dallas