Andersonville question

Not all UA schools are substandard. Whitefield theological seminary isn't, though they are on record of not seeking government accredition.

CES has on its site of their grads being accepted in accredited program. CES doesn't seem substandard to me.

LBU, though Liberty has accepted its credits and grads, I'll have to consider substandard but better than a Bethany and Andersonville.

Why Liberty accepts credits from LBU, I don't know? I know the late Dr. Falwell spoke at one of ther graduations, and now Dr. Caner, president of Liberty Seminary, is scheduled to do the same this May.

 

Webdog, Martin is a grad of Liberty and keeps up with the issues; I guess he'll eventually chime in on this one.

Liberty may have lowered its standards, for Andersonville appears the same.

 

I find it odd that Liberty will accept Andersonville's degrees but not individual credits?

Distance education was once one of my hobbies. At one time, in association with serving on SACS/ACSI accreditation teams, I did a little research on some UA schools with distance programs and how their credits/degrees could be used for Bible credits. Andersonville was one of the schools that ACSI will take the credits but not the degrees. That's opposite to what Liberty is doing. Interesting . . .

 

I know that many institutions will admit a limited number of candidates with unaccredited degrees to their programs. It is often probationary admission. They would not necessarily accept transfer credits, however.

 

That makes sense Stefan. I'd like to see some numbers. This has raised my curiousity a bit. I'm wondering how many UA students Liberty takes a year. How many Andersonville students would be accepted provisionally and then are fully accepted, etc.

I also wondered (I don't remember this being the case, but it's possible) if there is some variance in the program at Andersonville. A project, thesis, etc could make a differnce in Liberty's consideration for admittance.

 

Actually, It has been my experience that Liberty has raised their standards or at least it seems so. When I enrolled with Liberty in 2000 they were very generous to me in terms of transfer credits. They accepted all of the work I had done with Global University (DETC Accredited) by correspondence in pastoral ministry, they accepted all of the work I had with Harcourt Learning in computer science, now Penn Foster College (Also DETC Accredited), and they accepted many credits by way of military training.

I have a friend on the other hand who didn't receive nearly as much generosity when she considered Liberty about a year ago for a degree in finance. She has a Regionally Accredited Associates Degree which they were willing to accept most of but she has a Bachelor and Master's in Christian Counseling from a UA school (Pillsbury College and Seminary www.pillsburycs.org) which they would accept none of. Even much of the A.A. work was going to have to be "re-done." This surprised me mostly because Pillsbury uses NCCA and AACC (Christian Counseling Organizations) continuing ed material for much of their courses and AACC President Tim Clinton has strong ties with Liberty.

2 cents... :type:

 

==I must have proof or their claims are just that...claims. For the most part these are people who earned undergraduate degrees from Andersonville being accepted into Liberty Seminary. That is not unusual nor does it surprise me. I know of several unaccredited schools that have undergraduate graduates accepted into Liberty and Southeastern. So no surprise there.

==Accepts undergraduate degrees but not credits. See the limit? I know the writer of the email cannot legally share those letters I would love to see them.

==This, I would have to have proof of and I would have to know the "whole" story. I can't comment further unless/until further information comes forward.

==Neither. It is not unheard of that accredited seminaries honor undergraduate degrees from unaccredited schools. Having said that, however, that is not a risk I would take.

Edit to add:

It would also be interesting to know if these people were accepted directly or were they accepted with conditions (probation, etc).

 

==Clearly my views have changed since 01-04-2005. Since that time I graduated from Liberty, did a school search for a MA/History program, went to a university to earn my second MA, got a job in the school of education at that university, helped do reports/research for the re-accreditation process at that job, discussed the issue with more people, made friends of college professors and staff who are well informed on these issues, talked further to my father who has worked on SACS boards, and have read much more on the subject. So much has changed since January of '05.

Other things have changed as well.

In January of '05 I was a 4-point Calvinist. Now I am a 5-point Calvinist.

In January of '05 I was "no expert" on the issue. While I am still not an "expert", and as complex as accreditation is I am not sure there are any "experts", I know far more about the subject now then I did then.

In January of '05 I was not a college instructor, I am now. That also affects my views on these issues.

So digging up old posts maybe fun and everything but it does not change my current views of these things. Views that I must say are much better informed. Sometimes I read things I posted on various theological web-boards back in the late 90s, and I am amazed at how ignorant I really was. So things change, and as people grow they change. That is certainly true of me.

 

==Thanks for your words of sympathy :laugh: .

 

Accepting students or accepting credits?

Perhaps it has escaped my notice but I did not see whether Liberty accepts Andersonville credits for transfer or if they accepted their graduates. There is a huge difference that needs discussion. To accept the credits for transfer is to give credibility to the institution and its instruction. However, to accept a graduate does not solely depend on the student's alma mater. A student may be qualified to pursue graduate studies without the formal academic background. Acceptance for graduate work can be a highly individualized process with formal education being only one factor in the consideration. Perhaps someone would like to address this issue.

 

My undergraduate degree was earned at a very liberal baptist college. I basically held my nose, regurgitated what they desired, paid my money and walked out with a degree. I chose to do both my graduate degrees from Andersonville. I was required to take the courses, complete the exams, do research and present thoroughly documented papers in every course that I took. While I heard some things with which I did not agree, on the whole, it was a very positive experience and much more profitable than my undergrad degree that contained information that for the most part I cast aside. I highly recommend Andersonville.

 

Accepting transfer credits is based on the credibility of instruction from another institution whereas accepting a student with a degree is more about the qualifications of the individual who may have come by his or her competence through means other than formal education at a RA school.