Is ATS Accreditation enough? What kind of accreditation should a school have? I was wondering because everyone speaks so highly of it today what should I be looking for?
ATS?
Discussion in 'Baptist Colleges & Seminaries' started by nate, Jan 6, 2006.
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The Association of Theological Schools, through its Commission on Accrediting, is recognized by the United States Secretary of Education for the accreditation and pre-accreditation of freestanding theological schools, as well as schools affiliated with larger institutions, that offer graduate professional education for ministry and graduate study of theology.
Sounds good to me -
Some companies that pay tuition for their employees want the school to be regionally accredited.
I've also had trouble in trying to transfer credits from my undergrad degree for another B.S. degree program because the school I went to was only nationally accredited through TRACS, but not regionally accredited.
The grad school I was accepted to is regionally accredited and part of ATS, so I should be fine now. -
Accreditation is an imperfect attempt to ensure credibility in higher education. While it may not be all we want, and while there are always exceptions to rules, accreditation represents the minimum (IMO) standard to which schools should attain. Most, but certainly not all, schools which dismiss accreditation are seeking (again, IMO) to cover the fact that they could not meet the minimum standards for accreditation.
There are too many good, evangelical, accredited institutions of higher education available, for both residential and distance learning, to take a chance on those which are unaccredited.
Bill -
Agreed, broadus. I would never, ever, consider parting with several thousand of my hard-earned dollars by giving it to an unacredited institution.
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I agree with both of you. I was just wondering. I'm probably going to an SBC school anyway so I don't think I have to worry about accreditation.
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1. They do not have wide acceptance.
2. Their standards are not as high as regional accrediting bodies.
While ATS has wide acceptance in the church/seminary world it will not find such wide acceptance in the outside world.
For a list of regional agencies click here.
For a list of national agencies click here. Please note that even though these agencies have "offical" accrediting status they don't, normally, have very wide acceptance. I guess you could say that they are highly specialized.
Martin. -
Do Christian College/Seminaries except Community College credits? Or undergraduate students?
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I went to engineering school for a year before I went to Bible college. My credits transferred from an undergrad program to an undergrad Bible degree, BUT the engineering school I went to was regionally accredited. I don't think the Bible college would have been too picky, either.
However, if you try to go the other way, like when I asked a school in the area if I could get into a computer science bachelor's program, they said that I couldn't take credits from my undergrad Bible degree because the school wasn't regionally accredited.
Some schools don't care; others do. I think I would take the advice others have given on the board -- accept no substitutes and go to a school that has decent credentials. If you go to a school with less than regional accreditation, you MIGHT have problems if you decide you want to transfer some of your coursework to a school which is regionally accredited.
I'm not that knowledgeable about why this is -- I'm just telling you how things have worked out for me.
BTW, the reason I could get into the Master's program that I'm in is partially because someone else from the undergrad school I went to "set a precedent" and was accepted before I was. Once someone "paves the way", schools are more accepting of degrees and courses from lesser known schools.
I also know of someone who got into a Master's program who didn't have a Bachelor's degree as approved by the state. You should understand that while these things can happen and turn out ok, it is not the "path of least resistance". The system isn't perfect, but it works better if you follow their rules .
I've been able to get where I believe God wants me to be, but it would have been easier had I understood how picky colleges can be about transfering coursework.
One final note -- even though my undergrad degree is not from a regionally accredited school, it was a great education. -
1. They do not have wide acceptance.
2. Their standards are not as high as regional accrediting bodies.
While ATS has wide acceptance in the church/seminary world it will not find such wide acceptance in the outside world.
For a list of regional agencies click here.
For a list of national agencies click here. Please note that even though these agencies have "offical" accrediting status they don't, normally, have very wide acceptance. I guess you could say that they are highly specialized.
Martin. </font>[/QUOTE]Martin,
Do you know of any ATS-accredited seminaries that are not regionally accredited? In a similar vein, are there any TRACS-accredited seminaries that have ATS accreditation? The point I am making is that ATS-accredited seminaries will be regionally accredited, though not all regionally-accredited seminaries are ATS accredited. The Master's Seminary and Liberty Theological Seminary come to mind. To me, ATS is not necessary, though someone posted that some ATS-accredited seminaries (e.g. Gordon-Conwell) will not allow students into their doctoral programs who do not have a master's from an ATS-accredited seminary. I would not be bothered by that. To me, ATS accreditation is superfluous.
I think your point concerning TRACS is well taken, though we acknowledge that TRACS is certified by both the Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. I hope TRACS' standing will improve.
If I were doing a bachelor's degree, I would seek a school with regional accreditation. Of course, Bob Jones has proven an exception. I don't think its grads have had trouble getting into master's programs at regionally-accredited institutions.
If I were looking to pursue a master's or doctoral degree, I would prefer regional accreditation but not rule out TRACS. Having said that, one considering a TRACS-only master's program should check to see if the degree will accepted by the schools where one may want to pursue a doctorate.
Bill -
Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond is ATS accredited but not RA.
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Bill -
Bill -
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However I still say schools should hold regional accreditation with TRACS as a "add on". This is even more true if distance/online education is offered by the school.
I guess all of this is mute for those who just want to be pastors. In which case PhD's and what secular employers want is not important. In that case TRACS is good enough.
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Also never tell someone that you earned your degree via online/distance education. While in the secular world it is not that big of an issue, in the seminary world it is still a sticky point (for many). It is none of their business how you earned your degree. As long as it is a real degree from an accredited school how you earned it is not important.
In Christ,
Martin.
Bill [/QB][/QUOTE] -
Bill </font>[/QUOTE]It has been a while, but from what I gathered in correspondence, they don't see a need to get RA because they have ATS accreditation. I received no other reasoning.
Also, they're a fairly new school, so maybe that plays into the equation. -
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Originally posted by Martin:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Broadus:
[QB]Martin,
Do you know of any ATS-accredited seminaries that are not regionally accredited?Click to expand...
Martin. </font>Click to expand...
Bill -
Originally posted by nate:
Do Christian College/Seminaries except Community College credits? Or undergraduate students?Click to expand...
And vice versa. Most universities will accept credits from accredited Bible colleges, as long as they offer similar courses for a degree program.
When I finished Bible college (132 credits) and enrolled in the University of Wisconsin, they accepted credits that they could - English, history, etc. They even took part of my Bible/Theology major as literature and some as history. I ended up needing about 30 credits to earn a new degree from the University.
Hope that helps. -
Thanks Dr. Bob that was exactly what I was wondering.