Is TRACS Worth It, Since...

Is tracs worth is for the school OR for the student looking at a tracs school?

 

I have wondered this too. I have looked at Bob Jones, because they have a doctorate program that interests me that I could begin right after a MA. Should TRACS graduates even say that they have an MDIV or DMIN when applying for positions?

 

TRACS accreditation allows the school to use federal financial aid.

 

Why shouldn't they name their degrees? TRACS is still a recognized US accreditor. The employer can decide to accept an institutions degrees or not.

 

I think it is good for young schools like Shepherd's seminary in Cary. However older schools should seek regional accreditation as soon as they can. Having said that, however, those are decisions that have to be made by each individual school. Degrees from institutions accredited only by TRACS can be transfered (etc). Seminaries like Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Liberty University, and others will honor those credits/degrees. Therefore schools like Luther Rice, Temple, and Southern Evangelical are very good choices for those who need a degree but can't move to a seminary town. So, to answer your question, it is worth it.

 

==Yes, they should. Name the school, the degree, and when the degree was earned. It is up to the church, school, or other possible places of employment to do their homework. No mention should be made of TRACS nor should any mention be made of oncampus or online. In fact, the latter issue should never matter. If someone asks I suppose you have to answer, but nobody should ask that question. For some reason some seminaries are weird when it comes to online education. Secular universities/colleges are generally ahead of seminaries when it comes to online/distance education. I have to wonder why I can earn graduate degrees online from some of the nation's top secular universities but not through some of the top seminaries (Southern, Trinity Evangelical, Wheaton, etc).

 

I think that accreditation, by submitting a school to a critical review by its peers, must surely improve the quality of the education. Schools that do not get an outside review are prone to delude themselves into thinking their education is better than it actually is. Humans and institutions are almost always better when they are accountable.

 

It's been my impression that the majority of Bible colleges that take a very strong stand against accreditation seem to be the very small local church-related ones.

While it's their right to oppose accreditation, I wonder if their opposition isn't more financially-based rather than what they usually state as the basis of their opposition: "We're not going to have some government agency tell us what we can or cannot teach!" (Or something to that effect?)

Accreditation by a valid accrediting agency (TRACS or RA) is not an inexpensive proposition, especially if a college's student body may be less than 100.

Is this a fairly accurate assessment of why many very small local church-related Bible colleges seem to be so vocal in their opposition to accreditation by a valid accrediting agency?

 

Probably... but getting them to admit that would be difficult. It is always easier to hide behind the 'separation of church and state' argument (funny how that works) than admit that you just don't want to spend the money to do it.

 

I'm very fond of Whitefield. Very fond.