I post this not to inflame, but to bring more "light than heat" to an old argument that has raged here on this section of the BB for more years than I want to remember. Please when you respond--do it with kindness.
This TRACS vs. RA accreditation goes to the heart of what "real accreditation" means IMHO! I would still submit for argumentation that, generally speak, RA schools produce a better overall education that do other schools.
Well, this will cause controversy, but if you want government money you will have play by most of the government's rules.
I believe this about the companies that took money in the bailout.
Not sure why any school wouldn't want to take on RA over not having it. As an education (adjunct) I think it protects students and institutions.
I think RA is stronger than TRACS or ATS accreditation for undergraduate degrees. You want as many doors open as possible.
This whole post-secondary education thing in the US is getting completely ridiculous imho. This accrediting body is over this, and this is over this, and all the time the greatest growth industry since 1990 (in terms of economic growth) has been institutions of higher education. But I digress...
I'm not sure that being denied state aid means much. Northland students are still eligeable for federal financial aid.
Bringing up RA vs TRACS/ATS, etc. again and again and again and again and again seems to be indicative that there is little of substance to discuss here.
An important thing to remember: accredting agencies are Federal in nature. Both ATS and TRACS are Federally approved, so you'd think that would be good enough. The whole idea of a Christian accrediting agency does raise some questions. However, when you're Federally approved, should that end the matter, or does the state have the right to say "so what"?
TRACS is recognized by the US Department of Education as a national accrediting body for Christian colleges and universities, so it's possible the suit might have a leg to stand on.
That said, however, as a former (and continuing) student, I wouldn't even consider dropping my hard-earned dollars on a college that wasn't accredited with the same accreditation as my local secular universities.
If they're not going to bother doing so, then they're not worth my money.
It should end it, but it does not. The fact is many colleges, universities, and seminaries usually hire people who have degrees from regionally accredited schools. This is also an issue for students seeking to transfer to another school or seek an advanced degree. There are several major universities and seminaries that will not honor credits/degrees from school accredited only by TRACS or ATS. They require regional accreditation. I believe Southern (SBTS) told me, in a survey I did several years ago, that they did not (at the time) honor degrees/credits from schools only accredited by TRACS. Like it or not (and I don't) TRACS, ATS, DETC (etc), simply don't carry as much weight as regional accreditation.
Liberty will transfer credits from tracs accredited schools and at least one unacredited school (Louisiana University). Most likely the credits will go into the electives areas.
Houston Baptist will not accept anything other than credits from regionally accredited schools.
I was able to transfer some credits from Luther Rice (TRACS only) to Dallas Seminary (SACS and ATS accredited)... a few of the core required courses and some electives. Apparently these things differ on a school-by-school basis.
I'm just repeating what the admissions office told me several years ago. They directly said that they would not accept degrees from Luther Rice University because they were not regionally accredited. Also my question to SBTS was based on graduate level credit transfers and doctoral admissions, not undergraduate work. They claimed their accreditation required them to hold that standard. Maybe their policy has changed.
Very true. For example, in my survey I found that Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary would accept credits/degrees from Luther Rice, but Southern Baptist Theological Seminary would not. It certainly varies from school to school. That is why people should always do their homework before enrolling in any degree program.
I'm am telling that I know people who have gone there and graduated from there with PhDs (and some are currently writings dissertations and some are still in the coursework phase) whose prior work and degrees were from non regionally accredited institutions. These were not even TRACS accredited schools. This is a number of years old. It was not "several years" ago, at least ten, and probably more. I can't recall exactly.