<p>I was employed at a christian college for 20 years. After years of observing students graduating from college and not being able to find a job I began to seek out why. Please consider the following:
If your purpose is to find a job after graduating from college then seek out a college that is REGIONALLY accredited. Many christian colleges claim to be accredited, but if you look carefully they are not REGIONALLY accredited. 10 or 15 years ago this may have been okay, but now many diploma mills are now accredited. When speaking with a corporate recruiter, I found one of the first things they look at is if the college is accredited. If it is not, then it goes to the bottom of the pile. I believe that many christian colleges give a good education, but unfortunately they are not looked upon as so.</p>
<p>I agree with checking to see if they are regionally accredited. It also helps to check to see where RECENT graduates in a chosen major have gotten jobs or have been accepted to grad schools.</p>
<p>The latter is true for both secular and Christian schools IMO.</p>
<p>Amen! While many may know and be able to instruct the Truth, and have gotten others to fund facilities and dormitories, that doesn’t mean any or all of them should be charging a fee in exchange for classroom time. </p>
<p>UNLESS…</p>
<p>It is fully understood that their offerings have been given the seal of good housekeeping by none beyond God. And while for Heavenly occupation, none other is necessary, unfortunately most of the world’s employers and graduate school programs, for lack of being able or willing to discern good from otherwise, require “ACCREDITATION.” In fact, most don’t even bother re-checking institutional status once it’s been determined.</p>
<p>Now, if one intends to devote their lives to the mission field or a local parochial school with an outhouse, probly no issue. </p>
<p>But this specific issue does illustrate the potential complexity in determining genuinely Christian-based instruction in a secular world. Many of the determinants leading to institutional status of “accredited” for another 10 years fly in the face of God. Way too often reviewers are products and employees of “worldly” institutions all too happy to look down their academic noses at orthodox Christian values and practices. </p>
<p>While there may be some value in this process, it smacks of the very costly creation of cottage industries in and within higher education, where virtually all the oversight and policing is done by the inmates.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone smart enough to find this message board would be stupid enough to attend an unaccredited or unranked university.</p>
<p>Perhaps not, but naivete might lead them home. As one noted, lots of schools with great names out there. Obviously, you’ve not been following the news about such places. Pennsylvania’s noting a number.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure. The advertising is pretty good from some of these places and it tends to be aimed at parents. If a potential student were to find this board, they might not know the difference. Learning about the difference could provide them with solid information NOT found on the advertisements to share with their parents.</p>
<p>For that matter, parents might even find this board via a search engine if they are looking for options with Christian colleges. That’s how I found this place when my son told me he wanted a Christian college and only had a couple of local colleges he knew about. I wanted to know if there were more options, so started searching to plan some visits. I happened to know the difference, but I know plenty of parents probably do not.</p>
<p>Well said. And let’s get real. Accreditation is one of the least understood (even among institutions), least discussed. Having worked in the admissions biz for a number of seasons, I don’t ever remember discussing this with either candidates or parents. It’s usually assumed, rightly or otherwise. And the landscape has been drastically changing for any number of reasons … profit (higher ed is VERY profitable biz as many millionaire owners of proprietary institutions can attest and reflect) … values (many, especially among Christians, increasingly find secular institutions at odds with their values and POV) … access (proprietary schools are often far easier to access) … curriculum … payment (until recently, many have been beneficiary of government guaranteed payment, sorta like section 8 housing) … market niche (often lower income, less sophisticated or knowledgeable customer base that does not avail itself to more traditional higher ed markets.)</p>
<p>ACollegeDad - by the way you phrased your statements, you did a grave disservice to Christian higher education. You made it sound as though most Christian colleges are unaccredited. In fact, most Christian liberal arts colleges and a significant number of Bible colleges hold regional accreditation. With a few notable exceptions (e.g., Pensacola or Bob Jones and similar outliers), only the smallest of Christian colleges don’t hold regional accreditation.</p>
<p>Having said that, I definitely agree that it is good for students to ask ALL colleges about their accreditation status and it is important to understand what different types of accreditations mean. This is not just an issue related to Christian education by any means.</p>
<p>As someone else said, accreditation is like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for colleges. There are two broad categories of accreditation: National and Regional. </p>
<p>Regional accreditation is usually held in higher regard than national accreditation. There are six regional accreditors in the U.S. When you graduate from a regionally accredited college, you can be confident that your degree will be recognized by employers and graduate schools across the U.S. If your college is not regionally accredited, there is a good possibility that your courses wont transfer elsewhere or qualify you for graduate study at some universities. In some cases, programmatic accreditation is also important (for instance, for engineering or social work programs).</p>
<p>Palm… There are more Christian colleges out there that are not REGIONALLY accredited then you may think. Many of them are accredited, but that accreditation is not recognized by many employers. I believe that you can probably get a better education there, but unfortunately employers do not realize that. My whole point is for a parent and student to have ALL of the information before making a decision.</p>
<p>Agreed. There are a ton of unaccredited Christian schools. A number of them even tout this fact, inkling they are above the fray of this world. And while many of them provide outstanding educational opportunities, imo, students would have to be crazy to purchase credits and more from an unaccredited institution with over 5,000 colleges and universities available. The exceptions might include … taking a course(s) from a specific instructor, money being no object, tuition being nominal, employment inconsequential or perhaps complementary to that institution, entering a field where it is non-essential (missionary, farming, harness-making, etc. …there are many, of course), never planning to attend grad school @ an accredited institution, etc.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that regional accreditation requires being of the higher education world in various ways. But the time, effort, money invested in this process suggests not risking … and it is … pursuing any education that might limit or exclude future opportunities. There are simply too many accredited options, be they Christian, secular, or otherwise. In the word of that famous WW II general …</p>
<p>“NUTS!”</p>
<p>Very well said. If you really want to be sure that the Christian College you are enrolled in is accredited, check their accreditation on their website or in an Institutional Accreditation or Commission on Colleges in your state. In that, you will be sure that you are in the right path and has the assurance for brighter future without any doubts, right?</p>