What's the point of unaccredited colleges?

[missourimary]

If you are going into business, medicine or law, there are certain colleges that you look into just because they are so well known in their field. You'll make the contacts you'll later need, and have an edge on others entering the job market due to the degree.

With or without accreditation, Bible colleges are the same way. If you want to go into ministry in the UPC (especially if you are a woman) you go to a UPC affiliated Bible college, accredited or not. Otherwise you don't have the contacts (or husband) you need later.

There are other "advantages" to going to a non accredited college though. Speaking generally of all non-accredited schools, there are several things that might prompt someone to attend one of those than an accredited school. Some are cheaper. Often people don't realize a college isn't accredited when they enroll. College is college, in their eyes. And, though it is becoming more common for businesses to check accreditation before hiring, not all do.

UPC affiliated non accredited schools have an excellent recruiting plan. (Sending their puppet ministries, choirs, and such out to various churches and conferences isn't only to give students experience, and pastors who promote Bible college may be well favored.) They also may be promoted by parents who are concerned that their children will be corrupted in a public university setting.

I wasn't UPC when I was looking for a college, but I did consider myself a Christian. I talked to several students who had attended Bible school, thinking Bible school would be my ultimate answer to all difficulties. I could study the Bible in a Christian atmosphere-no more teasing, no drugs and alcohol, no gossip, no one putting others down. After all, it was CHRISTIAN! A student told me not to go... he said universities were the worst schools for that stuff, followed by Bible colleges, followed by private colleges. He recommended that if I wanted that atmosphere, a private college would be the way to go. I only half believed him at the time, but my parents wanted me at a university, so we compromised on a private college. I discovered there were attitudes and behaviors that I didn't agree with, but there was support (chaplains, caring professors) who would work with me to deal with those issues. I stayed all four years, since I'd started attending a UPC. But I still wanted to go to Bible college. I arranged to spend two days and a night at a UPC Bible college to see if it was for me, and decided there was no need for me to attend. Students ran the halls all night, slept through their midterm reviews the next day and the professors acted like that was normal... lots of flirting, little study. It wasn't what I was looking for. I didn't know at the time that it wasn't accredited, but I wouldn't have cared. I was looking for a certain atmosphere, not a degree. I just didn't find what I was looking for there.

When I had asked for an overnight visit the college was surprised. Apparently that isn't something that's often done at UPC Bible colleges. It ought to be-both for the parents as well as the 17-18 year olds looking into attending.

[*AQuietPlace*]

I understand why some parents want their children to attend Bible college.... they think it's a better atmosphere. But if you're an 18 year old who wants to be a teacher... why Bible college? Aren't you then limited to only Christian schools which aren't accredited? Maybe that's all they want, though.

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by brotherjason

The accreditation is man's stamp of approval on a school. I don't believe that it is necessary for a bible college to have accreditation other than an organization's stamp of approval.
That being said, if I were looking to get an education in a field outside of the church I wouldn't go to a Bible college, I would go to a regular college or technical college.
Boy, took me a long time to say nothing didn't it?

Personally I would want accreditation at a bible school. Id want to make sure the education I was getting was not below standard.

Additionally if I were inclined to publications I would hope to get recognition outside of our little walled church and that ain't gonna happen at some backwater college where all they do is study church doctrines

[missourimary]

Originally Posted by *AQuietPlace*

I understand why some parents want their children to attend Bible college.... they think it's a better atmosphere. But if you're an 18 year old who wants to be a teacher... why Bible college? Aren't you then limited to only Christian schools which aren't accredited? Maybe that's all they want, though.

Yes, you are limited to non accredited, private, usually Christian schools if you get a degree from a non-accredited school. You are also (at least in some states) limited to the state you certify in even if you go to an accredited school. for example: http://dese.mo.gov/divteachqual/teac...nitialapp.html

Some states seem to press private schools to obtain certified teachers. (My understanding is that Missouri 'encourages' certification of all teachers, even in private schools.) Some states now require certified teachers in non-accredited schools to teach one out of every three years (or so, depending on the state, Kansas is one example) in an accredited public school to maintain certification.

If a person goes to a non-accredited college, they can't certify to teach without first taking the proper classes at an accredited school, but they can substitute teach. Some colleges may transfer in a certain number of non-accredited college credits. I'm not sure, and it may depend on the school. If a college does this, I'd be suspicious. But it might be worth checking into some colleges in the same area as the non-accredited school to see if they might. Junior colleges might be more likely to do this than four-year colleges.

[Jason B]

Originally Posted by Sister Alvear

If we could all get a degree in kindness...that would be great....maybe I should sign up...

Its easy, go to SEU, you can get a degree for anything.

It seems to me you've already got a masters degree in kindness.

[MissBrattified]

Obviously in order to be successful in today's secular work place, you need to attend an accredited college or technical/vocational school. There are some exceptions (apprenticeships, performance/entertainment related fields, etc.), and not everyone plans to enter the work force.

What college[s] you attend will be dependent on your longterm goals. If you're a young woman and your goal in life is to be a domestic goddess, then attending an accredited college may not be all that important. I can see the wisdom in tucking a nursing degree or some other sort of quick/easy certification under your belt as a back up plan. On the other hand, if you plan to be a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher, then you'll need to take the right steps toward that.

I wouldn't expect my children to use an unaccredited bible college degree for anything other than ministry, really, if that.

There's a young woman in our church who graduated from Bible college, married, has a little girl, and is now attending secular college to get her teaching degree. I don't think we need to do things in a certain order, necessarily. It depends on the person.

[Sherri]

There are several Christian universities that will take some credits from unaccredited Bible colleges. We've had some young people go to Bible college and then go on and get degrees at universities. I think it helped to ground them in basic Christianity before they went out and faced the "real world".

Eddie and I went to Bible college - I knew that I wanted to be in the ministry; he was fighting it. LOL! But it's where we needed to be, and I wouldn't trade a minute of it. Not having a degree has not hurt us, in what we're doing. Eddie reads constantly, so I guess you could say he's self-educated.

However, my daughter graduated from a university, and my son is in his fourth year. If they had asked to go to Bible college, I would have let them, but they wanted to go on to regular college.

[Aquila]

I think Bible colleges are over rated and too expensive. But that's just me. I've learned that everything you need can be given to you but asking God what you should study and sincerely listening to the Pastor of the church you attend.

Again, that's just my experience. But Bible college is a good place to meet someone of like precious faith if you're a young person looking for marital options outside of your local fellowship. lol