Louisiana Baptist University

Does anyone have any input or opinions on Louisiana Baptist University? I would like to know if anyone is currently taking any courses with this school?

 

LBU is unaccredited, but it is at least up front about that and states that "LBU has not sought either regional or national accreditation by a secular accrediting agency." I have never attended it, but it seems to be reasonably well regarded from what I've read online, ie, it seems to be a legitimate school which requires real work to earn a degree. (Though the standards for the degrees may differ from accredited schools.) The utility of a degree from LBU would be more limited due to its lack of accreditation.

The Wikipedia page reveals an interesting history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Baptist_University

Personal opinion: Grant Jeffery is one of their alumni (MA & PhD), I've bought & read two of his books and both are (IMHO at least) sub-par. That's only a single grad, but doesn't help LBU's rep ...

Why consider LBU instead of other accredited distance options like Liberty or Luther Rice? (Other than price of course)

 

Here are some concerns from the perspective of an LBU outsider:

1. Their website seems to be ill-informed. They claimed accreditation from two rather famously unrecognized accrediting bodies at one point (The secular ACI and the sectarian ACCTS). Not a good sign.
2. Graduates report what looks like a disinterest in languages and generally low difficulty. See comments below.
3. They were reported to be seeking TRACS accreditation in 2002, and I was then one of the people willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. They never made a run at accreditation, and more importantly, there appears to have been no substantive change for the better. ​

So what have some of the LBU doctoral grads have to say on this forum?

This LBU student was primarily convinced by the denominational endorsement of BBFI

LBU doctorate = undergrad or MA in difficulty

This LBU doctoral student was impressed by the rigor of a 200pp book with a workbook…

...but then he’s a King James Only guy

Potpourri, based on this I would encourage you to take Emmzee's advice and explore some stronger options.

 

Hello

Iam an LBU alumni I graduated in 2009 through the school of Communication I did my BA in Music an bible. I must say a few things my personal experience. 1) Yes LBU is Unnaccredited and they made it very clear when I applied for the course. They did not hide anything from me. They were very honest and truthful

2) I was awarded credit for my prior studies which I pursued from other colleges which were fully accredited in the UK

3) They took almost two months to evaluate my prior learning assesments
suitably award credits
4) I was awarded no credits for life experience even though I had evidence and testimonials to back .

5) I had a substantial work in terms of written assignments, 4 research papers, A recital project and submission of an Audio recording

6) There was a lot I learnt from their designed course work books in Music ie the Instrumental conducting toolkit, Choral conducting toolkit, and Voice.

7) Iam aware LBU has limited utility . Interestingly some accredited universities in the UK and US have accepted LBU degree for a place in the MA music course. Off course some large universities have also rejected LBU degree.

8) By and large I have found LBU degrees accepted in various Job offers I had applied for.

9) LBU degree has given me the satisfaction of a quality education and above all its use in My Christian ministry.

10) My sincere advice is if you need education to train you and develop skills and if you are and adult learner seeking continuing education then LBU is the best

11) If you want to apply for a prestigious JOB then one should seek an IVY League school or a fully accredited school

12) LBU is for people who have a call to Serve God as Missionaries, Pastors and Christian educators in a Christian service.

13) LBU is developing and Iam sure they will get fully accredited someday. They have already begun hiring quality staff and qualified professors.

I Hope my experience with LBU sheds some light.

Myrrh Music

 

People considering linking their reputations to an unaccredited school should consider the source of the rhetoric. Does anyone besides the LBU grad really believe that the unaccredited LBU is the best place for adults seeking an education?

 

I've read in many places the words of those whose opinions I trust on matters such as these that LBU is sub-standard... that its coursework is easy... not really on the college level.

Furthermore, any "school" which claims ACI (or any other kind of non-USDE- and/or non-CHEA-approved accreditation) is prima facie fraudulent. ACI is not only a bogus accreditor, but it has a provably -- unforgivably, in fact -- nefarious past.

My advice: Stay away from it.

 

Hello

LBU does not make claims of any accreditation. It does not have any bogus accreditation and has not sought accreditation. Check your information before making statements. Besides this Wikipedia information is not accurate and also one cannot rely on every information available on the internet, they are not always accurate. LBU is working on developing and someday they will be accredited.Please Check out information or talk to people who have graduated from LBU. I am no fool to have taken course with LBU I was aware of their Lack of accreditation however the coursework is substantial. I have studied in some accredited schools egs London College of Music ( Thames Valley University) UK. Royal College of Music London UK. I have found their courses of a good quality. Having these qualifications I am able to judge better through my experience.

MyrrhMusic

 

DETC accredited Columbia Southern University claimed worthless WAUC accreditation once upon a time: http://forums.degreeinfo.com/archive/index.php/t-1025.html

Notice that many people making remarks about LBU's quality & rigor have never actually been students. They may say things like "Well, my sources tell me" or "I have a friend who..." Besides quality & rigor are subjective; every year when U.S. News "tier rankings" come out everyone goes into an uproar over some alleged biased or whatever and that's only one example.

If you really think LBU is where you want to pursue a degree simply give it a try and compare & contrast for yourself. Don't take my word for it nor anyone else's.

 

About Wikipedia, true. But....

http://web.archive.org/web/19970109163345/www.lbu.edu/credents.htm

Granted, this was 1997. Many things change in 13 years. Barrington University, after several years of operation, was able to clean up, change its name to the University of Atlanta, and get accredited in less time.

 

The first archived web page located on the wayback machine where ACCTS accreditation is not claimed is May 12, 2005.

Compare April 29, 2005

http://web.archive.org/web/20041115182950/www.lbu.edu/macquickfacts.html

to May 12, 2005

http://web.archive.org/web/20051024165527/www.lbu.edu/macquickfacts.html

 

Currently their site states "as a primarily religious institution, LBU has not sought either regional or national accreditation by a secular accrediting agency" (see here)

So, technically, that is true, since neither ACI nor ACCTS are secular in nature. But, as mighty mouse points out, they clearly have sought accreditation in the past. This isn't necessarily a show-stopper, if they have realized their mistake and put this behind them, then they should be given another chance.

As stated earlier in the thread, IMHO, LBU is not a mill, seems to require real work to earn a degree, and as far as unaccredited schools go, it has a decent reputation. It is certainly appropriate for some people, as long as they clearly understand the practical limitations of having an unaccredited degree.

 

Hi

LBU degrees can be used in a ministerial context ie one can teach in a Private Christian School, Faith Based Christian schools, Sunday schools, Music Ministry in a Local church. Missionary work in a third world country, Etc

LBU mission is to Honor the Lord. Many LBU do so as I have mentioned. So the degree from LBU helps one get training in that context. Many LBU graduates are succesfull and effective. I make it clear when I use the tile of my Music degree as "Sacred Music " and express my training within a Christian context. Even though I work in some secular set ups I am extremely honest and clear about my BA in Music is for Sacred Music to be used within the church. My employers are happy and never question its utility even in a secular set up.

MyrrhMusic

 

It seems that all of the LBU teaching staff holds degrees from LBU.

 

When I see claims from alumni saying that such-and-such long time unaccredited institution will be accredited someday, I consider it hogwash, not worth the magnetic smudges on the DegreeInfo hard drive that stores it. Sure it does happen very rarely but more often than not it is just wishful thinking.

 

I sense that dialogue about the "validity" of religious educational institutions is borderline taboo on this forum... accredited or not. Perhaps graduates and leaders of these organizations feel that their accreditation comes from the bible or G-D, or another supreme being. I am sure graduates of these programs have the potential to do a lot of good in the world.

 

Validity of Christian schools

It looks like some people in this forum just hate Christian and faith based schools. Well, they are entitled to their opinions. Christians will be hated for their conviction and resistance to wickedness. Having said that, LBU is for people who have faith, Vision and Purpose. So an accreditation ( not unnecessary) is not of prime importance to that individual and the institutions. Even Association for Biblical and Higher Education in its website mentions" An Unnaccredited school does not mean that the school is of poor quality or substandard, however there are many diploma mills, and beware of those" There is a similar note mentioned in US department of education website.

On a final note some schools do not want to pursue accreditation due to several reasons and obviously there are limitations there. LBU for instance has students from all over the world and many from third world nations. Accreditation would cause fees to increase making it extremely difficult to pursue an education.

 

It's easy work to find any number of positive posts/threads related to Christian schools on this board and so I do not believe this to be the case. However, in your mind, your saying so allows you to disregard other's opinions. I think the reality is that there are some people on this board, myself included, who have a fairly automatic skeptical reaction to an unaccredited school, regardless of it's sectarian origin. IMO your attempt to turn this into an anti-Christian thing falls flat.

 

Opinions

Opinions will be opinions and that does not mean an opinion is true. Also each one is entitled to an opinion good or bad . And I will defend my opinion. Just because the whole world including the pope thought that the world was flat didnt prove they were right. Galileo was put to prison. If all that I defend again is an opinion and someone challenges it, even that is fine. One does not have to agree to what I express.

 

Hate is a strong word and I certainly don't sense that on this forum. I do however, sense a degree of arrogance and lack of respect towards unaccredited religious educational institutions. Perhaps it is due to a "spirit of caution" for prospective students contemplating enrollment in certain schools.

 

I don't know how anyone can possibly say that. It's true that Degreeinfo has been 'all businxss degrees, all the time', in recent months. But in the past there have actually been periods when discussion of Christian (always Christian) religious and theological programs threatened to dominate the board. Do some searches, you'll find hundreds of old threads.

There's a-priori skepticism directed at all non-accredited degree programs, just as there should be. The burden of proof in demonstrating non-accredited programs' credibility always lies with those programs' champions. That's as true for religious programs as for secular subjects, there's no difference in that regard. Respect can't simply be demanded nor credibility assumed, no matter what religious tradition a program chooses to identify with.