Tyndaly Biblical Institute and Theological Seminary

AlnEstn · Oct 8, 2003

In another discussion the subject was raised about states and/or congress not allowing unaccredited schools to offer degrees. It appears like Texas takes a very serious position on this, even telling schools what they can call themselves.

http://www.worldmag.com/world/issue/08-09-03/opening_3.asp

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/6377512.htm

Steve Levicoff · Oct 9, 2003

Hee-hee!

Delighted to read these stories. I had spotted Tyndale as a degree mill early on; for background, here is what I wrote about them in NIFI (before they got even more ballsy and started granting degrees) . . .

TYNDALE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AND BIBLE INSTITUTE
6800 Brentwood Stair, Suite 102
Fort Worth, Texas 76112
(817) 446-1415

Purportedly named after William Tyndale, who published an English Bible in the sixteenth century, Tyndale Seminary advertises a "European/English graduate program." They publish a 33-page "External Studies Prospectus," but when I requested a copy of their residential catalog they merely sent another copy of the external catalog. A division of H-E-B Ministries, the school has "been granted the privilege of the use of the Library of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary." Remember, however, that this is often a meaningless statement, since theological students can usually use the library of any seminary. They cite the accomplishments of "outstanding Tyndale students" (who received their only degrees from Tyndale), but the only faculty name that appears in their catalog is their president, "Dr. Mal Couch, Ph.D." Not only does Couch not list where he received his credentials, he commits what any reputable scholar would immediately recognize as a faux pax - using the titles "Dr." and "Ph.D." together. The proper protocol is to use one or the other. The use of both titles together generally indicates someone with an inflated ego. Take it from me, Dr. Steve Levicoff, Ph.D. (Just joking, campers.) They purport to offer associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctorate-level diplomas (they do not use the word "degree," which indicates that they may not have degree-granting authority). Their advertising is a class act and their catalog initially seems impressive through its creative use of scholarly quotes, but the program is a sham. Advertises or has advertised in The Great Commission Handbook and The Seminary and Graduate School Handbook.

N.B. In 1993, Tyndale has released an impressive looking four-color brochure touting it as "One of the most respected new schools in America." There are two items of note in the brochure that further illustrate the need for discernment by prospective students. First, like many degree mills, the school misrepresents their faculty by including well-known persons whose books they use. The problem is that several of them are dead. If you find that hard to believe, I'll quote the exact wording they use in the brochure (emphasis added) - "The following men help us explain Scripture at Tyndale because they are part of our faculty and teach here through their writings and books: Calvin, Luther, Spurgeon, Hodge, Warfield, C.I. Scofield, J. Vernon McGee, Criswell, Walvoord, Pentecost, Hal Lindsey, Charles Stanley, John McArthur [sic], Ryrie, and many, many others." (Notwithstanding the fact that they misspell John MacArthur's name, everyone on the list from Calvin through McGee have gone on to a better place than the Tyndale Biblical Institute and Seminary. Second problem: their brochure contains the most blatant misrepresentation I've seen of the Sosdian-Sharp study, the 1978 government report that affirmed the effectiveness of non-traditional degree programs). Tyndale's brochure states, "Did you know that, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, that [sic] 90% of graduates of non-regionally accredited schools, felt that their degrees were better than from traditional schools? And, 94% experienced no problems in graduate school admission." Unfortunately for Tyndale, the Sosdian-Sharp study compared traditional versus non-traditional programs, not traditional versus non-regionally accredited programs. Virtually every non-traditional program considered by researchers Sosdian and Sharp was, in fact, regionally accredited.
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I do love the good folks of Texas . . .

roysavia · Oct 9, 2003

For the record there is a TYNDALE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE and SEMINARY located in Markham, Ontario Canada. This is an accredited (Ontario Ministry of Education - Colleges and Universities) institution. Tyndale University College does have a distance learning component leading to a Bachelor of Arts in Theology.

The university has approximately 4,000 on campus students and an additional 3, 500 part time and distance learning students. They can be found at:

http://www.tyndale.ca/

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