NationsUniversity No Tuition Bible Degrees

Here's an interesting nonaccredited DL religious college organized in Louisiana, USA that offers very substantial religious courses (and degrees) through DL at no tuition. Donations are requested. Some courses may require that the student obtain their own books.

I counted about 100 semester length courses in Bible, Church History, Theology, Ministry & Missions and Comparative Religion. Very impressive. Here's the URL:

http://www.nationsu.org

Best wishes,

Dave

 

Free DL

The school is run by the Church of Christ, which also manages Abilene Christian and Lubbock Colleges in Texas. I'm going to check out Comparative Religions to see if I can get salary points since it is related to social science.

 

I've notice this school in the past as I am associated with the group that the school is connected with. The intent is to offer religious education to students on a world wide basis. In the past, efforts among churches of Christ to bring foreign students to the U.S. to obtain an education and then return home have been only half successful. Students come here but often don't want to go home. NationsUniversity is designed as an alternative.

Regards - Andy

 

Re: Free DL

Technically, the school is not "run" by the Church of Christ. Associated with might be a better way of characterizing the relationship. The faculty and administration of the school are members of locally autonomous "churches" of Christ, each with their own Elders, etc. Each of these congregations is but one part of the whole church. The members of various congregations come together, as they do with many other projects, and participate in these projects, which are often separate, non-profit legal entities. Some projects are under the guidance of local Elders in their official capacity while others are not. I clarify this point because members of these churches generally feel that autonomous, local church government best exemplifies what was practiced in the first century church. Just like Andy Borchers, I am also a member of this church.

Dave

 

You're right, Dave. My husband was raised in the Church of Christ and as a Catholic, I had a difficult time understanding the autonomy of the Church. Each church is different, ie. kitchen vs. no kitchen.

 

Ok, so is it RA?

No tuition is great! Is the school US DOE accredited?

 

Re: Ok, so is it RA?

No, the school is not RA. It operates based on donations, both financial and instructional. Here is an explanation from the website:

"Why has NationsUniversity not sought accreditation of its programs? The reason that NationsUniversity exists is to make a college level education in Religious Studies available to highly motivated students who want to prepare for church leadership but are unable to attend accredited Christian universities for financial or other practical reasons. We are able to provide quality independent study courses without cost anywhere in the world by avoiding the costs associated with bricks and mortar universities, by recruiting university professors and other professionals to volunteer their expertise and services, and by receiving generous support from friends who share our goal.

The criteria used by accrediting agencies include some requirements that do not fit NationsUniversity. Among these are tuition and loan policies, student/faculty ratio, or number of books in a central library. These criteria are not appropriate for a school offering tuition-free, university education through independent study. However, criteria relating to our mission and objectives, curriculum, faculty, student achievement, fiscal responsibility, organizational research, and self-improvement do fit us.

The short answer to the question of accreditation and NationsUniversity is that we are unaccredited in order to provide quality education tuition-free."

Source: http://www.nationsu.org/index.pl/standing

Dave

 

I have enrolled at Nations University. I am never going to teach using the Master of Religious Studies, but it will help build a bibliography of books read for my Phd program. Any knowledge is better than none. I am also never going to put it on a resume. I will let you all know the details of my journey as the year progresses.

 

While the distinction you mention might seem odd, it is perfectly understandable given the relationship between local autonomy and religious authority as it is commonly understood in the churches of Christ. For the leaders in each of these congregations, religious authority does not come from a central religious authority on earth but from the Holy Spirit, as an answer to prayer and reading of the Holy Scriptures. Specifically, each group of leading men or Elders in a local church have understood the Apostle Paul's exhortations about proper administration of the Lord's Supper in slightly different ways. Some have understood 1 Cor 11:34 (NIV: "If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.") to mean that you shouldn't eat at the church building because that might lead to problems with observing the Lord's Supper. Hence, no kitchen or at least no kitchen attached to the auditorium. Still, other local church leaders see no interference offered by a kitchen and use the kitchen for other fellowship meals "separate and apart" from observation of the Lord's Supper. Typically, there is universal agreement on the central doctrinal emphases, which we won't go into here...

Dave

 

Blessed art thou among men...! ;-)

Dave

 

According to their website a student with a Nations B.A. may enroll into the College of Bible and Ministry at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee.

The student will be conditionally accepted. Once he/she completes nine hours with a "B" average, then full admission may be given.

I don't think this is unusual, however. When I was at ESR one without a bachelor's could be conditionally admitted into a master's program. I don't remember the other details, however.

This school reminds me of another such "churches of Christ" school, The Theological University of America. But no mention of transfer credits is given on this site.

 

Thanks for the link... This school seems to be focused on the industrialized world and is charging tuition. Interesting school nonetheless.

Dave