Greetings and happy new year to all board posters, readers! I have a question for those in the know about seminaries, accredited and unaccredited. Given that the Evangelical Theological Seminary is not traditionally "accredited", is it a good effort at being GAAP or is it not? I like some opinions. (I am thinking that the Graduate Theological Foundation represents the top of the line, legitimate effort at being/becoming GAAP, for non-accredited schools. How does the ETS compare to GTF, for example)? http://www.evangelicaltheologicalseminary.edu/ KKA
Under the NIFI Criteria (which, to be quite honest, I have not applied for a while to anything), ETS is a classical degree mill. Here's how you make it easy: First, when evaluating a school, go straight to the faculty listings. When you see (1) multiple doctoral degrees on the part of multiple faculty members, but (2) the sources of those degrees are not listed, the school is likely a degree mill. Second, hit the accreditation page. When they include an apologia about the nature of accreditation, and then state that they are pursuing accreditation through a mickey-mouse agency, the school is likely a degree mill. Finally, when the school runs its own ordination service - and claims that you may hold multiple ordinations - the school is likely a degree mill. This is only a very brief overview of the criteria. But it results in my concluding, quite comfortbly: ETS is a degree mill (which, incidentally, operates under Florida's exemption from licensure for religious schools). As for the original writer's comments about the Graduate Theological Foundation, I went on record as calling GTS a degree mill years ago.
in deed, ...I tend to agree with you, Steve, in terms of your aessessment of ETS. However, in regards to your evaluation of GTF, it seems a bit harsh to call it a diploma mill. Would you state more clearly your reasons for your sense of it? Thanks. Kenneth
Re: in deed, I never called the Graduate Theological Foundation a diploma mill, I called it a degree mill. Unlike some authors who consider the two terms synonymous, I differentiate them: A diploma mill requires no, or almost no, work whatever (buying a doctorate for nothing but a 10-page dissertation, for example), while a degree mill does require some work - although not as much as a legitimate program. Here is what I wrote about them in the last edition of my book Name It & Frame It - keep in mind that this was last revised in 1994, and what I wrote was current at that time: One significant change on the part of GTF took place after I wrote this: They became "accredited" by the Accrediting Commission International, the well-known mill that once accredited a so-called school whose faculty included The Three Stooges, Arnold Ziffel (the pig from Green Acres, And Edward J. Haskell (of Leave It to Beaver). (You can read about the background of ACI in John Bear's book.) If they had any credibility at all up to this point they lost it when they pursued such a joke of an accreditation. Ergo, is GTF a diploma mill? Not by my strict definition noted above. Is it a degree mill? Yep - all the way.
As someone involved in the credentialing of ministers, if I saw on your vita that you had attended this school I would first tell you that the school isn't acceptable in terms of rigor and standards, and that it is not accredited for a reason. Secondly, I'd start to grill you trying to figure out what it is that made this school seem attractive to you – so I could determine if you were misled or misleading. I'm not saying it is an insurmountable barrier but it is an unnecessary barrier. Why bring a plague on yourself! Show that you've got something going! Aim higher! There are lots of legitimate options with flexible delivery programs these days. To add to Steve's list of criteria for determining a degree mill -- if they make a big deal out of the class ring (scroll to bottom of page) the school is bogus. Likewise (and I didn't see it with this school) if they make a big deal about what the diploma looks like you can be pretty sure they're not selling an education.
The ring is attached to the left side of one's nostril, with a tassel connected to the ring which is then attached to the left ear lobe. The year of graduation charm hangs loosely in the middle, just above the left jawbone.
Thanks, Steve et al. Thanks for the information. I am sorry, Steve, that I misunderstood your initial post regarding GTF. I understand now the nuanced difference that intended. I get your point, Boydton, too. Rest easy, I am not interested in ETS, since I am nearning completion of my degree! Kenneth
