No, but if you are interested in accounting you should check-out Golden Gate... they seem to have an acceptable 100% non-res MAcc... might be the only one in the US.
Definitely a legitimate, regionally accredited school, albeit about as right-wing as one can get. If you can handle the fact that it's Jerry Falwell's school, and some of his, um, "flavored" viewpoint creeps into some of the teachings, it is nearly universally considered to be reputable and among the more academically rigorous DL programs out there.
I just looked into some of the curriculum and I think you're probably right. Most of there classes are based on biblical theory and the impact of accounting, management, etc. on biblical practices. I think I'll pass. This school is more in line for someone in the ministry. ------------------ mea
Of course, a bit of overstatement here. Liberty University actually is viewed as a liberal institution by the even more right-leaning institutions like Bob Jones University and Pensacola Christian College. Just goes to demonstrate once again that perceptions of liberal and conservative are quite relative (right and left can only be determined in relation to where one is presently standing). As a Liberty University graduate (Bachelor's in Religion, '97), I must say that this institution is definately experiencing some positive, significant strides of progress. Their present president (formerly of the Georgia State Univ. business school) is guiding the University with much wisdom and foresight. I believe that the quality and credibility of the Liberty experience presently is being bolstered significantly. It is fair to say that Liberty University is now the strongest and finest it has been; better things are yet to come.
I'd second this; here in Mississippi, Liberty would be conservative enough to be a conservative college but not nearly conservative enough to be a seminary. When I looked into their M.Div. about 18 months ago, the required statement of faith struck me as rather ecumenical and inclusive (e.g. requires students to believe in salvation through grace but not, as I recall, "damnation of the lost," which at least two seminaries in Mississippi actually put on their required belief statement). I also seem to recall the wording on biblical literalism also being fairly inclusive towards folks who do not believe in a literal interpretation of scripture. And unlike the certain seminaries local to me, Liberty University would not consider a viewing of Schindler's List to constitute grounds for expulsion (I don't remember if RTS has this policy, but I seem to remember Wesley Biblical having a clause that forbids students from watching R-rated films, or even PG-13 rated films if they have reason to believe that it will contain glorified violence or sexual content--which I guess is a fairly reasonable policy for a seminary to have, now that I think of it.) Cheers, ------------------ Tom Head www.tomhead.net
Just to clarify: The restriction (if I remember correctly) applies to all R-rated films, not just ones that contain specific objectionable material; the "glorifies..." requirement (which I've paraphrased from memory) applies to films with a PG-13 rating. (Reading college web sites has ruined my grammar, folks!) Cheers, ------------------ Tom Head www.tomhead.net
From my continuing summer vacation, I shall take a brief moment to pontificate . . . Liberty is, indeed, more liberal than schools such as BJU, Pensacola, or Tennessee Temple. (BJU, in fact, considers Liberty to be heretical.) When I took a modular course at Liberty several years ago, there were several liberal students on hand, including a few who were on the left wing of social issues. If anything, Liberty reserves conservatism for its traditional, residential students; a well known event a few years ago involved the expulsion of a few students from the United Pentecostal Church who were found guilty of spreading the "Jesus-Only" doctrine on campus (as opposed to the doctrine of the Trinity). As for films, these restrictions only apply to the residential students, who tend to be of traditional college age rather than working adults (as is the case in the distance programs). Anecdotally, when I taught a medical ethics course at Biblical Theological Seminary a few years ago, I would have loved to have used the film Whose Life Is It Anyway? as a teaching tool. Unfortunately, the film had an abstract, airbrushed sequence that included the clear view of a vagina, so I decided not to use it in consideration of the few students who would have gone ballistic. If it were not for that one shot (given the nature of the school at which I was teaching), the film would have been perfect in such a course. At evangelical schools, however, that one-second snippet of a "stumbling block" would completely overshadow the overall message. C'est la vagina . . . Overall, I would suggest that a liberal with a hang-up about Liberty is simply as constipated as the conservative who would become hung up by a one-second vagina shot. If you're uncomfortable with something that offends you, look elsewhere. But in terms of the overall quality of their programs (and despite the canned, rote nature of their courses, which would bore the hell out of me), Liberty is top-notch. - Steve True star of pg. 82 of the Bear Guide, and recipient of a phone call from Jerry Falwell, who cajoled me not to release my book on TRACS (I said no).
So at which point does a degree in liberal arts turn into a degree in conservative arts? Oops sorry don't mind me. I just couldn't resist.
From what I remember seeing in their DL curriculum it was not overly religious. I can imagine that at the undergraduate level you may be required to take religion electives but not at the graduate level. I had started a MA in Counseling through them and at the time was not disciplined enough to do the DL format. So I took a more traditional route. At any rate, their program was almost identical to my secular program. Other than the fact that the professor began the lecture (video) with a prayer, the rest was pretty much "non religious" and the texts secular from what I can remember (8 years ago). Their M.A. in Counseling is in fact a great DL opportunity for people wishing to qualify for the LPC in most states. They have a short residency for a couple of the courses like Group Counseling and build in a practicum. Their business (MBA) is as geared to someone wanting an MBA for the secular world as one for ministry. Liberty has a differnt kind of standard for on campus students in terms of religious expectations than it does for DL students. As some have said you can contrast that with other schools. Oral Roberts University (a Tier 2 school) for instance where DL students take a pledge to avoid alcohol, homosexual conduct, etc. When the student comes for a residency they are not allowed to wear a beard. I often though that with the alcohol and beard bit that Jesus would be thrown off campus. If you can live with the restrictions ORU has some good DL programs from B.A. through Doctorate (education secular & Christian). North
