Trinity Seminary and Liverpool

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Craig Hargis, Apr 19, 2002.

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  1. Craig Hargis

    Craig Hargis Member

    Trinity Theological Seminary of Indiana has a redesigned webpage on which they now make very little mention of their relationship with Liverpool, something that they featured at some length on their page in the past. (trinitysem.edu) Liverpool, for its part still lists Trinity as a corresponding (accredited) institution on its page (linked off of Trinity). Trinity, too, seems to have a very different (new) administration. I wonder why? Are they being curtailed by Liverpool or is American accreditation on the horizon? Or have they decided simply not to offer a long explanation of the Liverpool accreditation? Why are they featuring their NAPSC (?) accreditation these days. Is there a chance they are going to get CHEA recognition? Trinity, by the way is hiring but stipulates RA Ph.D. degrees in its applicants--that I think is interesting.


    Craig
     
  2. Howard

    Howard New Member

    I think on another post someone mentioned that Trinity was in the process of applying for RA accreditation. I doubt this is going to happen, but they might settle for and get either TRACS or DETC. IMO
     
  3. Guest

    Guest Guest

    According to a member of their accreditation committee, Trinity is in the process of seeking NCA accreditation. This, however, is not an official statement from Trinity, as they have made it clear that no official statement can be given per NCA guidelines. Will they gain candidate status? Who knows? Very few thought Northcentral would, but they did. So we shall see.
     
  4. CLSeibel

    CLSeibel Member

    Conversely, I recently noticed that the relationship between Trinity and Liverpool has been spelled out in greater detail, and displayed in a more prominent location, on Liverpool's website. Interesting.

    Cory
     
  5. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    While the changes on Trinity's accreditation page are a good step in the right direction, I don't think that they are really adaquate yet. There's still a troubling amount of ducking and weaving going on.

    Specifically, I don't like the way that the fact that Trinity has no recognized accreditation is hidden under a long description of Trinity's purpose. While a statement of purpose is valuable, should it be on the accreditation page? Then they kind of imperceptably transition into:

    If this "accreditation" was presented as what it is, an *endorsement*, then it would be less troubling. But Trinity knows full well that what Liverpool is doing is not accreditation as the word is understood here in the United States. Trinity needs to make that fact clear in their marketing materials, particularly their advertising.

    What happened to DETC? And other accreditors with wider scope happily accredit free-standing non-traditional schools as well. I don't like the implicit suggestion that because Trinity is a DL institution, only weird non-recognized accreditors will look at it.

    Isn't NAPNSC the outfit that has been rejected by the Department of Education repeatedly?

    I think that Trinity is still up to its old wiles: making statements that while technically true, are artfully worded so as to lead readers to misleading conclusions.

    At first glance this disclaimer sounds fine. But is it really true that the regional accreditors only accredit residential on-campus programs? What of foreign DL programs with RA equivalence? And TRACS is USDoE recognized, isn't it? Of course, Trinity only said that students "may wish", they didn't say "must". But the implication was obvious.

    I find it particularly appalling that this ducking and weaving is coming from a Christian seminary. Aren't the clergy the people that the rest of us turn to for moral guidance and counsel?

    Perhaps Trinity needs to accept the fact that they are sinners and state so openly to their prospective students: 'We are not accredited by a US Department of Education recognized accreditor'. Just say it. Don't hide it in a mass of verbiage about your institutional purpose and about spurious non-recognized accreditors. Baal can't save you.

    They need to stop advertising whatever it is that Liverpool is doing as being 'accreditation'. They need to stop suggesting implicitly that DL programs can't be expected to be held to the same accreditation standards as on-campus programs.

    And then, if they want to continue advertising themselves to prospective students as being accredited, they need to get down on their knees and pray for forgiveness from the North Central Association or at least TRACS.
     
  6. Bill Grover

    Bill Grover New Member

    Trinity and Ethics

    Bill

    You are right in your confrontiveness. While I don't doubt that many are profited by their work at Trinity, in this case I don't feel that the end justifies the means. Indeed the end may be advancement in the knowledge of one's religion, but the means include a deviousness, perhaps even a disception, which is uncharacteristic of what is to be expected of those who espouse the high ideals of the Judeo-Christian faith. Were one to parallel the Pauline expectations for Church leadership in I Timothy 3 with Christian higher ed supposedly intended to produce such leaders one would see at time practices in the latter unfitting to that list of requisites, eg, "reputation."
     

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