Masters in Pastoral Counseling

Discussion in 'Nursing and medical-related degrees' started by philosophicalme, Nov 19, 2007.

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  1. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    No, it looks great, and given DETC's restrictions I'm not sure what else they could have done. It was more an opportunity to bring up the standard Doctor of Arts concept, which I've always found interesting.

    -=Steve=-
     
  2. PatsFan

    PatsFan New Member

    Nations wouldn't be at the top of my list for someone who wanted to get a job in ministry. Their masters degrees might be rigorous, but won't get you into any doctoral programs or qualify you for too many chaplain positions. I would consider it for continuing education purposes though. Nations also has some quirky ways of doing things, like naming schools after students, but I don't consider it a mill either. It doesn't seem to pretend to be anything it isn't. Lipscomb University seems to also give it some credibility:

    Graduates of the Bachelor of Religious Studies degree at NationsUniversity may apply for admission to the graduate program of the College of Bible and Ministry at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. Students will be considered for Conditional Admittance to take up to nine semester hours of credit. If the student completes nine semester hours of graduate work with a "B" average or better, he/she may apply for full admission to the graduate program. Students whose program at NationsUniversity did not include requisite general education courses may be required to complete one course in each of three subjects: science, mathematics, and English
     
  3. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Perelandra College www.perelandra.edu is a relatively newly DETC www.detc.org school that advertises "Masters for Pastors." One of their programs is an MA in Counseling and the other is an MA in Creative Writing.
     
  4. Templar

    Templar New Member

    Nation's U has a significant workload and some utility as a vehicle to enter several accredited MDiv programs. Moreover, Nation's U is currently in the process of obtaining DETC accreditation. It certainly is NOT a mill.
     
  5. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    I notice their website says the following re accreditation:

    "Now, after several years of successful operation and a growing donor base, the school's Board of Regents voted at its December 2007 meeting to pursue accreditation with a recognized accrediting body. A person has been hired to guide the process and a self-examination has already commenced to identify those areas which need to be strengthened."
    Source: http://www.nationsu.org/site/index.php/academics/standing

    DETC does not list them as being a candidate.
     
  6. potpourri

    potpourri New Member

    NationsUniversity has been talking about this for over a year now and when contacting DETC they have mentioned no applications or information being received with regard to becoming a candidate with them for national accreditation.

    I hardly doubt that they will seek national accreditation and perhaps they had good intentions, but it would seem like they would have done something by now or started the application process.
     
  7. ageofknowledge

    ageofknowledge New Member

    Nations University has a good program. I completed the MBA at Baker College with an A average after getting a Bachelor of Science in Business Information Systems at the University of Phoenix and an associate degree at a CA community college. I also have numerous computer certifications I have earned with microsoft, Novell, Cisco, and CompTIA. Additionally I have a professional license in insurance.

    I have thoroughly enjoyed working NU's Master's of Divinity program. It has been very educational and taken me almost two years to complete. I am on the last few classes.

    I volunteered as a country leader for NU as well. NU certainly is in the process of obtaining DETC certification. They hired a consulting firm who specialilzes in DETC certification and are very busy making the necessary changes after which they will file the application and prepare for inspection. At that time you will see them as an applicant at the DETC website.

    I do not work for NU nor receive any financial compensation whatsoever.

    I just wanted to clear things up for those that falsely asserted NU was some kind of a mill. They certainly are not. Peace and God bless.
     
  8. potpourri

    potpourri New Member

    I think this is a bunch of hog wash. NationsUniversity has been talking about getting national accreditation for way over a year now. In fact, it goes way back to 2007.

    I don't doubt that NationsUniversity has great intentions, but how does it take a school so long to prepare an application and to make the necessary adjustments to be considered for national accreditation with the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)?

    It is fine to have someone that is willing to work for you and prepare, but it seems more than obvious that it is taking a long period of time to prepare for this accreditation, and how does NationsUniversity know whether or not it can be considered for national accreditation when it doesn't even do the initial part of doing the application process?

    That's why I think the school has good intentions, but if it has been this long for them to seek national accreditation, and they can't fill out a simple application and get the ball rolling it seems highly unlikely they will go through with the process.
     
  9. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    hmmmm. i'm having a hard time finding a way to argue with potpourri.
     
  10. kirkhenderson123

    kirkhenderson123 New Member

    Hi, you should check out Reformed Theological Seminary's virtual campus. This is a Masters of Religion, a 60-hour degree, and RTS is regionally accredited. If I were continuing my Christian Studies to masters (I opted to shift to psychology masters through University of the Rockies, www.rockies.edu), I would have gone to RTS. Try them at www.rts.edu. Very inexpensive too. Covenant Theological Seminary has a similar masters degree....www.covenantseminary.edu
     
  11. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    Yeah, I agree with Potpourri too.

    Nations U. has always seemed sincere. It doesn't strike me as a cynical and knowing mill. But I'm not 100% convinced that it's credible or competent, either. That's the question.

    Achieving DETC accreditation would be a very good move for them. It's probably achievable. But plans to apply for accreditation at some undetermined time in the future don't really tell us a whole lot. It gets stale after two years without any acknowledgement from DETC.

    I don't actually know but would speculate that Nations is communicating with DETC and might have found it necessary to make some significant and time-consuming changes in order to make themselves more accreditable, before formally submitting the application.
     
  12. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

  13. ageofknowledge

    ageofknowledge New Member

    Nations University September Newsletter

    "Accreditation Progress: The process of gaining accreditation is long and laborious. It is not something an institution can simply apply for, pay a fee, and attain. It entails training, a thorough self-evaluation project, revisions in current programs, assessment tools, finances, and additional human assignments. Most of all, it takes time to accomplish the work that will eventually lead to accreditation.

    Where are we? We believe we are on track. We have spent a year and a half in the self-evaluation process and know what needs to be done to complete it. Hopefully, a second submission of the self-evaluation report will be done before the year’s end. Then, we will continue to concentrate on upgrading courses so they conform to accreditation standards. Assessment procedures are being revised and will find full implementation soon.

    To assist in our efforts, we have called upon specialists in the field. Dr. John Harris, Dr. Tom Woolley, Dr. Monty Lynn, and John Gibbs are four gifted persons who have long experience with accreditation, statistical analysis, and instructional design. They have offered valuable service already and will continue to be available to us for consultation."

    The chancellor is one of the most respected people in the Church of Christ and the 18 member Board and all of the instructors are well educated dedicated professionals.

    Nations University is fully committed to DETC accreditation and carefully working through the process meaning they will obtain it in the relatively near future. Afterwards, I will post here that they have and that should be the end of the discussion regarding Nations University accreditation.
     
  14. ageofknowledge

    ageofknowledge New Member

    Nations University is of this date now listed as a new applicant on the DETC website.
     
  15. okiemom

    okiemom New Member

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