Louisiana Baptist University

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by potpourri, Oct 8, 2009.

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  1. potpourri

    potpourri New Member

    I have a question. I know someone who is a graduate of Louisiana Baptist University. They have obtained both accredited and unaccredited degrees. The unaccredited being Louisiana Baptist University. This friend asked me what I thought and I told them that they should probably not list there degree from Louisiana Baptist University because it is an unaccredited school, and that they should omit it altogether. Please advise as to what you think?
     
  2. emmzee

    emmzee New Member

    It probably depends where they are listing it? From what I've heard, LBU isn't a mill, it's a school with reasonable workload requirements and so on. If they were listing it on a resume for a ministry job or something they may want to include a note that the school has chosen note to pursue accreditation or something to that effect.
     
  3. telefax

    telefax Member

    Potpourri,

    LBU/LBTS has made the rounds on this board for a long time. I’d agree with Emmzee that LBU does require work, they don’t just print diplomas. His advice about the statement that they had “chosen not to seek accreditation” is good for certain schools, but I would stay away from going out on that limb for LBU. They may still claim to reject accreditation on the grounds of being separatists, but I think it’s a bit disingenuous. They’d had unrecognized accreditation at some point and then dropped it. I think your friend needs to choose between simply listing it and omitting it, as inserting a statement defending the school puts his credibility at further risk. I'd omit it.

    Why is LBU not a clear-cut case? You can find support for the school in this 2002 thread, where an LBU PhD grad with CSU and UC degrees thought his LBU doctorate approximated an accredited MA in rigor. On the other hand, Their workload exists, but is substandard, as discussed in this 2003 thread, where a PhD grad in Biblical Studies with no recourse to ancient languages defended doing exegesis with Strong’s Concordance. I really don’t think they’d make accredited status, based on their faculty, which is ingrown with accredited degrees predominating. I hate to sound negative, especially as when it came up in the past, I’d believed LBU was a legitimate effort that just wasn’t there yet. However, I’m disappointed that they seem not to have made progress since then.

    Best wishes to you and your friend.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 8, 2009
  4. telefax

    telefax Member

    Too late to edit...

    Make that UNaccredited degrees predominating... many from LBU under a previous name.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 8, 2009
  5. PatsFan

    PatsFan New Member

    .

    Some folks on another forum liked to defend LBU for some reason, but you summed up my concerns quite nicely.

    Tom
     
  6. friendorfoe

    friendorfoe Active Member

    Being from Louisiana and having both a father and a grandfather in the ministry I can say from what I've heard in just passing conversations is that LBU is considered to be a "good" school for those wanting to work in the ministry in that region. I don't know how a degree from there would fare in say Maine, but in Louisiana they seem to have a pretty good reputation.

    As for listing it for non ministry jobs? It's a crap shoot.
     
  7. PatsFan

    PatsFan New Member

     
  8. potpourri

    potpourri New Member

    I think that it simply the case. Many people question the validity of a doctorate program because of the lack of accreditation. Therefore, the issue becomes whether or not this school is a credible and reputable source. It does seem that they require work from students. The sad part is I don't understand why they don't seek out some sort of accreditation and make it so that people wouldn't have to question whether it is worthy to list the degree or not. Has anyone here had experience with Louisiana Baptist University? If so, what has been your experience? My friend has said that they did substantial work and that they feel they should be able to list it. I feel that they shouldn't because the accreditation becomes an issue no matter what.
     
  9. Hardy Parkerson

    Hardy Parkerson New Member

    Accreditation comes with time and money.
    No money, no accreditation; now matter
    how long a school has been going. And
    there are many accrediting associations.
    The U.S. Department of Education does
    not accredit schools; it only recognizes
    certain accrediting organizations and
    favors with its largess those schools
    that have been "accredited" by one or
    more of these. Neither Oxford nor Harvard
    was accredited when either of them
    started. Heck yes, your friend should list
    all of her degrees! Sooner or later the
    school she received a degree from that
    is now not "accredited" will be so accredited.
    There are many medical doctors practicing
    medicine in Louisiana..and even other states...
    that received their undergraduate degrees
    from McNeese State College back when it
    was not accredited and who went on
    to perform greatly in leading medical schools.
    Of course, McNeese is now fully accredited
    and is now named McNeese State University.
    There is more to it all than this, but this is
    something to think about.

    Sincerely,

    Hardy Parkerson, J.D.
    President - Southern Christian University
    Founded 1992
    127 Greenway Street
    Lake Charles, LA 70605
    [email protected]
    "The World Is Our Campus!"
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 13, 2018
  10. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

     
  11. MyrrhMusic

    MyrrhMusic New Member

    Hello
    I recently graduated from LBU as a distance learning candidate in Music. LBU has good Music degree programme. They require 4 research papers and they have some carefully designed workbooks in Instrumental and Choral conducting. Also they do give credits to prior learning assesments and courses taken at other schools. I do not see any millish tendency I personally had to work quite hard and make submissions on time. Also LBU is very judicious in awarding credit for life experience. Unless there is no proper proof of work done they do nor award credits easily. My experience is LBu is a good school and a good option for mid career professionals who wish to earn a degree and have their study documented and and suitably awarded. LBU should strive for some sort of accredtation it will good but they have their reason which is also quite understanding

    MyrrhMusic
     
  12. bobnix

    bobnix New Member

    a former student of LBU

    I have a PhD in Biblical Studies from LBU. I had taken doctoral courses(DMIN) from an accredited school before and can say that they were about the same in rigor. I believe the PhD from LBU is more like a DMIN than a PhD. The only difference is the type of dissertation. The DMin is more project oriented and the PhD from LBU was more research oriented.
     
  13. MyrrhMusic

    MyrrhMusic New Member

    Hi

    Why can't LBU seek accreditation from ABHE, or ACSI, etc these are Christian accreditation organisation fully recognised by the US govt?

    Myrrh Music
     
  14. PatsFan

    PatsFan New Member

    They would probably have trouble gaining accreditation from ABHE or TRACS since most of their faculty member's highest degrees are from LBU according to wikipedia. (I had trouble bringing up the LBU website today for some reason).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Baptist_University#Academics_and_staff

    Tom
     
  15. MyrrhMusic

    MyrrhMusic New Member

    Hi

    Yes to some extent but now they have hired quite a few with good qualification from accredited schools Like Liberty university. My further investigation revealed that accreditation is a very expensive affair. Since LBU has a lot of distance ed candidates from third world countries it would make it extremely expensive for them. They want to keep tuition low. Remembe LBU is a bible school commited to training people for the cause of Christ. Accreditation is would have been a blessing, thier purpose is to keep it affordable. Dr Neil Weaver is has done a lot to improve LBU over the past few years. They inherited this school in a quite a dysfunctional way in the beginning I guess they are making progress. Courses are getting upgraded so are the faculty. In december they will have their new catologue. I have a question why do accrediting boards charge high fees?
    Myrrh Music
     
  16. PatsFan

    PatsFan New Member

    My personal opinion is that for the most part, accreditation standards are pretty good standards-- even for schools that aren't accredited. It sounds like LBU may be trying to have accreditation standards for their faculty. I don't know for sure why it costs so much for accreditation. My guesses are that the costs are due to obvious things like flying a team of people from accreditation board headquarters to the schools. There are salaries and support staff to pay, as well as rent for office buildings. Good question.

    Tom
     
  17. bobnix

    bobnix New Member

    lbu

    I believe if a school is not going to seek accreditation like lbu they must do everything they can to enhance their credibility. By this i mean make sure they are hiring profs with the highest credentials.

    I think they are moving in the right direction but i would like to see them drop the Phd degree and replace it with a Doctorate in Pastoral Ministry or Biblical Studies. I also think that if they are going to keep the Phd program they need to make languages a requirment.
     
  18. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Louisiana Baptist University gets a good write-up over at degreeboard.com but not a very good write-up in Walston's Guide to Christian Distance Learning (successor guide to Walston & Bear's Guide to Earning Religious Degrees Non-Traditionally).
     
  19. Hodge Family

    Hodge Family New Member

    CNN Journalist is a Recent LBU Graduate

    Wow! I just discovered that CNN analyst, Roland Martin, recently graduated from LBU with a master's in Christian Communication. It is near the end of his bio here: http://www.rolandsmartin.com/page/about.cfm.

    I wonder why a nationally syndicated journalist would obtain a master's from an unaccredited school? What could possibly be the benefit? Afterall, he's already a regular on CNN!! (http://www.cnn.com/search/?query=roland martin&primaryType=mixed&sortBy=date&intl=false) :confused:

    Does having a well-known and respected news analyst as a graduate give LBU instant credibility?
     
  20. emmzee

    emmzee New Member

    If I were being cynical, I could say that maybe he's planning on proceeding to also earn a doctorate degree so he could sell more books by prefacing his name with "Dr", and wanted to do so with minimal effort ... if I were being less cynical, maybe he just completed the degree for his own personal edification, and he chose LBU in spite of the fact that it's unaccredited because he liked the school?

    I agree it does seem a bit of a strange choice, since obviously he'd have the $$$ to pay for a degree from an accredited school.
     

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