The Accrediting Commission International, Inc. for Schools, Colleges and Theological

A rather interesting part of their history. Anyone who has read Hank Hanegraaff's Book "Christianity in Crisis" is aware of some of the more bizarre aspects of the Word of Faith movement. Some of it made me think, "and we laugh at the Mormons". Which really is part of Hank's premise (ie we have problems in our own backyard undermining us).

North

 

I wrote to ACI asking about their recognition by the USDOE, CHEA, etc.
They sent me a letter back clearly indicating that they had no recognition by a government or academic agency.
That was enough for me.

Rob

 

Lack of ABS information disturbing

First of all, I am not posting to start an argument, nor to be attacked.

I am a graduate of Andersonville Baptist Seminary, and, YES I am aware now, after I have finished over two years of work with them that their accreditor appears to be less than above board. That disturbs me because many people want to put the accreditor and student on the same level, and that is unfair to say the least.
Every graduate of ABS that I know, including my pastor, approached the school with the intention of furthering our base of knowledge with which to serve our risen Savior. Many of us are bivocational ministers who cannot afford to pull up stakes from our communities to trod off to seminary and the ABS program format fit our schedules and budgets. And yes I know, now, that there are many DL programs that are accredited out there, but, still money becomes a very large issue when you are paying your own way and supporting a family.
In speaking of myself and other graduates that I know personally, we did not choose an easy way out, we did not intentionally defraud, we did not try to be lazy, we did not enter an ABS program for vain personal glory,
we simply wanted to gain more knowledge to become better servants.
As for classes only being 3 tapes long, that is not entirely the truth. Yes, some courses may have a three tape set, but, the format for tapes is usually forty-five minutes to one hour lecture per side, and almost every course I had required at least one textbook with required reading, some manner of writing assignment or project, and completion of an end of course quiz.
For example, Old Testament Survey required reading and documenting reading times and passages for the entire Old Testament, twenty-eight hours of recorded lectures, three five page term papers, and completion of the end of course quiz.
I grant you that many end of course quizzes are not proctored, however, they are graded by the seminary and students have the option of having all graded work returned.
Just to clear the air that all ABS courses are not just 3 hour tapes, and ABS students are not of questionable character simply because the accreditor stinks.

Please do not respond to this if your intention is to be cruel or hurtful. When I opened the packet that contained the ThD that I earned at ABS, my 75 year old father cried. He is the son of and the father of a minister and he sees in my ministry a tie to the father that he lost when he was just a child. To see how much what he saw as an accomplishment meant to him, and to see how cavalierly the ACI is in its dealings which bring reproach on graduates of their schools makes me angry.

N Him
Rev. Rex Hickey
Jacksboro, TN

 

Re: Lack of ABS information disturbing

It may not be fair, but that's the way it is, and that's also the main pitfall of unrecognized accreditation. As John Bear and Rick Walston have said, no accreditation is preferable to unrecognized accreditation.

If I was in your position, I'd try to organize a group of fellow ABS graduates and put pressure on the administration to drop the ACI accreditation claim.


Bruce

 

Good idea

The suggestion to ask ABS to drop that accrediation is worth considering. I have put together a web page of graduates and it should be easy to marshal a few folks to join in.
I also sadly noticed that the school's other 'accreditors' are also not recognized.
Its like an old saying, when considering the value of less than recognized accreditation as being a good deal....."Buying three mules for a quarter isn't a good deal if you don't need a mule, or you don't have a quarter" Hey, it might not make sense, but, its one of those Mountain American things we hear in the south *grin*.
I agree with the folks that no recognition is indeed better than questionable accreditation.

Point well taken on the fairness issue. That is another reason I find myself being angry when ACI won't give folks straight answers.

I am looking for another DL opportunity to try to 'fix' the degree status.

Again, thanks for the tip.

Rex

 

Re: Good idea

__________________________________


Good for you Rex

 

I love their URL: http://www.accreditnow.com

 

Re: Lack of ABS information disturbing

Personally, I really don't know what I think about these issues, Spud. My ideas are kind of in a flux, and I see merit on both sides.

Regarding people who "want to put the accreditor and the student on the same level", I try not to do that. Education is cool, no matter where it's acquired. One can learn on the job, through independent study, or (yes) from a non-accredited school. So I'm not going to attack anyone for taking non-accredited courses. I would have little hesitation in doing so myself.

But using a non-accredited degree is more of a problem. As I tried to argue in another thread, there *are* non-accredited schools that I'm convinced are RA quality. Unusual certainly, but it happens. I have no problem with such a graduate using their degree. I also have no problem with pointing out that there may be less acceptance of such a degree.

But most unaccredited schools either aren't equal in quality, or as is often the case, we have no real way of knowing. (Although we may have strong suspicions.) So what should we do in those cases?

I'm inclined to let things slide if no harm is being done. But if other people are being expected to defer to the degree in some way, either by according its holder special status or by purchasing his or her services, questions might be in order.

A non-accredited degree doesn't necessarily discredit a person, unless it is an outright degree-mill fraud. But it doesn't perform a degree's function either, since it doesn't imply that an expected standard has been met. So unless one is personally acquainted with the school in question (as it often the case with places like BJU or NTPS), the degree holder is probably going to have to demonstrate his or her credibility by some alternative means apart from the degree.

And modesty is part of servantship, is it not? If the unaccredited education helped you in your understanding of Christianity or deepened your spirituality in some way, then it performed its work very well.

But if it simply allows you to become a flashy authoratative "reverend doctor", then perhaps it's being misused. Actually, the same point applies to RA/ATS degrees as well, but non-accredited degrees certainly accentuates it.

You know, one could argue that it's another valuable lesson and not entirely a bad thing.