A question about Liberty University

Do ALL their classes have a religious undertone? Not that I am opposed to that since it is based in religion, however it seems unlikely that one could design a course in say statistics that has that type of tone.

Just informational on my part - well I did read a review that a former student wrote ranting about that very thing. :scratchchin:

 

I finished their advanced stats course last summer and barely squeaked through for my customary "A". (does the period go inside the quotation marks there?) It was the only class that I have had at Liberty so far that did not have a strong Biblical component. I believe the professor posted some Bible quotes right at the beginning of the class but that was about it. I mean, how could there be more Bible in a stats class? The prof was the most kind and helpful math teacher I have ever experienced and went out of his way to make sure we made it through that difficult course.

It is the most friendly and helpful school I have attended in many years, but, if you are offended by a decidedly biblical education, don't go to Liberty. You will not like it.

 

Every class I took did.

 

I graduated from Liberty in 1993, the courses I took had a reference to the Bible in places but they never got in the way of the intent of the course. I was well prepared for entry into the counseling world with the degree - was hired at a mental health center the day after I graduated and passed the LPC exam on the first try (85 percentile) -- read through a study guide but did not exert any special effort in my approach to the exam. Do not be misled, the degree is not easy and the comprehensive final is a piece of work. As I said, this was in the early 90's; I am not sure if or how the courses have changed. Good luck to you.

 

For the "Research & Evaluation in Counseling" course that I planned to take from Liberty, the "Holy Bible" was listed as a recommended text. I'd say that this alone made up at least 85% of the reason why I chose not to take it from them. I ended up taking the course that my own masters program offered.

 

I finished a stats course this past summer at Liberty, and each discussion board I had to participate in had some element of either bible or Christian principles/beliefs/behavior. Like Psydoc said, the Christian content doesn't hinder the course... In fact, I think it added to the course. The content provides both fundamentals with an additional Christian perspective.

The only course I felt that did not have as much of an emphasis was my Physiological Psychology class. I had only one discussion board where I had to review the bible. Other than that, every course I have taken adds a Biblical/Christian perspective to it.

 

I guess it technically is their right to include the Christian perspective in all of their classes. Just as much as you could imagine a Mormon university requiring all board posts to be on invisible golden plates, or worshipers of Zoltan to attend all online courses wearing bubble-wrap.

[video=youtube;RenOUsGvS90]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RenOUsGvS90&feature=related[/video]

 

Oh yes, Liberty requires that you wear bubble wrap when participate in the courses. Doesn't everyone?

 

I guess I'll add more to my earlier post and list what I took. I only needed 30-hours to finish my degree and this is what I took:

Organizational Behavior I
International Business
Principles of Management
Principles of Marketing
Contemporary Issues in International Business
Health and Wellness Coaching
Financial Coaching
Contemporary Worldviews
Introduction to Christian Thought
Survey of Biblical Literature

Obviously the relegion classes were hardcore relegion classes, but the rest of the classes didn't over do it. You'll learn traditional theory (not sure about the science classes) at Liberty, but you'll also be giving some scripture to think about.

 

I meant to say religion not relegion.

I'm feeling like Dan Quayle this morning. Forgive me!

 

Thanks for the replies. I was wondering if that were case for all the classes, and I guess it is.

I am a Catholic but not a Holy Roller/expert by any means. I would think that the the religious aspects would make an already hard program that much more difficult.

Additionally, I hear they require some sort of religious writing style as well, not the old MLA or APA.

 

No, they do not require a religious writing style. Simply MLA and APA work for their classes. I'm in their psychology program and my classes require APA. However, I believe their English classes require MLA. It depends upon your major of course.

 

Every class I took required APA.

 

See, I had come home for the truth!

As always, thanks for the info.

 

I took many counseling courses in their Human Services masters program, Marriage & Family concentration, and even a couple of those did not require the use of Scripture; but they do ask that you use a "Christian Worldview" which often requires the use of a bible to support your opinions.

Do not take business courses at Liberty -- they lack the proper accreditation. Employers do not acknowledge their business degrees, and no properly accredited university will accept their business and accounting courses on transfer. However, they are at the top of their game in counseling, human services, and religious studies.

For those who care about the political side: the school is conservative and supports republicans, even though they claim a neutral political stance.

 

While it's true that Liberty does not have AACSB, I wouldn't go so far as to say they lack proper accreditation. Liberty University holds regional accreditation and graduates of Liberty's business degree programs shouldn't have any trouble being admitted to many AACSB accredited graduate programs.

That's a pretty broad statement. So, you're saying Liberty business grads are pretty much screwed? I strongly (but respectfully) disagree. My undergrad degree in accounting was through a non-AACSB school and it hasn't hurt my employment prospects one bit. Outside of academia most employers probably don't even know what AACSB accreditation even is.

 

Just repeating what my undergrad business professors told me when I asked their opinion on where to obtain my online MBA. From personal experience (I was self-employed for 8 years and my parents have been incorporated for 37 years now), it's experience that matters, not a piece of paper.

 

Thanks for the info, that adds a different perspective on things. Honestly, I did not know what AACSB accreditation was until I became a member of Degree info.

I do agree that personal experience is key and very relevant, however the requirement for that "piece of paper" gets many through the door. To me the business world is confusing, that's why I enforce policy not make it!

Thanks again folks!!

 

Liberty's MBA and other business degrees are properly accredited, period. They do not have AACSB accreditation, which is a specialized, business accreditation that virtually no one knows about except for those in academia and, of course, the education nerds on this board (myself included). Most schools do not have AACSB accreditation, including many that are highly rated. Local to me, in Maryland, we have Hood College and Mount Saint Mary's University. Both are typically in the top 20 for regional universities. Also local is Johns Hopkins University. This school has serious name power due to its medical program. Its business and finance degrees also carry a lot of "zing" due to name recognition. None of the 3 are AACSB. Slightly to the west of me you have Frostburg University. Frostburg is a 4th tier, national university with AACSB accreditation. No one, and I mean no one, would consider Frostburg's MBA superior to Hood's, MSM's, or Hopkins. I'm not knocking Frostburg at all. It just doesn't carry the ranking or name that other schools do.

I have been in the business world for 25 years. I am an executive in a regional management company that is ranked in the national top 100 for what we do. We work with dozens other organizations that are far bigger than we are, many are publicly traded. None of these companies, including mine, require AACSB accreditation. Most of them have no idea what it is. Most HR departments, if they check credentials at all, go the CHEA database. If the school is listed on that list, the credential is accepted. This includes both regional and national accreditation.

AACSB is a plus in many cases, but not all, and it is certainly not necessary unless you plan to go further in academia.

Incidentally, Liberty has an ABA accredited law school that is top notch. In 2011, Liberty students has a 100% pass rate on the BAR, which was tops in the state. They trumped other "brand named schools: Washington & Lee was at 90 percent; George Mason, 84.8 percent; University of Virginia, 75 percent; and the College of William & Mary, 73.3 percent. This was not a fluke. They have consistently been ranked extremely high since getting ABA accreditation. My point here is that universities with top notch law programs don't issue subpar degrees in anything, period. It's not good for business.

 

Actually, it is a fluke. The statistic is baloney.

It's based on Liberty's performance on the February 2011 Virginia bar exam. The problem is that relatively few people take the bar exam in February. The bar exam is offered twice a year, in February and July. The vast majority of people graduate from law school in May or June, then take the bar exam in July. You don't take the bar exam in February, unless you fell off the normal academic track for some reason and completed your JD in the middle of the academic year.

Notice that Liberty's press release doesn't reveal the number of examinees involved. That's probably because it was statistically insignificant -- probably fewer than 10.