Are degrees from conservative Christian schools like Liberty University toxic?

That is why I picked schools that everyone loves and could not hold a bias against like Touro University International (connected to Touro College - Touro College is a Jewish-sponsored independent institution...established primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage...) and NCU, which no one has a bad word to say about them.

 

You could. But most people would probably agree that a Harvard degree carries a net positive perception, even if it could be negative in certain situations.

But it's not always that clear. For example, Brigham Young University is well known for offering high-quality DL courses, and the BYU-Idaho campus also offers DL degree programs. However, the DL degree programs are currently offered only to former students who did not complete B&M degrees.

If BYU expanded its DL degree programs to the general public, would you consider them as a degree provider? I suspect that many potential DL students would not, even if the programs were completely secular, high in academic quality, and low in cost.

 

I would agree with this if I thought that very many people actually care. In my experience, only those rare individuals with extreme views, one way or the other, would base a hiring decision on the religious orientation of a school that a candidate attended. Unless you are talking about academia, employers are more interested in experience and qualifications than they are about religious affiliation of a school. It would be a poor management decision to pass up the most qualified individual because you don't like what his/her school stands for.

 

HR person: Thank you for your application to write film reviews for the Weekly Beacon. I see you took Humanities 301, "The Film as Art" as part of your Bachelor's degree at Liberty. Tell me which of the last five winners of the Best Film Academy Award is your favorite, and why.

Applicant: Well, actually the Best Film Oscar in 2005 through 2009 went to R-rated films, and I was not permitted to see them. I did watch a trailer for Slumdog Millionaire, though.

HR: Thank you for stopping by.

 

Yea, even I think the R movie thing is a little lame.

 

Do you play video games? Liberty has a policy on that too:

So violence is OK in the context of "realistic military operations" -- but only if the military personnel in the game are celibate, and never drink or swear. Not sure if this is entirely "realistic", given the ex-Marines that I've worked with.

 

I guess that means no Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption on campus.

 

Yea, that's a little onerous too. The Baptist school I went to was not nearly that intense with it's rules. Liberty really is a great institution, but the rules do seem to be a little overboard.

 

Dude, you could never be lame. You are the famous MC, after all.

 

It doesn't apply to online students, period. The only time online students would ever be bound by Liberty's residential regulations would be during on-campus intensives. Online students have a more generic code of conduct, which is mostly general rules regarding academic integrity and personal courtesy with staff, faculty, and students.

I didn't care too much about the LU "stigma" when I enrolled. My undergraduate degree is in Christian Ministries, and I have work experience in ministry positions. I am currently working for a Christian university.

I'm following the advice of the the adage to "dance with the one who brought you." LU's image isn't going to make me seem anymore like a religious fruitcake than the rest of my resume and educational history, and it could possibly ingratiate me with alumni or friends of the school.

Also, I live in the Bible belt.

Besides, I don't think I would want to work for someone who would have a big issue with my religious heritage.

 

I also recognize that within academia, a degree from LU will be highly limiting in most circles but potentially beneficial in a few. Bible colleges and conservative, religiously-affiliated institutions would be much more amenable to a degree from LU than their secular counterparts.

 

Exactly. Moreover, with BYU, the degree is literally screaming "Mormon!" to everyone who reads it. I would hope that hiring managers would not discriminate on this basis, but I definitely could see it happening.

 

Liberty's B&M students are not allowed free access to the Internet; a web filtering system is in place. In theory, Liberty could, as a condition of enrollment, require DL online students to install the same software on the personal computers that they were using for access to their Liberty coursework. There would be no technical barrier to doing so; Liberty could ensure that the software is turned on and working effectively by having it report back regularly. Presumably a student would be allowed to de-activate the filter after graduating or withdrawing from the school.

Obviously Liberty cannot enforce all the their B&M rules when it comes to distance students. But they could enforce the same policies on Internet usage, and it seems like this would be a reasonable restriction for an degree program delivered over the Internet. After all, your computer is, in effect, a "virtual" extension of the Liberty campus. Wonder if this has occurred to them.

 

Right on, same here.

 

Pretty easy to get around that kind of reporting software; just use another computer for your "nefarious" activities. I don't think it is possible to police online students, even if they wanted to.

 

I can understand the intent of the Liberty U conduct rules, even though I think they are too strict. They want students who are on their campus to act in a way that is consistent with their theology. If the school did not do this, they would be hypocritical. Moreover, a person who has the same beliefs would have no trouble following those rules; their conduct would be consistent with the rules even if no such rules existed. The problem lies in encouraging college age students, who historically tend to sow their wild oats, to behave in a way that is consistent with the school's mission statement. These students willingly enroll in the school, knowing full well what the rules are, and, in fact, sign an agreement to follow the rules. So nobody is going into this blind.

 

Keep in mind that if Liberty enforces strict guidelines regarding their students behavior, people will deride them for being too strict. But if they don't, people (often the very same people) will deride them for being hypocrites (or worse). Either way, I don't know why attending a school that has strict(er) moral standards would be a bad thing? Ideally you'd want people you hire to be good moral citizens ...