Casper Star-Tribune article on Hamilton University

Today's Casper Star-Tribune featured an article on Hamilton University: http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2003/07/14/news/wyoming/42488e1011589a80e50af013ee5b77bd.txt .

 

Why not require religious schools to place a statement to this effect on all promotional material and application.

"School claims a religious exemption on constitutional grounds and is not licensed by the State of Wyoming and is not accredited by an accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education ."

Or would this be a denial of constitutional rights. Would making them declare their rights be a denial of rights?

We used to have some ambulance chasers around here to answer such questions. Where did they go? No dinaro?

 

I'm suffering from cognitive dissonance.

On one hand:

Hamilton University has a religious exemption and is not accredited by the Wyoming Department of Education, a department spokesman said.

On the other:

...her bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in computer information systems came from an alleged "diploma mill"...

Is learning computer information systems really religious instruction? Perhaps in San Jose. I know some computer geeks who think that computers are God. Where's our Degreeinfo theologians when we really need them?

On one hand:

Hamilton University has a campus in Evanston, but there is no faculty on site, Kingston said.

"They have faculty in other places," Kingston said.

While on the other:

The school provides "self-paced external and campus-based programs that are custom tailored to meet the needs of the individual degree candidate."

The good news is that they will offer you "campus-based progams". The bad news is that before they will do it, you have to figure out where they've hidden the faculty.

 

IIRC, LaSalle got away with the religious exemption by claiming that since God created all things, then any degree was religious in nature. The Louisiana Supreme Court actually bought that argument.


Bruce

 

Any court judgement that acknowledges the existence of God would, of course, be unconstitutional.

Acknowledging the right of a religious group to educate its clergy, without government interference, is highly reasonable but religious degree titles please.

 

Washington state has such a law. Rick Walston's school, Columbia Evangelical Seminary, only issues religious degrees (Bachelor of Theology, Master of Apologetics, etc.) for that reason.


Bruce

 

California has a similar law. Unfortunately, nobody seems to be enforcing it, since a number of schools that have to be operating under religious examptions offer Ph.D.s. (Friends International Christian University, for example.)

CA Education Code 94739(B)(6)

 

Isn't this part of the problem? That certain states can pass legislation and it is more or less accepted, but others can pass a similar law, but it is summarily rejected? So (for example)how do the laws of Florida benefit schools like Columbia Evangelical Seminary (Miami Christian, Conservative Theological Seminary) that only confer religious degrees? While I am not jumping on the State Approved so it must be legitimate bandwagon, this apparently does pose a problem to many desiring to further their education. Shouldn't there be some consistency in the laws across the board?

Even closer, there are other schools in Washington State that use the same law to justify their existence and ability to confer religious degrees as Columbia's but they may be classified as either less than wonderful or mills, depending upon who you talk to. But they are legitmate run organizations, following and fufilling the laws of their state. Not excusing them, but obeserving them.

 

In a perfect world, yes. But, until the full faith & credit clause is applied to college degrees, you're stuck with 50 different sets of laws and regulations. That's the reason I can legally carry a machine-gun in Boston, but can be arrested for carrying a handgun in New York City.


Bruce

 

I understand. Is there any legislation concerning these issues pending? Especialy in the wake of the Callahan fiasco? Because if I have understood it correctly, a graduate of LBU, GTF or BJU Lousiana Baptist, Graduate Theological Foundation and Bob Jones)would have major credibility issues in New Jersey or Oregon, even though these are respected unacredited schools granting religious degrees.

I know the acreditation designation is supposed to cover that, but between RA and NA plus Business accreditation, and the unrecognized accreditors slipping into the fray, even this needs to be reworked somehow.

 

Oh yea, in California, I can legally carry a concealed water gun.