Is this a real thing?

https://iacr.education/index.php

Is it good they mention on their main page or a red flag?

The Institute of Advanced Christian Research (IACR) operates under the provisions of Florida Statute 1005.06 (1)(f), which provides an exemption for Religious Institutions from the jurisdiction of the Commission for Independent Education. This statute allows the IACR to uphold our mission of advancing Christian Studies through rigorous, research-focused education, while maintaining our independence. Our programs, grounded in the principles of Christian faith, are developed to support the intellectual and spiritual growth of our students. We remain committed to serving our community within the legal framework provided by the State of Florida, ensuring that our operation respects both the academic standards we strive to uphold, and the religious freedom that underpins our institution.

 

I don't see anything appealing here. Let's see: high tuition, no institutional accreditation, no faculty listed (can anyone spot them?). Who's going to supervise this advanced research? An exempt institution can do much better than that - establish articulation agreements with accredited institutions, hire credible faculty members, etc. Have they done any of that work?

 

Exemption isn't necessarily a bad thing. Could be for legitimate reasons such as expense that is out of their reach or legitimate issues of autonomy. However, it is up to them to demonstrate rigor which has not been done. It also appears to be being hammered together as we speak (a work in progress). Nine grand is a lot for an unaccredited and unrecognized program (IMHO) at the PhD level.

 

Let me show you an example of how an unaccredited, religious exmept institution can establish a level of credibility. I'll just use a random example that I've come across. It just so happens that they only provide in-class education, but you can find online theological schools that do similar things.

Note: I am not promoting their particular take on the Christian faith or anything.

First, notice their accreditation statement: "Compass Bible Institute is intentionally unaccredited. While we value accredited institutions and accreditation agencies, we believe there are certain advantages to remaining unaccredited at the present time. This will allow us to operate and teach according to our convictions and not those of an accreditation authority. Furthermore, by remaining unaccredited we can keep the costs as low as possible. Our unaccredited status has not prevented us from partnering with accredited institutions, nor prevented them from validating and accepting transfer units." No talk of some fake accrediting agencies.

Next, look up their faculty pages: https://compassbibleinstitute.org/about-us/faculty/ So far, so good.

Lastly, take a look at their transferability page (articulation agreements) that I've mentioned: https://compassbibleinstitute.org/academics-revised/transferability/

Whatever one believes about the benefits of religious exemption or the lack thereof, the institution clearly does something right.

 

"For fans, here's today's final score from the Unaccredited League: CBI - 3. IACR - 0."