Salt Lake Bible College??

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by Hotdillon, Jun 13, 2011.

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  1. Hotdillon

    Hotdillon New Member

    Hello guys! I was just wondering if anyone here was familar with Salt Lake Bible College, which is a tuition free Online Bible College? I'm fairly positive it is unaccredited, but I wanted to see if anyone here knew of anything positive or negative about the school or if anyone here has taken any of the Masters courses?? I noticed that is not on the list of diploma mills, but most religious institutions are not because of the religious exemption.

    I really appreciate it!
     
  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Then let me make you 100% positive -- it's NOT accredited. And unaccredited schools offering solely religious degrees don't usually wind up on the "degree mill" lists, although they are NOT allowed in every state. Contrary to popular belief, many states (20-odd?) have prohibitions on the conferral or use of such degrees. Oh yes, please give us a url on schools you ask about. This one is Free Bible College online Salt Lake Bible College .

    Any free Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees conferred by this school are (optimistically) worth exactly what you pay for them, if you are allowed to use them in your state. (If not, such a degree could be worth less than nothing - a liability.) I don't care one way or the other about free religious schools in general, but this one got up my nose a bit. Although their parent school is Salt Lake BAPTIST College, they say they're non-Baptist, non-denominational, even non-Protestant. Furthermore, they claim (without giving any evidence) that their church traces its doctrinal roots all the way back to the time of Jesus. With all these non-denom disclaimers, they still have a "Soul-winning Practicum I and II" in the first year.

    Second, third and fourth-year courses appear to be still on the drawing board.

    If you want to see more of what's out there in free Bible Schools, try here. No-Tuition Bible Colleges | eHow.com No recommendations.

    Johann
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 13, 2011
  3. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Salt Lake Bible College appears to be based in Taylorsville, Utah. According to the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, the State of Utah does have some form of religious exemption for colleges and universities.

    If so, then SLBC can legally issue religious degrees in Utah. However, this does not guarantee that SLBC degrees will be accepted outside Utah (in other states or countries). Even within Utah, an SLBC degree may only be valid for religious uses (and not for secular uses), depending on the scope of the state religious exemption.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 13, 2011
  4. b4cz28

    b4cz28 New Member

    As long as you have been on this site you have been asking for free degrees...you would be done by now if you would just pick and pay. Or you could just go with Nations U.
     
  5. Hotdillon

    Hotdillon New Member

    b4cz28 I agree. I have been shopping wayyyy too long! I've just been doing some research and it seems like all fingers point to NationsU.

    Thanks guys!
     
  6. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    Glad to see they're giving BYU some competition! :eek:uttahere:
     
  7. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    This web site and their cousin Salt Lake Baptist College had me laughing. Loved the part where the Catholics and Protestants all refer to Baptists as the Men of the Book. The reverential tones....yeah right. Reading that stuff had me rolling even before I got to the rest of it. It is the type of site that is fertile with ammo for LDS apologists to use.
     
  8. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Yes, I'm sure that the folks over at BYU Continuing Ed are shaking in their boots :)
     
  9. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Just looked at the curriculum: Learning Baptist history takes 8 weeks; learning Calvinism takes a mere 6 weeks; however basic typing and sentence formatting takes a whopping 32 weeks.
     
  10. Lukeness

    Lukeness Member

    The website design actually looks like it was shat onto the page...
     
  11. b4cz28

    b4cz28 New Member

    At the end of the day it's free. Let's not rip them to bad, no one here has taken any of the courses so we don't know if their the real deal or not.
     
  12. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    I'm surprised to hear that. Which states have prohibitions?
    Thanks
     
  13. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    According to the State of Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization, there are currently 20 states (plus Puerto Rico) that do exempt religious colleges and universities from government oversight (to varying degrees). The remaining 30 states (plus Washington DC) do not have religious exemptions. The complete list is posted here.

    The idea that religious degrees are automatically exempt from state regulation is a very common, yet mistaken, assumption. It's true that many US states do have religious exemptions, but an even larger number do not. For example, the Pennsylvania Division of Higher Education states this explicitly:

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 16, 2011
  14. HarryCopper

    HarryCopper New Member

    Well my wife and I have been attending Salt Lake Bible College for a few years now. It has enhanced our lives and has provided an avenue to learn free of charge. We believe SLBC is the lifework of Dr. Vanbuskirk (the founder) to bring people closer to Christ through thought provoking exercises and study. In other words, it envokes critical Christian thinking that personally touches your heart. If you're just looking for a sheepskin to hang on your wall and look good-perhaps this isn't for you and you missed the whole point of what a "Bible College" is.
     
  15. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

    Taking a course of study to draw closer to Christ is commendable. However, SLBC offers degrees through the doctoral level.
     
  16. docvbk

    docvbk New Member

    Salt Lake Bible College Accreditation and Recognition.

    To answer some of the previous posts:

    Salt Lake Bible College is accredited with ASIC.
    ASIC is recognized by CHEA in the United States.
    CHEA link: CHEA International Directory

    It is also recognized as a degree awarding private school by the state of Utah.
    UEN (Utah Education Network) link: Utah Education Network

    It has received theological accreditation from the BSAA.
    BSAA link: Baptist Schools Accrediting Association

    In answer to the statement "non-denominational": Salt Lake Bible College is an arm of Salt Lake Baptist College. It is a ministry of Bible Baptist Church of Taylorsville, UT, which is a non-denominational, Independent Baptist Church. It is not part of the Baptist Denomination. It is Baptist by lineage, not by a denomination or an association, and is an Independent Baptist Church owing no allegiance to any denominational hierarchy nor to anyone but the Lord Jesus Christ. Our history, traceable from the original Church started by the Lord Jesus Christ, can be studied at SLBC in the First Level course, The Church. We do fellowship with thousands of other Independent Baptist Churches but they in no way comprise a denomination- Baptist or otherwise. They are only a fellowship of like-minded, Bible-believing, Churches who are all Independent and Baptist by lineage and not by Denomination and hold no denominational or any other type of control over one another.

    As of 8/7/13, SLBC has over 6,000 students in 76 various countries. Its degrees are recognized by many countries worldwide. Recognition includes, but is not limited to, USA, China, Brazil, Nigeria, the Philippines, Samoa, Togo, UK, Benin, Ghana, and these are just a few that come to mind. A much larger list can be found on our website.

    As far as we can discern, SLBC is the largest internationally accredited free Bible College in existence.

    If you have further questions, please contact Dr. Van at [email protected]
     
  17. saharapost

    saharapost Member

    Hello Dr Van,
    I was just checking through one of the websites linked to the Saltlake Bible College webpage and found The University of America. It seems there are no enough information as to the courses offered even though it states the courses are free starting July, 2013. I understand students pay certain fee for exams?... Is it possible for international students to take The UA courses 100% online without having to come to your campus? It seems that submission of admission form requires a payment of $150. I was wondering if this is correct considering the fact that you stated the programs become free starting July 2013. Thanks
     
  18. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Contrary to the post above - ASIC "accreditation" is NOT CHEA-recognized accreditation in the US.

    ASIC may be on some CHEA committee as it claims, but it NOT a CHEA-recognized accreditor. Check it out. Here are the CHEA-recognized National Accreditors - and next are the the Faith-based National Accreditors. Do you see ASIC? No, you don't. ASIC "Accreditation" is NOT RECOGNIZED in the US. Not RA. Not NA --not nuthin'.

    CHEA: Directory of National Career-Related Accrediting Organizations
    CHEA: Directory of Faith-Related Accrediting Organizations

    ASIC was conceived originally to check UK schools enrolling foreigners, to make sure they weren't harboring undesirables and that no immigration-related bad stuff was going on. It reported to the UK Border Agency. No academic involvement or authority - other than ensuring there were "real" classes going on.

    ASIC morphed into its present form as an "international accreditor" and now thinks of itself as able to authorize degree-granting.
    Hmph! In its own evil mind, perhaps! :sad: It is very active in Asia.

    The only other US school I have seen flying ASIC banner is University of Atlanta, which now has no recognized US accreditation, NA or RA. U of A bought its "ASIC" sticker when it was running out the clock on its now-expired DETC accreditation.

    Just put this ASIC thing in the same can with IDLAA, REDAC, BOUA, UCOEA, ACI and the rest of 'em. The truck will be around on Friday!

    Johann
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 8, 2013
  19. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    A religious school with a less-than-forthright - perhaps even dishonest - accreditation statement. How unusual! :jester:

    Johann
     
  20. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    It is now Friday. The truck just left. Full load. :jester:

    Johann
     

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