Bob Jones University Earns Accreditation
Last week Bob Jones University earned full accreditation from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools.
From the BJU press release:
Meeting in Nashville, Tenn., the 16-member accrediting commission of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools yesterday voted unanimously to grant institutional accreditation to Bob Jones University.
TRACS is a national accreditation body offering institutional accreditation to Christian colleges, universities and seminaries. It is recognized by both the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and is a member of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education.
From the Greenville News:
After shunning accreditation for 78 years in order to maintain its independence from outside regulation, Bob Jones University has earned full accreditation from Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools.
. . .
“Accreditation under TRACCS will enable our graduates to realize the benefits of accreditation without compromise to the university’s Bible-based philosophy and practices,” said Dr. Stephen Jones, BJU president.
“We waited many years to seek accreditation and went forward only when we were confident we could attain it without losing our independence.”
Posted 20 Nov. 2006 at 5:10 pm | Permalink
Hey Lincoln. It was nice to actually get to meet you this past weekend. See you around.
Posted 21 Nov. 2006 at 6:02 pm | Permalink
I think it’s really quite unfortunate that the school fears “losing its independence” to such a paranoid extent. Public regulation is not always an unmitigated evil. I think most people would agree that quality control is a social good, and to the extent that compliance doesn’t require disobedience to God, it seems it should be something to be embraced. At any rate, I’m glad they took the plunge.
Posted 24 Nov. 2006 at 11:03 pm | Permalink
I admire Stephen Jones, Dr. Weier, and anyone else who helped get accreditation. It was overdue and serves many beneficial ends.
I continue to find the accreditation amusing because of how other BJU Administration members pontificated on how refusing accreditation was not a question of prudence but an absolute mandate rooted in BJU’s Categorial Imperative of Separation. Do they have the courage to speak now? This should be another warning to those who turn questions of prudence into bibilical mandates.
Becca’s comments give me mixed feelings. Yes, public quality control is a good thing. But I doubt BJU feared that–look at how well our accademics stack up. Yes, the BJU is traditionally too insular & paranoid. But, one cannot deny that other schools have been forced to compromise their religious convictions or the Christian tone of their edcuation in order to be accredited. I suggest it is reasonable, for example, to fear that some accrediting agency will demand some less-than-orthodox theology to be taught, or more people will secular backgrounds to be hired, or something like that, in return for accreditation.
A more interesting question arises if one posits that an accrediting agency would not make such demands up front, but there is a reasonable chance of them doing so in the semi-distant future. What should a Christian organization do? Is it better to join, accept the benefits, and believe that you will withdrawl if the threat arises because “sufficient unto the day is the evil therefore?” Or is the wiser course to realize the seductive nature of having some status or approval and think you will not have the courage to stand later if you join now, and therefore never join?
This is a valid question for both Christians and Christian ministries on many levels. I honestly do not know what the best answer is, but I throw the dilemma out as food for thought.
Posted 25 Nov. 2006 at 11:14 am | Permalink
I think accreditation is far less seductive than, say, federal funding, which can easily foster a dependence. Had I a Bible school (heh), I would advocate holding onto accreditation until it was necessary to give it up, and if and when it becomes necessary, being very public about exactly why the status was withdrawn. A lot of accreditation is reputation, and once that’s established other institutions may respect the loss (for public opinion reasons if no other).
Maybe I’m a little too trusting that people down the line will have the integrity to know if and when to pull out, but to some extent we will always have to trust the future leaders to make the right decisions. It seems like our time and effort ought to go into training those future leaders to decide wisely rather than protecting our interests from them in perpetuity.