Not long ago I was talking to some friends who went to a non-accredited college, and I made a comment to the effect no one should go to a non-accredited school. A degree from such a school will not be accepted at an accredited school, so you have to “re-do” the degree in order to do graduate work.
Tonight I briefly looked over an accreditation report of a college that I am familiar with, and my thought was, “who are these guys?,” “why are we allowing them to tell us what to do?,” and “is this not a classic case of being yoked with unbelievers?” In fact, I think it’s worse than a marriage relationship in this sense: the accreditation committee isn’t a partner, but more like a boss. So they can tell you to do things which are directly counter to your very purpose. I give one example which is not exactly true to this case but will make my point. The accreditation committee can demand that X percentage of professors publish X number of articles in certain approved journals. Now that may be a good thing in itself, but what if the professors/institution have other priorities? It really seems a case to me where a Christian college has to make itself a slave to a non-Christian body in order to be awarded the necessary approval. I am essentially unfamiliar with the particular case I am mentioning, or with any others, and so I do not know whether there are unrighteous requirements or not. It’s just the principle that bothers me. And where it may lead.
I was looking at the requirements for a professorship at a well-known Christian college here on the West Coast. One was the canidate had to have a doctorate from a school with a certain accreditation. Upon research, I found there were no schools belonging to this organization that share the conservative biblical stance the college does, nor would support the statement of faith the prospective professor would have to agree with to be employed there. I found that rather ironic. I agree that there is little to gain going to a non-accredited school, unless your goal is ministry, not academia. However, I think accreditation is emphasised far to much. If I were to get a doctorate from Oxford studying under Dr. Alister McGrath would I not be chosen because Oxford is not in this accreditation organization?
There is an accreditation body now that handles only Christian colleges and it is a Dept of Ed recognized group. They are mostly dealing with the Christian colleges on the East Coast, but the birth of this body finally lead Bob Jones to become accredited. Thus, prospective BJU students can now use government financial aid (grants and loans), as well as a myriad of other scholarships.
Most of the unaccredited colleges tend to be the ultra-conservative, legalistic Christian colleges. Pensacola Christian College is a good example. However, there are people in Congress who have graduated from PCC and many who have attended there haven’t had an issue attending grad school or seeking certain jobs. This was the case for many BJU grads until they were accredited. Both, especially BJU, are known for strong academic programs.
Some colleges have lost accreditation and more often than not they simply shut their doors. One strong possibility is San Diego Christian College (formerly Christian Heritage College). They were put on probation for the next year and hopefully they’ll keep it.
Accreditation teams are a real challenge. Even with public schools, they are excessively vague as to what they want. It makes it really hard when you are a teacher. Do they want direct instruction? Student-centered instruction? A mix?
I do remember when WASC came to TMC and how WASC at one point wanted to strip TMC, Biola, Christian Heritage, and the other Christian colleges in the area of accreditation due to certain issues of inclusion — such as for homosexuals. I remember how there was a threat for all the California Christian colleges to start their own accrediting body. However, IIRC, this thing was resolved when those involved were convinced that certain students would have a hard time meshing at a place like TMC.