Accreditation Faqs

We are currently pursuing accreditation through the Association of Biblical Higher Education. Since many people have questions about the accreditation process itself, we have answered some of those frequently asked questions in a pdf document. To download the faq pdf, click here.

To learn about our current accreditation status, read the following letter from our president, Joshua Walker.

A Letter from Our President on Accreditation
May 15, 2009
Re: Accreditation Update

Dear Students and Parents,

Many of you have asked about or expressed concern regarding our accreditation status. The decision of whether or not to pursue accreditation is one of the most critical decisions that a new school must face. This is a decision that the board and administration discussed and investigated at length. As a result, the board directed the administration to pursue accreditation through the Association for Biblical Higher Education (www.abhe.org), formerly the Association for Accreditation of Bible Colleges. We entered into Applicant status in February, 2007. A normal timeline with ABHE is to be granted Candidate status in 4 years and Accredited status in 8 years from Applicant status. We are unable to make any predictions or guarantees regarding future accreditation because that is up to ABHE to grant. If we follow the “typical” timeframe, we would be granted Candidate status in 2011 and Accredited status in 2015.

ABHE is a “real” accrediting agency, approved by the US Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). ABHE has been in existence since 1947 and has maintained recognition with the USDE since they began recognizing accrediting agencies in 1957. A full description of ABHE’s history and credentials is available at their website (noted above). We chose ABHE because we believe they provide the best option for helping us to maintain high academic standards while also sharing our Christian faith.

One of the main reasons that people ask about accreditation is to know if EBC is a “real” school. In other words, is the education at EBC comparable to other institutions? From the beginning, the board, administration, and faculty have been committed to providing exceptional education. All of our professors meet the requirements demanded by accreditation (a Master’s degree or higher in the area of instruction or extensive life experience). We get regular feedback from students who have attended other institutions that the both the educational rigor and the quality of teaching are very high.

There are three main benefits that accreditation provides for students:
1) Access to Federal and State financial aid programs
2) Easier transfer of credits
3) Degrees accepted by graduate institutions

Until we are accredited, we are doing everything we can to make these issues as minor as possible. We are keeping our tuition cost as low as possible to decrease the need for Financial Aid. We also try to make the transfer of credits and acceptance of degrees as easy as possible by offering a quality education. It should be noted that #2 and #3 are always at the prerogative of the institution that is accepting the student. Even accreditation does not “guarantee” these things.

However, the main reason we chose to pursue accreditation is not the benefits that it provides to our students, but rather the accountability that it provides to the school in three primary areas:
1) A comprehensive and specific mission statement (What do we want to accomplish?)
2) A comprehensive assessment process (Are we accomplishing it?)
3) A planning process in response to #2 above (How can we better accomplish the things we’re not?)

We believe this process of self-examination is a healthy one for any organization serious about accomplishing long-term goals. We have already seen the benefits of this process within our organization. It has been a growing experience that we are thankful for.

I’d also like to clear up a couple of common misconceptions. First, the term “full accreditation” is a meaningless phrase because there is no such thing as partial accreditation. An institution is either accredited or not. Second, schools are accredited, not degrees. Therefore, questions like “will my degree be accredited?” don’t make sense and should actually be “will my degree be granted from an accredited institution?” Third, the question of whether degrees will be “grandfathered” also doesn’t make sense. This should be obvious in light of the previous point. The real question is “how will my degree be viewed after my school is accredited if I received it when the school wasn’t accredited?” The answer to that question is that it depends on the context; if you are applying to another school, then it will depend on the registrar of that school. Most people in higher education understand that the accreditation process is a lengthy one that requires ongoing improvement, and therefore they understand that the education offered at an institution in the years immediately preceding accreditation should be comparable to that after achieving that status.

The administration and Board of Trustees of Eternity Bible College are committed to the accreditation process. We trust that this roadmap and our actions thus far will provide you with a good picture of where we are headed and our commitment to get there. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact me directly at jwalker@eternitybiblecollege.com.

In His Service,

Joshua Walker
President
Eternity Bible College