THE ON-LINE BIBLE COLLEGE AND CHRISTIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY: MERELY A "CHRISTIAN" RIP-OFF? By Steve Levicoff, Ph.D. A few CIS users have contacted me requesting information on the "On-Line Bible College" (OLBC), an alleged school affiliated with the Christian International School of Theology (CI-SOT) and accessible through the CIS Religion Forum. Well, campers, here's the scoop - one that almost makes Steve Martin's "Leap of Faith" look tame. CI-SOT is an alleged correspondence degree program based in Florida which has no credibility whatsoever in the professional academic community. They state that they're an accredited university, but the fact is that their accreditation is bogus. While it might be tempting to believe that you can earn a credible degree through CI-SOT, you should be aware that the school is functionally a degree mill - a school that may offer you a degree, but a degree that turns out to be worthless. That's a heavy charge to levy against an allegedly Christian institution, so as Julie Andrews sang in "The Sound of Music," let's start at the very beginning. Grab a cup of coffee or a Coke, kick your feet up, and read how even schools that proclaim to be Christian can end up being a rip-off . . . BACKGROUND ---------- A quick word or two about my background is appropriate here, since it's important for you to be able to check out any claims I make in this article. I am the director of the Institute on Religion and Law in Ambler, Pennsylvania, a think tank that deals with areas ranging from church-state law to issues in Christian higher education. Additionally, for the past four years I have served as Visiting Lecturer in Law at Biblical Theological Seminary, an evangelical graduate school of theology accredited by the Middle States Association and holding associate status with the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. I hold three academic degrees, all of which I earned non- traditionally: a B.A. in Humanities from Thomas Edison State College (Trenton, NJ), M.A. in Theology and Law from Vermont College of Norwich University (Montpelier, VT), and Ph.D. in Religion and Law from The Union Institute (Cincinnati, OH). All three of the schools from which I graduated are accredited by their respective regional associations. (For the uninitiated, that refers to one the six accrediting agencies approved by the United States Department of Education and the Council on Postsecondary Education. Each of the six agencies is responsible for specific regions in the United States and its territories, thus they're called "regional associations.") Finally, I have written five books - four published, one forthcoming. They include "Building Bridges: The Prolife Movement and the Peace Movement" (Toviah Press, 1982), "Christian Counseling and the Law" (Moody Press, 1991), "Name It and Frame It? New Opportunities in Adult Education and How to Avoid Being Ripped Off by 'Christian' Degree Mills" (IRL, 1992), "When the TRACS Stop Short: An Evaluation and Critique of the Transnational Association of Christian Schools and Colleges" (IRL, 1993), and "Street Smarts: A Survival Guide to Personal Evangelism and the Law" (Baker Book House, forthcoming). I should mention that I don't tout my credentials for the sake of my ego jollies; even though I'm "the vaunted Dr. Levicoff," I still prefer to be called Steve. (It was my name before earning my Ph.D., and last I looked, it's still my name). The main reason I've listed them here is to establish the credibility of what I'll reveal below and to make it easier for any doubters to check me out. A LOOK AT CHRISTIAN INTERNATIONAL --------------------------------- Christian International was founded in 1967 by Bill Hamon, a Pentecostal Evangelist in Florida who still serves as the school's president. Florida is one of twelve states that has a legal exemption for religious institutions of higher education. Put more simply, most states have a requirement that all colleges, universities, and seminaries be licensed in the state in which they're located. Twelve of the fifty states have a statutory exemption in their laws that exempt religious schools from the licensure process. These exemptions became law to meet the perceived needs of persons who believe church-related schools should be exempt from licensure based on the separation of church and state. One result is that the states that exempt religious colleges, universities, and seminaries have a large number of degree mills. Florida, for better or worse, is one of the more notorious offenders. (In fact, there is currently only one graduate-level seminary in Florida that is legitimately accredited.) WHAT IS A DEGREE MILL? ---------------------- A degree mill (the term "diploma mill" is also common) is a school whose quality standards are significantly below the norm for similar schools. Some degree mills will simply mail you a degree or diploma if you pay a hefty fee, while others appear to be legitimate institutions that offer real courses and allegedly have requirements that you must fulfill to earn a degree. CI-SOT belongs to the second category. They do require you to pursue studies for your degree, but those studies are so far below accepted norms for similar degrees that they degree you ultimately earn through Christian International has no legitimate value as an academic credential. One reason that degree mills are so successful is that the average student doesn't know what to look for in an educational program. Think about it: when you go to buy a car, you check the features, look under the hood, and even kick the tires (though I've never figured that one out). But when people shop for an education, they rarely perform the same "checks," and they get stuck with a lemon. And Christian International School of Theology is just that - a lemon. THE BOGUS ACCREDITATION OF CHRISTIAN INTERNATIONAL -------------------------------------------------- Christian International claims to be accredited by the Accrediting Commission International for Schools, Colleges, and Theological Seminaries (known as ACI). To understand how they're claiming a bogus accreditation, it may help to know a little about the history of ACI. The organization was founded in Missouri in 1982 as the International Accrediting Commission for Schools, Colleges, and Theological Seminaries - note the similar name. In addition to some 130 other schools, one institution they accredited was a school called the Eastern Missouri Business College, which was started in 1989. Eastern Missouri Business College was headquartered in a one-room office, and had a distinguished faculty that included Professors Arnold Ziffel, Edward J. Haskell, M. Howard, J. Howard, L. Fine, and Peelsburi Dobouy. (If you just woke up and your mind isn't quite in gear yet, it might help to remind you that Arnold Ziffel was the pig on "Green Acres," Eddie Haskell a character on "Leave It to Beaver," and Messrs. Howard, Howard, and Fine were The Three Stooges. Peelsburi Dobouy, hopefully, is obvious.) The college's seal was emblazoned with the sayings "Solum Pro Avibus Est Educatio" on the top and "Latrocina Et Raptus" on the bottom - loosely translated, they mean "Education is for the birds" and "Everything from petty theft to highway robbery." The college then proceeded to offer doctorate degrees by mail in subjects ranging from genetic engineering to aerospace science to marine biology (for which their text was "The Little Book of Fishes"). George Reuter, the founder and president of the International Accrediting Commission, showed up at the school's one-room office to review them for accreditation. However, his examination didn't even include the school's financial or student records, a normal procedure for an accreditation review. As it turned out, the Eastern Missouri Business College was a fake school in more ways than one - it was actually part of a sting operation set up by the Missouri Attorney-General's office, which slapped the International Accrediting Commission with a $15,000 fine and enjoined them from further operations. Reuter was about to retire (though he now runs another degree mill in Missouri), so he decided not to fight the fine or the injunction. End of story? Actually, no. After Reuter alleged retired, he transferred the International Accrediting Commission to John Scheel, who crossed the state line to Arkansas and began operations under a new name by reversing two of the words in the old name. Today, the Accrediting Commission International continues to accredit degree mills throughout the nation, many of which - like Christian International - purport to be legitimate schools. In short, Christian International's accreditation is a sham. In fact, ACI refuses to release a list of the schools they accredit, something which any legitimate accreditor does on a routine basis. WHAT DOES CI-SOT'S BOGUS ACCREDITATION MEAN? -------------------------------------------- Accreditation normally means that a school has undergone a thorough review by an independent evaluation team and has been found to meet normal quality standards for an institution of higher education. In addition to the six regional accreditors, there are also two credible professional accrediting agencies that evaluate Christian schools. These are the American Association of Bible Colleges (AABC), which reviews undergraduate programs, and the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS), which accredits graduate-level programs. The regional agencies, AABC, and ATS are the only accrediting agencies dealing with religious programs that are approved by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation. Now, let's put it in practical terms. If you want to get into the graduate school of your choice, if you want your degree to be universally accepted, if you want to be ordained in most Christian denominations, or if you want to use your degree to advance in your field, you can only do so if you have a LEGITIMATELY accredited degree. For example, let's say that you live in Florida. You've earned a Bachelor's degree through Christian International, and want to go on for a master's degree from the University of Miami. If you apply to U.M. and tell them that you've graduated from CI-SOT, it ends right there. In fact, they'll probably laugh you out of the admissions office. Why? Because you would have graduated from a school that has minimal standards in its degree programs, claims a fake accreditation, and is TOTALLY unaccepted within the academic community. There's one other thing that's important to understand. If you're a born-again Christian, it would be easy to say that I'm accusing CI-SOT of being a sloppy school because of their theological or doctrinal beliefs. Not true - in fact, I don't particularly care what they claim to believe as long as they're preaching Christ. The standards we're exploring here are strictly academic and are geared toward institutional quality and accepted norms for ANY college, whether secular or Christian. In fact, there are several reputable Bible colleges in Florida that have correspondence and other non-traditional programs and that ARE accredited by legitimate agencies. CI-SOT, however, isn't one of them. OTHER PROBLEMS WITH CI-SOT -------------------------- In addition to its fake accreditation, Christian International exhibits several other signs of being a degree mill. For example: * CI-SOT claims that they will accept transfer credits from other Bible colleges and seminaries. What they don't tell you is that legitimately accredited Bible colleges and seminaries will not accept CI-SOT courses for transfer credit. * CI-SOT's degree requirements are significantly less than those of legitimate schools. For example, CI-SOT requires only 36 semester hours for a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies (the normal requirement is 60 semester hours) and only 72 hours for a Master of Divinity (the normal requirement is 90 semester hours). * CI-SOT has minimal course requirements that would never meet the standards of legitimate schools. For example, download their course list (file OLBC3.TXT) and look at the textbook list. The text used for their courses titled Old Testament II, Old Testament III, and Old Testament IV, each of which carries three semester hours credit, is Halley's Bible Handbook. Think about it - one book used as the sole text in three courses which carry nine semester hours of credit. This would be unacceptable at ANY legitimate school. Let me put it another way. You may actually learn something through the On-Line Bible College. However, it can hardly be compared to a legitimate college course. Another way of putting it: let's assume you want to take a course in how to play the piano. At a legitimate college, you should end up playing a Beethoven concerto. At OLBC/CI-SOT, you'll end up playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb." You will have learned something, but hardly enough to qualify for a legitimate college degree. You will have been led to believe that your degree is legitimate, but no credible college, university, or seminary will accept that degree. For further proof, write to Christian International directly and request their catalogue. (CI's address is P.O. Box 90000, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459.) Then call or write another college, university, or seminary in your area and request their catalogue. Assuming you contact a legitimate school, you'll see a major difference in the catalogues themselves. (By the way, the fact that CI-SOT uses a post office box address ought to tell you something - that's another sign that the school is a degree mill.) THE COUNSELING LICENSURE SCAM ----------------------------- Speaking of CI-SOT's course list, check out their courses under the heading of Counseling and Psychology. CI-SOT notes that their counseling courses are administered through the National Christian Counselors Association, a bogus credential mill. CI- SOT states, "Students will be advised of the programs of the NCCA, and welcomed to pursue licensure with them should they wish further training in the area of christian [sic] counseling." What they don't tell you is that counseling licensure can only be granted by states, not by private organizations. NCCA, in fact, used to operate in Pennsylvania (a state with tight regulations) before moving to Florida, and is known for granting bogus credentials. In fact, several of the administrators of the NCCA hold their own academic "credentials" through degree mills. THE BOTTOM LINE --------------- The bad news is that the "On-Line Bible College" and the Christian International School of Theology are shams. I don't presume to question their motivation, nor their salvation, but in terms of the quality and acceptability of any degree you can earn through OLBC or CI-SOT, they're nill. Nada. Worthless. The good news is that there are many Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries through which you CAN earn a legitimate degree. The methods they use range from limited residence to correspondence courses to computer-assisted instruction, and their degrees are totally accepted in the academic and professional worlds. Now, I've never met the folks who are running OLBC or CI-SOT. But if I were you, I'd question much of what I've written here. And I welcome that. You SHOULD question both this article AND the On-Line Bible College/Christian International School of Theology. You should, above all, be DISCERNING, knowing that "you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:15). If you've already been enrolled in OLBC or CI-SOT, this article may hit you hard. I regret that, but there's an old saying, "Controversy for the sake of controversy is a sin. Controversy for the sake of truth is a divine command." I assure you, as a professional Christian educator, that your studies are nowhere near the level of those offered by legitimate schools and that, if you continue with OLBC/CI-SOT, you'll end up with an essentially worthless degree. It may hurt to realize that such a sham can exist, but remember, these are the days of Bakker, Swaggart, and Warnke, and things are not always what they seem to be. However, God's cleaning house, and one of the rooms that needs a lot of cleaning up is the whacky world of Christian education. Finally, I haven't written this article to push my own book, but because of a need for Christians to be discerning about ministry education. If you want more information on some of the LEGITIMATE programs, however, I'd recommend that you read my book "Name It and Frame It?" which lists hundreds of recommended programs AND degree mills, as well as providing a background that will be helpful to you as you seek to pursue legitimate credentials. For more information, write the Institute on Religion and Law, P.O. Box 552, Ambler, PA 19002. And, since I'm not into this for the profit motive, I welcome any questions or comments you may have about the On-Line Bible College, Christian International, and what I've written here. Feel free to drop me a line at UID #72114,604.