This is a list of colleges, seminaries, and universities that do not have educational accreditation. In many countries, accreditation is defined as a governmental designation.
Degrees or other qualifications from unaccredited institutions may not be accepted by civil service or other employers. Some unaccredited institutions have formal legal authorization to enroll students or issue degrees, but in some jurisdictions (notably including the United States) legal authorization to operate is not the same as educational accreditation. [1] [2]
Institutions that appear on this list are those that have granted post-secondary academic degrees or advertised the granting of such degrees, but which are listed as unaccredited by a reliable source. There are several reasons for an institution not maintaining accreditation. A new institution may not yet have attained accreditation, while a long-established institution may have lost accreditation because of financial difficulties or other factors. Some unaccredited institutions are fraudulent diploma mills. [3] Other institutions (for example, a number of Bible colleges and seminaries) choose not to participate in the accreditation process because they view it as an infringement of their religious, academic, or political freedom. [4] Some government jurisdictions exempt religious institutions from accreditation or other forms of government oversight. [5] Still other institutions are not required to have accreditation.
Some of the institutions on this list are no longer in operation. Several unaccredited universities have names that are similar to those of accredited institutions, and thus some persons may be misled into thinking that an entity is an accredited university. Accreditation is date-related: in the United States, colleges and universities are typically not fully accredited until several years after they open. Also in the United States, many colleges and universities existed prior to the development of the modern accreditation system. [6]
There are many organizations which give their own accreditation, not generally recognised as valid by governments and others, to educational institutions. Many of these are listed in the article List of unrecognized higher education accreditation organizations. Some of the educational institutions listed here claim accreditation from such organizations.
Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as non-charismatic, dispensational, and generally Calvinistic. Today, MBI operates undergraduate programs and Moody Theological Seminary at the Chicago campus. The Seminary also operates a satellite campus in Plymouth, Michigan. Moody Aviation operates a flight school in Spokane, Washington.
Trinity International University (TIU) is an evangelical Christian university headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois. It comprises Trinity College, a theological seminary, a law school, and a camp called Timber-lee. The university also maintains campuses in North Lauderdale, Florida and Miami, Florida; the camp is located in East Troy, Wisconsin. TIU is the only university affiliated with Evangelical Free Church of America in the United States and enrolls 1,242 students. On February 17, 2023, TIU announced it was moving the undergraduate program to online modalities only and closed the residential campus at the end of the Spring 2023 semester. The online undergraduate program is ending at the end of the Spring 2024 semester.
Alliance University was a private Christian university affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Located in New York, New York, the university offered undergraduate and graduate programs; in addition, it included Alliance Theological Seminary.
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Missions and evangelism are core focuses of the seminary.
The Doctor of Ministry is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advanced program oriented toward ministerial and/or academic leadership. As a terminal professional doctorate, the Doctor of Ministry is primarily concerned with the "acquisition of knowledge and research skills, to further advance or enhance professional practice," and is, therefore, distinct from the Doctor of Philosophy in its aim. Some institutions offer Doctor of Ministry programs which are more akin to the Doctor of Theology, requiring a research component that constitutes the majority of the program.
Louisiana Baptist University (LBU) is an independent Baptist Christian university located in Shreveport, Louisiana.
American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions (AAATI) is a Christian nonprofit organization based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was founded by Cecil Johnson, president of Christian Bible College, a distance education Bible college based in Rocky Mount North Carolina.
Association of Christian Colleges and Theological Schools, ACCTS, is a Christian theological "approval" board that is not recognized as an educational accreditor by the United States Department of Education (USDE). It is located in the state of Louisiana. Gary Wilson is the current president.
A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological education, Biblical studies and practical ministry training.
Northpoint Bible College and Seminary is a private Pentecostal Bible college and seminary in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The college's sole purpose is to teach and train students for Pentecostal ministry for the spread of the Christian gospel. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biblical Studies and Practical Theology.
Name It and Frame It? is a 1993 book by Steve Levicoff about unaccredited Christian colleges and universities, exploring the accreditation process and the nature of legitimate and illegitimate unaccredited institutions of higher education. The fourth edition contains updated information and responses from some of the surveyed schools. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the National Center for Science Education, the Palm Beach Post, the Seattle Times, and the New York Post have mentioned the book as a resource. Additionally, it has been cited by numerous authors, including Julie Anne Duncan, Douglas Flather, John Bear and Allen Ezell.
Accrediting Commission International (ACI), also known as Accrediting Commission International for Schools, Colleges, and Theological Seminaries, possibly associated with International Accrediting Commission (IAC), also known as International Accrediting Commission for Schools, Colleges and Theological Seminaries, is an unrecognized educational accreditation corporation in the United States. It primarily accredits religious schools, including seminaries and Bible colleges, and also offers accreditation to non-U.S. schools that offer business education programs. It is on a 2009 list of accreditation mills in College and University, the journal of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
Ambrose University is a private Christian liberal arts university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Elim Bible Institute and College is a private Christian college in Lima, New York. It awards bachelor's degrees, an associate degree, and one-year certificates.
Portland Bible College (PBC) is a four-year Bible college in Portland, Oregon, United States that offers theological and church ministry degrees. It was founded in 1967 and is associated with Mannahouse Church, which is associated with Ministers Fellowship International. The campus is adjacent to Mannahouse Church on Rocky Butte in northeast Portland.
Faith Theological Seminary is an unaccredited evangelical Christian seminary in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1937 in Wilmington, Delaware, relocated to Philadelphia in 1952, and then moved to Maryland in 2004.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The university plans to eventually seek regional accreditation in the United States. It is also pursuing licenses to issue credentials in other countries. For now, however, the university is relying on IAO as its sole third-party verification.
FCU has elected not to pursue an accredited status with any agency affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). FCU is not pursuing such recognition for two main reasons. First, we wish to continue having local ministers teach Bible classes and raise up new Christian leaders as the great commission commands. Second, we want to keep the cost of tuition affordable so that more students have the opportunity to study at FCU and remain free from school debt. Accreditation by a recognized agency would mean that we would have to abandon these priorities.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The ICR explains, 'Due to the nature of ICR's School of Biblical Apologetics — a predominantly religious education school — it is exempt from licensing by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Likewise, ICR's School of Biblical Apologetics is legally exempt from being required to be accredited by any secular or ecumenical or other type of accrediting association.'
As a religious Seminary the Interfaith Seminary is not accredited by an [ sic ] government agency.
It is not our purpose or desire to be accredited
Not by federally recognized accrediting agencies. Kepler College was authorized by the Higher Education Coordinating Board of Washington to grant AA, BA and MA degrees from March 9, 2000 through March 9, 2010, with an extension through to March 9, 2012 to complete a teach-out of current students. Although this type of authorization is called "accreditation" in some States (for example, Connecticut), this is not the same as national or regional accreditation recognized by the Federal government.
In 2010, economic realities prevented Kepler from completing its push for accreditation
Kingston University Is not accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Secretary of Education.
Q. Do you have accreditation? A. Yes. We are members of the International Association of Bible Colleges and Seminaries
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