American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions

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Not to be confused with the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, the primary accreditation agency for North American seminaries.

American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions (AAATI) is a Christian nonprofit organization offering educational accreditation, based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.[1] It was formed in 1983.[citation needed] The composition of the board is unknown.[citation needed] According to Steve Levicoff, it is an accreditation mill[2] operated by Dr. Cecil Johnson, president of Christian Bible College, a [[distance education] Bible college based in Rocky Mount that Levicoff identifies as a diploma mill.[3]

AAATI is not recognized as an accreditor by either the United States Department of Education and Council for Higher Education Accreditation.[4] AAATI is not required to be recognized by the groups mentioned above.

It will approve accreditation to qualified schools for an initial fee ($125 in 1993) and annual renewal fee each year if re-approved, as described by Steve Levicoff,[3] who called it a meaningless accreditation mill that unaccredited religious schools cite as "approval" or "accreditation" in order to avoid appearing to be diploma mills.[3]

Contents

[edit] Affiliated institutions

Institutions that have claimed membership in, or accreditation from, the AAATI include:

  • Alpha Omega Bible College & Seminary Inc., Elkton, South Dakota and Shalom Bible College & Seminary, West Des Moines, Iowa[5]
  • Andersonville Theological Seminary[6]
  • Christian Bible College, Rocky Mount, North Carolina[1]
  • International Institute of Church Management Inc., based in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, USA, and Chennai, India[7]
  • National Chaplains Institute's Biblical Life College and Seminary (distance education) [8]
  • Northwestern Theological Seminary
  • Oval Bible College, Lake Charles, Louisiana (distance education)[9]
  • Pacific International University[10]
  • Patriot Bible University[11]
  • Slidell Baptist Seminary
  • Zion Ministerial Institute

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Statement of Faith, Christian Bible College website (accessed October 21, 2007)
  2. ^ The NIFI Criteria or How to Spot a Degree Mill in 75 Easy Steps, Steve Levikoff's website (accessed October 22, 2007)
  3. ^ a b c Steve Levicoff. Name It and Frame It?. (3rd edition) Institute on Religion and Law. 1993 (page 34-35) ASIN B0006F1PCQ
  4. ^ Council for Higher Education Accreditation
  5. ^ Accreditation, Alpha Omega Bible College & Seminary website (accessed October 21, 2007)
  6. ^ Andersonville Theological Seminary 2007 Catalog. When accessed on October 21, 2007, the "Accreditations and Affiliations" section on page 7 stated that the school had accreditation by AAATI. However, this information was not in that institution's catalog on April 18, 2007 [1] or January 8, 2008.
  7. ^ Accreditation and Membership Particulars, International Institute of Church Management website (accessed October 21, 2007)
  8. ^ Biblical Life College & Seminary webpage (accessed October 21, 2007)
  9. ^ Oval Bible College website (accessed March 26, 2008)
  10. ^ Pacific International website states that its "memberships do NOT constitute accreditation by the U.S. Office of Education.""Credentials and recognition", Pacific International University, Jan. 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-21. 
  11. ^ Accreditation and Consumer Protection on Patriot Bible University website (accessed October 21, 2007)

[edit] External links