Talk:Fresno Pacific University

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[edit] Motto

The motto "Fundamentum Christus" was changed when Latin professor Marshall Johnston pointed out that while "fundamentum" does mean "foundation," it is also a slang term for what we might call a tush or a rear end. The previous university seal employed what might best be described as "bad Latin". This situation has recently been corrected by the change of University graphics and logos. CaliforniaKid 08:06, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

My apologies to CaliforniaKid and Marshall, but the Latin translation of the motto was on the way out before Dr. J arrived. The debate--rather, the mindnumbing horror show--was in full swing when I got here 10 years ago. The classic Latin purists were droning on about the "bad" Latin while the Vulgate Latin fans defended their form as the source of the motto since it was a favorite of Menno Simons, from whose name the Mennonite founders of FPU spring, who wrote in Vulgate.

The straw that broke the camel's came when the admissions people pointed out that many prospective students thought "Fundamentum" meant "Fundamentalist." It took awhile for such practical reasoning to pierce the academic fog, but finally it did. FPU Editor

[edit] Accreditation

I find it odd that one or more persons seem to be very concerned that the article specifies that FPU "has not sought accreditation for its business, music, social work, or teacher education programs." I don't see how it is important to specify this. With some quick research, I found that professional accrediting is often not tremendously important if the university as a whole is accredited: http://www.degree.net/guides/gaap_listings.html

FPU's teacher education program is currently more highly regarded than Fresno State's in many circles at this point in time, so I don't see how accreditation for the program is significant right now.

Whatever the case may be, it seems an inconsequential point to belabor when the article as a whole has barely been fleshed out. I'll leave the comment as it currently stands, though. --Sxeptomaniac 22:36, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

"FPU's teacher education program is currently more highly regarded than Fresno State's in many circles at this point in time, so I don't see how accreditation for the program is significant right now."

In which circles? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.195.183.18 (talk) 12:15, November 24, 2006

I can't exactly give names here, but I know of several school administrators who specifically prefer to hire FPU graduates when possible, stating that they have found them to be better prepared.

However, that's beside the point. With a bit more experience with Wikipedia now, I still see no reason to include the statement. It's unsourced, not NPOV, and just plain unnecessary. We have the information regarding what is accredited, so we don't need to waste space saying what the school is not. Sxeptomaniac 19:02, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

It is now sourced. It is important because the failure of the insitution to seek obtain program accreditation in any field is at variance with the statement that it "exists to prepare students...through excellence in...higher education."—Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.171.224.83 (talk) 16:31, March 8, 2007

That's a logical fallacy. Accreditation can certify "excellence," but lack of it tells us absolutely nothing (neither that it's a poor program nor a good one). Accreditation can be a time-consuming process, so it's not always sought, particularly if it's not necessary to accredit the particular program.

It doesn't matter if the addition is sourced, because it's still unnecessary and not NPOV. Sxeptomaniac 21:51, 9 March 2007 (UTC)