
accredited-bible-college
General Education in Accredited Bible Colleges (USA)
By Joe Felim
Relatively little research has been conducted on Bible college education, despite the fact that nearly 30,000 students attend such institutions each year. The curriculum of the Bible college is divided into three major components: biblical/theological, professional, and general education. Of the three, general education has received the least attention. Until this present study, only one researcher, Timothy Warner (1967), examined this part of the curriculum in depth.
The Bible school movement began in the late 1880’s with relatively little concern for the goals of general education. The primary mission of these institutions was to meet the needs of laymen and women desiring to serve the church. Training schools eventually evolved into colleges, and the addition of general education became a curricular necessity. “General education” refers broadly to courses such as history, literature, psychology and natural science. Early programs were usually minimal. Courses were chosen for their obvious contribution to ministry effectiveness. The desire for accreditation was perhaps the single most important motivation {52} for the full development of general education programs. The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC), established in 1947, continues to set the standard for curricular shape and quality, including general education.


Several forces affected Bible college general education. Little research has been conducted on that subject, but proposals in the literature include the following.
1) Dual accreditation. By 1991, 26 of the 75 US Bible colleges accredited with AABC had also obtained regional accreditation; seven were candidates. Though the role of AABC is appreciated and helpful, many colleges view the attainment of regional accreditation as important for the recognition and status it is alleged to bring. Some respondents, however, are concerned about the effect such a trend may have on the nature of general education programs. These fear that the expansion of general education will come at the expense of biblical/theological and professional studies. One study reported greater required general education units in dually-accredited schools, but no difference could be found on measures considered critical by most Bible college educators: biblical philosophy of general education, student involvement in ministry, requirement of Bible majors for all students, and preparation for some form of ministry, whether lay or professional.
2) Expansion of the Bible college mission. During the 1980’s, the AABC Newsletter carried considerable discussion about whether a Bible college could legitimately expand its mission to explicitly include majors other than those leading to full-time professional ministry. Led by its Executive Director, Randall Bell, the AABC membership voted to modify {54} the mission statement to allow colleges to offer programs to prepare students for various forms of employment. In part, this was a recognition of the fact that a number of member institutions were already offering such programs. Some indicated concern that such program additions would lead to imbalance in the curriculum, again at the expense of biblical and professional courses.