IACEA is not a
traditional accreditation agency or body. IACEA is a INTERNATIONAL
MINISTRY ASSOCIATION fulfilling the need for a Christian alternative
to secular accreditation, through a process of educational
evaluation.
Our
Mission Statement:
"To uphold
Christian educational standards while maintaining a Bible
based Christian worldview for the benefit of students and
educators around the world."
As a
United States based international Christian education
focused ministry, composed entirely of Christian education
and ministry
institutions such as schools, colleges, universities, Bible
colleges and seminaries and other educational ministries, the
International Association for Christian Educational
Accountability rigorously upholds Christian education standards and
Bible based institutional integrity standards in context with the infallible
Word of God as expressed through the Holy Bible. Furthermore,
IACEA performs wholly in context with a Bible based Christian worldview for the
benefit of students and educators in every nation, many of whom are searching
for an alternative to governmentally authorized education/ accreditation
and illegitimate education / accreditation mills.
Today,
many cannot afford the high tuitions
and costs of governmentally recognized higher education resulting from
what appears to be an obvious monopoly on accreditation
which only recognizes accreditation and educational
institutions that are approved by the
Government/ Secretary of Education or CHED etc. The
United States is not the only country seeking to control
education in this way, many other countries are practicing
similar tactics.
Fulfilling
our role as an international Biblical alternative to government influenced
accreditation involves
evaluating educational programs on a worldwide scale and
assisting international Christian education institutions to enhance the quality of
their Christian education curriculums for compliance to
Biblical standards resulting in better educated Christian students whose accomplishments will
help govern the
future.
Jesus commanded us to go; teach, and make disciples
in every nation. (Great Commission paraphrase)
Our Journey... From
Then Until Now
Then...
Our journey began years ago when we began discussing how we
could impact Christian education for the better through an
association that could provide evaluation and accountability
standards to the Christian education community. Our
philosophy rapidly began to develop. Now... IACEA,
has grown into
an international organization providing
recognition of Christian education and ministry quality and
integrity through IACEA membership
certification on a worldwide basis. Today
we provide ongoing evaluations and expert guidance to well over 500
ministries and international Christian education institutions through
our affiliate association members worldwide.
DEFINITIONS:
1.)
Oxford Dictionary Definition:
Accredit / Accreditation: To certify an educational
institution as maintaining professional standards in education.
2.)
Christian Definition:
Accredit/ Accreditation: To certify an educational
institution as maintaining Biblical standards in education.
3.)
Government Definition:
Accredit/ Accreditation: For a government recognized
organization approved through the Secretary of Education
(or) CHEA etc. to certify an educational institution as maintaining
governmentally recognized standards in education.
The
intense IACEA evaluations, ongoing follow-up reviews and annual
review/ renewals insure that institutions achieve and maintain
high Biblical standards in international Christian education as well as institutional
professionalism and integrity. Although not recognized by the
government/ secretary of education or CHEA, etc. regarding
governmental standards, the IACEA provides
for achievement of many of the same educational standards as
government
recognized international accrediting organizations such as TransRegional (CITA)
and their international education protocols.
The
Challenges We Face
It
is very unfortunate that there are few alternatives to the
exorbitantly expensive accreditation bodies that are approved or
recognized by the government/ Secretary of Education or CHEA. Sadly, many of
those alternatives often mean that Bible colleges and seminaries
purchase worthless credentials in the form of a accreditation
certificate, from an accreditation mill. Their are many such
accreditation mills advertising on the internet. Some sell a
worthless accreditation certificate for as little as $100. However, these accreditation mills
provide little or NO service in the area of ongoing evaluation and
guidance toward improving Christian education quality and institutional
integrity.
Christian education
institutions such as Christian schools, colleges,
universities, Bible colleges and seminaries have an obligation
not to compromise regarding Biblical standards in
education and accreditation.
For a Christian educational institution to fall under the
influence and dictates of the secretary of education/ CHEA, through
secular government recognized accreditation, and the resulting,
politically correct,
non-Biblical values, would mean nothing less than compromise in
consideration of
our Christian worldview and integral Biblical standards.
Most Christian educators are aware that
Government/ Secretary of Education/ CHEA etc. influenced secular organizations for accreditation are
influenced by the popular position concerning what is "politically correct"
regarding such issues as: Abortion, Gay Marriage, Homosexual Rights,
Biblical Creation vs. Darwinism etc. Obviously, such
"politically correct" positions are not Biblically supported or consistent with IACEA
membership
standards. Therefore, we cannot recommend such accreditation to any Christian
institution.
Therefore, a Biblical alternative to government approved secular
accreditation is a necessity for Christian institutions to
maintain quality in the free expression of Biblical/ religious
standards. There are very few governmentally
approved accreditors that offer accreditation for Christian
education institutions, and the ones that do, are very
expensive and not affordable to most small Christian colleges,
universities, Bible colleges and seminaries that want to reach
the literal multitude of financially underprivileged students,
who simply cannot afford high tuitions and other related
expenses of governmentally recognized colleges and universities.
Even middle class
students today, require student loans that leave thousands of
students in debt for years after graduation.. The fact remains
that most students who are financially disadvantaged, cannot
afford the high costs of attending a governmentally approved
college or university, nor can they qualify for the required
student loans. The result is that most must therefore elect not to continue their
education beyond high school.
The
inequitable tragedy is that
government does not recognize accreditation by any organization that
they do not approve. This is an extremely unfair practice, which
appears to be a monopoly on advanced education which results in unfair
discrimination against the financially less privileged in
society and therefore, must not be allowed to continue.
The Bias even involves Lists which are published online concerning
Government recognized accreditation as well as government
recognized colleges and universities.
These lists convey the
position that any accreditation agency, or college or university that is
not authorized by the government must therefore be
illegitimate. This was not the case when America still had
full freedom of education.
Furthermore the cost of
such government recognized
accreditation is so exorbitant that most small colleges,
universities, Bible colleges and seminaries, cannot afford to
comply, even if they did represent Biblical standards, of which
most emphatically do not.
Worst still, for financially
impoverished future students, is
new legislation being proposed in the form of H.R. 4535 that if
approved will define any
*secular
college or university that does not have
government recognized accreditation, as a degree mill and any
*secular
accreditation organization not recognized by the government as a accreditation mill.
If the legislation is approved regarding these definitions, the next
step, as ordered in the legislation, is for the government/ FTC to investigate and
enforce laws against what they seek to define as degree mills and accreditation mills.
this may result in closing many secular/ academic non religious colleges and universities across
the United States of America.
Education has become BIG business
in America today and such BIG business would love to monopolize
all of education, by eliminating all of the small colleges and
universities and accreditation organizations that are non government approved
entities. The result will be that the masses who cannot afford
to pay up to $100,000 for a 4-year degree, will be denied a
college or university education.
Monopolizing education means
huge profits for those providing the huge government loans to
thousands of students as well as to the BIG government approved
colleges, universities and accreditation organizations.
*Secular
accreditors, colleges and universities are not protected by the
U.S. constitution regarding legislation. Christian accreditors,
colleges, universities, Bible colleges, seminaries, Bible
institutes and other Christian or religious schools and
ministries are protected by the First and Tenth Amendments of
the U.S. Constitution regarding legislation forbidding their
freedom.
The sad fact is that
numerous colleges and universities which the government is attempting to label
as degree mills, are sincere, dedicated institutions which provide a
quality education to the masses at affordable tuitions.
If the
new
legislation is passed, many fine small colleges and universities may be forced
to close amidst huge fines etc. But, the major injustice is that millions
of potential students will be deprived of an education because they
cannot afford to enroll in government recognized colleges and
universities that now
*cost up to $100,000 to attend including
room, board, books, transportation etc. for a 4- year degree
program.
*
These cost
quotes are taken from an article in Business Week magazine;
November 2008 edition. (See
Accreditation Page)
This is where the
International Association of Christian Educational Accountability
steps in to fill the gap and to provide educational
credibility for non governmentally recognized colleges and
universities, Christian schools, Bible colleges and seminaries, through membership in
an international Christian ministry association which is not a
government recognized accreditation
agency, But a ministry association for evaluation, guidance,
support and implementation of the Biblical
standards that all Christian schools should adhere to.
A Credible
Biblical Alternative to Secular Accreditation
Internationally,
IACEA is a Christian membership organization and does not fit the definition of
"accreditation mill" as defined by the new H.R. 4535 legislation proposal.
Furthermore IACEA is protected from government legislation,
by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The IACEA's unique system of educational quality
assurance and educational accountability through evaluation,
compliance and
ongoing follow up, provides a sound and effective Biblical
alternative to secular accreditation.
IACEA is not a government recognized
accreditation organization. IACEA is an international Christian membership association for the
achievement of improvement in Biblical standards and accountability
for
Christian education and for the development of Christian
institutional integrity.
