Accreditation

It is our intention for the school to be accredited by agencies approved by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in the United States.

We are beginning, as did Western Governors University (WGU), with the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), the leading national accrediting agency that specializes in innovative approaches to higher education. DETC is recognized as the accrediting agency that takes most seriously outcomes assessment. DETC provides accreditation recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for a wide variety of higher education institutions, including ministry training schools such as Global University (the distance education school of the Assemblies of God), the Catholic Distance University, and other specialized schools, such as the distributed learning schools of the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps (three of the country's largest higher education systems).

It is also our intention to seek accreditation from other agencies. The North Central Association's Higher Learning Commission (NCA) is the regional accrediting agency in the U.S. that provides general accreditation for Iowa State University (the major university in the same city as the BILD International headquarters). However, a school must be operating and granting degrees before it can apply. Fortunately, NCA is the most innovative and progressive of the regional accrediting associations. Within a few years of beginning operation, we expect to apply for accreditation with NCA, which will probably be a 2–3 year process (with major renewal processes every ten years at most).

The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) is the most well-known accrediting association for graduate theological education in North America but currently doesn't even allow traditional members to offer complete programs through conventional distance education, so we don't foresee seeking ATS accreditation. It is more likely that we will seek accreditation from the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly known as the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC). ABHE has recently revised its criteria to avoid discriminating against schools and programs on the basis on their delivery system. The new criteria of ABHE are focused on outcomes assessment and quality assurance. It is possible that the accreditation processes of ABHE and NCA could be combined.

As appropriate to support partners in other parts of the world, we will also seek accreditation through the continental associations of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE), such as the Accrediting Council for Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA) and Asia Theological Association (ATA).