Bible colleges primarily offer undergraduate degrees, but may also offer graduate degrees and/or lower-level associate degrees, "certificates", or "diplomas" in specialized areas of Christian training, where a full degree is not required.
The Association for Biblical Higher Education asserts that "there are more than 1,200 Bible schools and colleges in the United States and Canada", and that Bible colleges produce "a large percentage of North American evangelical missionaries and serve as a primary training center for local church leadership".[1] The South Pacific Association of Bible Colleges claims that "more than fifty percent of all Protestant missionaries in the world today are graduates of the Bible Colleges".[2] According to Theology-Degrees.com, there are over 300 accredited Bible colleges in the United States as of November 2012.[3]
There are around 200 post-secondary Bible institutions throughout North America that are affiliated with the Association for Biblical Higher Education.[4] In 1997, there were 400 Bible colleges, representing 31,000 students, in the United States and Canada. There are over 1,200 post-secondary Bible institutes in North America.[5] Moody Bible Institute was one of the first Bible institutes.
Each country has its own governmental process for approval or accreditation of higher education. The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) accredits many Bible colleges in the United States. Bible colleges may also be accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, by regional accreditors, or by international counterparts. About 25 U.S. Bible colleges hold accreditation by regional accreditors, which accredit most academically oriented colleges and universities in the United States.[12]
In the UK, from 2007 to 2012, all Bible colleges (along with all independent colleges of higher education) needed to be accredited under the authority of UK Border Agency by either the British Accreditation Council (BAC) or Accreditation Service for International Colleges (ASIC). The government then changed this in 2012 to the need to have compulsory "Education Oversight" from organisations such as QAA, ISI and Bridge Schools Inspectorate.[13]
In the United States, some Bible colleges and institutes purposefully operate without conventional educational accreditation, or even governmental licensing. These institutions typically claim exemption due to the religious nature of their programs, that involving an outside agency in this capacity would compromise their missions. Paul Chappell, founder and president of West Coast Baptist College explained the basis for his refusal to seek accreditation for that school, writing: "The local church should have no approving agency over its ministry. I believe this position to be consistent with the Scriptures and with our Baptist distinctives... A study of history would reveal that educational institutions begin to waver when they become more interested in what the world thinks of them than what God insists upon. ...For the accredited college, the approval of an accrediting agency becomes its 'life’s blood.' ...It is my firm conviction that the 'life blood' of a Christian college should be nothing other than the living Word of God itself."[14]
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