ACCREDITATION

 

New Directions Theological Institute is domiciled in the state of Florida and operates as an exempt, religious institution of higher learning in accordance with exclusion FL 1005.06. (Letter of Authorization pending.) 

 

CHRISTIAN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES OF HIGHER LEARNING SCHOOL SYSTEM:

Christian Educational Services of Higher Learning (CESHL) School System is accredited by the Association of Fundamental Institutions for Religious Education, Inc.  New Directions Theological Institute is a member of the Christian Educational Services of Higher Learning school system.

website: www.afire.webs.com/

 

ASSOCIATION OF FUNDAMENTAL INSTITUTIONS OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, INC.:  

New Directions Theological Institute is a fully accredited member fo the Association of Fundamental Institutions for Religious Education, Inc.

P.O. Box 857

Iowa City, IA 52244-0857

website: www.afire.webs.com/

 

Informational Notes of Accreditation of Religious Institutions:

A number of fully accredited schools have accepted students with credits and/or degrees from NDTI through our Reciprocal Partnership Program. For a list of schools please call our offices. Transference of credit cannot be guaranteed as all credit transfers are at the discretion of the accepting institution

Accreditation Defined (Source: Merriam Webster)

To accredit is to give official authorization to or approval of; to provide with credentials; to recognize or vouch for as conforming with a standard; to recognize as maintaining standards that qualify the graduates for admission to higher or more specialized institutions or for professional practice; to consider or recognize as outstanding.

U.S. Department of Education Accreditation

USDE accreditation is not necessary for the theological degrees in which we offer. Individuals seeking employment in government-licensed positions such as public school teachers, state-licensed psychologists or psychiatrists, and non-church-related counselors will more than likely need USDE accredited degrees. Generally speaking, people working in ministry positions do not need a USDE accredited degree. If you are pursuing education at NDTI with the intent of obtaining employment or for some other reason, you should check with that organization BEFORE applying for enrollment in NDTI or the Reciprocal Partnership Program.  NDTI assumes no liability of any kind.

 

Separation of Church and State
•There is secular education and there is religious education.
•Religious schools are not legally required to become accredited
•Secular schools seek secular education, and sacred schools receive sacred or ecclesiastic accreditation—each by their own peers.
•Religious institutions need no secular accreditation because they offer no secular degrees.
•Secular accreditation associations in turn are recognized by governmental agencies. They trace their authority back to the capitol of a country, like Washington, D.C.
•Religious accrediting associations are recognized by the Church of Jesus Christ, which has no supreme central office on earth. Our authority is derived directly from Heaven.
•Civil and religious interests are different and have separate realms of jurisdiction.
•The State is not superior to the Church. The Church need not wait for approval from the secular world.
•Civil agencies should not be dictating standards of Christian education, any more than a police officer should be directing the worship of God.
•Theological Seminaries should not be accredited by accrediting associations that are "recognized" by an agency of the federal government, because it is contrary to the Biblical principle of "Separation of Church and State," indicated by Christ when He said, "...Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's..." (Mark 12:17).
•What business does a Christian educator have going to the world of unbelievers for recognition and acknowledgement when 2 Corinthians 6:14 clearly tells us, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?"
•A Christian educational institution securing accreditation from an association which is attached to a governmental agency is a Scripturally condemned and unholy union as James 4:4 says, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?"

 

Why not become accredited by the Department of Education?  In many cases the government's Department of Education is not qualified to accredit a private school, such as a Bible School, because the DOE is secular and a Bible or Christian School is spiritual thus our standards are not secular and cannot be judged by secular standards!

As we find in 1 Corinthians 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Therefore a state agency is not able to determine if a spiritually directed learning institution is meeting the mandates of the Bible!

Accreditation has many benefits for both educational institutions and students, but it is neither a guaranty nor is it the sole criterion of an excellent education. Every accredited institution was once unaccredited. For example, Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) was founded in 1924 but was not accredited by SACS until 1969, long after the graduation of notables such as Dwight Pentecost, Charles Ryrie, and Chuck Swindoll. Dallas Theological Seminary was not accredited by ATS until 1994, but its excellent education before then is unassailable.

Where promotional material for an unaccredited institution consists of an advertisement in a periodical published by a person or entity that is not affiliated with the unaccredited institution, the disclosure required in subsection (a) may be abbreviated to state as follows NOT ACCREDITED BY AN AGENCY RECOGNIZED BY THE U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION. The disclosure required under this subsection shall be made in a type size as large or larger than any other text in the advertisement.

 

For more information about our view of Accreditation, please click here.

 

We are currently in the process of seeking an acceptance letter from the Florida Department of Education.