Accreditation

To become accredited, a college has to demonstrate to external evaluators that it is substantially achieving its mission and conducting its affairs in a trustworthy manner.

In other words, accreditation involves showing that the college is doing what it claims to be doing, so that students, parents, financial supporters, and churches/pastors have a reasonable basis for confidence as they invest their time and money.

Accreditation is about quality assurance, but it is also about quality improvement. By pursuing and maintaining accreditation, colleges participate in ongoing evaluation and learning processes that can help the institution improve the quality of its service for the people who benefit from its work and care about its mission.

CCBC holds Candidate Status through an association of evangelical Christians who are Bible College ministry colleagues:

The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE)
5850 T. G. Lee Blvd, Suite 130
Orlando FL 32822
(407 208-0808
info@abhe.org
www.abhe.org 

The ABHE is a national, faith-related accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE), the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), and the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE). 

See ABHE’s Tenets of Faith.

No, CCBC is not currently accredited, but CCBC is pursuing accreditation and currently holds Candidate Status with ABHE.

Calvary Chapel Bible College also meets California state requirements for religious exemption pursuant to California Education Code Section 94874(e)(1), as verified by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). The BPPE is a unit of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. The BPPE ensures that private institutions of postsecondary education are conducted lawfully. Calvary Chapel Bible College satisfies all of the applicable BPPE requirements and is authorized to grant diplomas and degrees in biblical studies as a religious exempt institution.

Currently, we seek to demonstrate the credibility of CCBC through prioritizing compliance with accreditation standards, through the credit transfer agreements with accredited colleges which we have held for many years, and especially through the spiritually fruitful lives of our graduates.

It is not possible or ethical for us to give a fixed date or timeline for reaching “accredited” status, since that decision is in the hands of ABHE’s Commission on Accreditation.

Right now we have Candidate Status and are working diligently on the next steps.

The three milestones of the accreditation journey are (1) Applicant Status, (2) Candidate Status, and (3) Accredited Status.

We are five years into the process. For more information and answers to further questions, please visit: https://www.abhe.org/accreditation/faqs/

To ensure that we can keep our college open in a world that tends to oppose and discount our mission due to social and political pressures, and to better serve and equip our students for ministry in this world.

Accreditation will open many doors for our students, allowing them to serve Christ in a wider variety of venues in which an unaccredited degree would not be recognized. (Example: Missionaries must hold an accredited degree to work in many countries.)

Accreditation also opens doors for certain scholarships, benefits, and grants, making the biblical education we offer financially possible for students who need assistance.

Since accreditation is also a self-improvement process, the benefits of accreditation are helping us improve and sustain better service to our students, enhancing their biblical and spiritual learning experience.

Accreditation will:

1. Improve the quality of the biblical and spiritual education students receive
2. Open more doors for students pursuing employment and ministry
3. Improve transferability of credits earned through CCBC for students who go on to further study at other Christian colleges and seminaries
4. Allow CCBC students to apply for access to financial support resources such as FAFSA, Pell Grants, Veterans’ Benefits, and other sources of funding

Pursuing accreditation through ABHE is helping CCBC guard against both of these dangers, (1) by preparing us with the documentation needed to satisfy State of California requirements for exemption and (2) by ensuring that we hold true to our biblical mandate and to evangelical, orthodox tenets of faith.

Both accredited and unaccredited schools may face legal challenges related to their religious liberty, especially regarding same-sex relationships, gender identity, etc…Becoming part of the ABHE connects CCBC with around 150 peer institutions who are facing similar challenges, working together to navigate the issues. (There is strength in numbers!)

Presently, laws are in place to allow schools like CCBC to follow their religious convictions concerning cultural issues. If this changes in such a way that the government requires accredited schools to adopt policies that violate the Bible’s teaching, CCBC will withdraw from accreditation.

Also, religious freedom issues are likely to affect government funding before they affect accreditation. If that were to happen, we would withdraw from government funding programs (FAFSA, etc.), but remain accredited.

Presently, religious protections are in place for both accreditation and the funding programs. However, accreditation is voluntary, and we are grateful for the opportunity to work toward accreditation with the ABHE, an association of Christians dedicated to biblical education with strong evangelical Tenets of Faith.

While many colleges and seminaries have drifted from their conservative, biblical roots, many accredited institutions have not. Policies through our Christian accreditors will hold us publicly accountable more than before.