[Vision2020] Accreditation and Liberal Arts

[Melynda Huskey]

There's a slightly more complex answer, which is that NSA is a candidate for accreditation with an organization called TRACS, which accredits private Christian colleges.  The college has often reported that they expect accreditation quite soon.

Accreditation is not something to accept uncritically.  The standards for accreditation vary across agencies.  TRACS is smaller and, I believe, less rigorous in its standards than the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, which accredits other public and private colleges and universities in our region.  For example, TRACS does not require faculty to have advanced degrees in the same way that NWASC does;  TRACS is less concerned about a high percentage of faculty members from a single family than NWASC is.  

On the other hand, if you prefer a Christian college which is accredited first and foremost for its adherence to certain doctrinal standards, then a TRACS school would be a better choice.  I understand that a fair number of NSA students are co-enrolled at University of Idaho to obtain conventionally-accredited degrees, and that NSA is hopeful that TRACS accreditation will allow their students to receive transfer credit at UI or their NSA coursework in the liberal arts.  I expect there will be some difficulty in achieving that articulation, given the differences between the accrediting agencies and the likely content of courses.

Liberal arts degrees are, in and of themselves, valuable things--and I don't say that just because I have some.

Melynda Huskey

-----Original Message-----
From: Chasuk <chasuk at gmail.com>
Sent: Oct 14, 2005 12:15 PM
To: Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Enroll Now for Balanced Classes

> GWMW 101: Why God refuses to bless our school with accreditation.

Is NSA really not accredited?

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