Local school moves closer to accreditation
FREEPORT — The Biblical Life Institute, 927 Freeport Road., has been granted candidate status for accreditation by the Association for Biblical Higher Education.
Although involved in Christian higher education for 80 years, the Biblical Life Institute has only recently begun the process of becoming an accredited school. Candidate status is the half-way point of a process that typically takes 8-10 years.
“We are thrilled,” said Gary C. Bailey, BLI president. “This is another step in the process that validates our educational program and expands resources for our students.”
Bailey said the school will now be listed on the U.S. Department of Education site as having pre-accreditation status and may now apply for the possibility of its students receiving federal financial aid.
Founded in 1938, BLI trains men and women for Christian ministries such as pastoral leadership, missions, and youth ministry.
Bailey said some BLI students also attend the school simply to get a strong biblical education which they can then use to support churches, Christian ministries, or as a foundation for further education.
ABHE is an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. It accredits Christian colleges, universities, and Bible colleges.
The ABHE defines Bible colleges and other types of biblical higher education institutions as generally requiring students to complete substantially more course work in biblical and theological studies than their Christian liberal arts counterparts.
A typical ABHE institution requires 30+ semester hours of Bible. A typical Christian liberal arts college or university requires 6-12 semester hours of Bible study.
According to the ABHE, the majority of biblical higher education program offerings (i.e., majors and minors) tend to center around biblical/theological studies and vocational ministry professions, though many also offer some programs in the arts and sciences and marketplace professions.The ABHE uses evaluation visits normally composed of five evaluators. Team composition varies depending upon the level of education offered, the nature of the accreditation sought, instructional modalities employed, and the status sought (i.e., candidate status, initial accreditation, or reaffirmation).The Biblical Life Institute began as the Transylvania Bible School founded by Henry Shilling, in 1938 when he bought White Oak Camp which was operated as a service station, dance hall and tourist camp and converted it to a Bible school.The three-story building, built by Shilling and his students, still remains surrounded by many of the original white oak trees.
