The Association for Biblical Higher Education
Encyclopedia
The Association for Biblical Higher Education or ABHE (formerly The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges or AABC) is a nationally recognized accrediting agency in the United States. It is recognized by the United States Department of Education
and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
. The ABHE is inter-denominational but requires annual affirmation of a common statement of beliefs.
The Association is full member of the International Council of Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE), operating under the auspices of the World Evangelical Alliance
.
Incorporated in the State of Illinois as a not-for-profit corporation, the Association is exempt from income tax under the provisions of section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Currently, it is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.
In 2009, there are approximately 140 bible institutes, colleges, and universities with some form of relationship with the ABHE. It operates for the purpose of setting academic standards for seminaries
and Bible college
s, and evaluates and monitors compliance among its candidate and member schools. ABHE is a national accreditation organization recognized by CHEA and the US Department of Education, with similar standards to the six regional accrediting associations
.
According to ABHE's annual membership handbook, there were 33,200 undergraduates and 2,500 graduate students registered in over 135 colleges/universities across North America in the 2005/2006 academic year.
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
. The ABHE is inter-denominational but requires annual affirmation of a common statement of beliefs.
The Association is full member of the International Council of Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE), operating under the auspices of the World Evangelical Alliance
World Evangelical Alliance
- Introduction :' is a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the "Good News of Jesus" in their communities...
.
History
The organization that is now the ABHE was founded in 1947 as the Accrediting Association of Bible Institutes and Bible Colleges. The name was shortened in 1957 to the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges. From 1973 to 1994 the organization was called the American Association of Bible Colleges, but the name Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges was restored in 1994. In 2004 the name of the organization changed to the Association for Biblical Higher Education "in order to reflect its expansion of scope with graduate education accreditation and programmatic accreditation."Incorporated in the State of Illinois as a not-for-profit corporation, the Association is exempt from income tax under the provisions of section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Currently, it is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.
In 2009, there are approximately 140 bible institutes, colleges, and universities with some form of relationship with the ABHE. It operates for the purpose of setting academic standards for seminaries
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
and Bible college
Bible college
Bible colleges are institutions of higher education that specialize in biblical studies. Curriculum is Bible-based and differs from that of liberal arts colleges or research universities. Bible colleges generally exclude the study of philosophy, unlike seminaries and theological colleges...
s, and evaluates and monitors compliance among its candidate and member schools. ABHE is a national accreditation organization recognized by CHEA and the US Department of Education, with similar standards to the six regional accrediting associations
Regional accreditation
Regional accreditation is a term used in the United States to refer to educational accreditation conducted by any of several accreditation bodies established to serve six defined geographic areas of the country for accreditation of schools, colleges, and universities...
.
According to ABHE's annual membership handbook, there were 33,200 undergraduates and 2,500 graduate students registered in over 135 colleges/universities across North America in the 2005/2006 academic year.
Compared
Although faith-based national accreditors may have earned USDE and CHEA recognition, their accreditation is not automatically reciprocated by regional (or other) agencies or their accredited institutions. Contrary to the principles laid out in CHEA’s Transfer and the Public Interest: A Statement to the Community (1998), many institutions continue to base transfer credit decisions solely or primarily upon accreditation, regional accreditation in particular. Since all recognized accrediting agencies must meet USDE and CHEA recognition criteria, many of ABHE’s standards correspond to those of regional accreditors. In fact, a substantial percentage of ABHE-accredited US institutions are also accredited by the appropriate regional agency. ABHE typically engages in joint or coordinated peer review visits with regional accrediting agencies where both agencies accredit the same institution. ABHE accreditation, however, does not guarantee regional accreditation and vice versa. Each agency is responsible to conduct a bona fide peer review of institutions seeking accreditation and in some cases ABHE-accredited institutions have sought unsuccessfully to achieve regional accreditation.Operations
ABHE is operated by its member institutions through a board of directors, members of which are elected at an annual business meeting. Accrediting decisions are made by the Commission on Accreditation; commissioners are also elected by member institutions. The Association’s public accountability is underscored by the requirement that both the Board of Directors and the Commission on Accreditation must include public representatives among its members. The Association is administered by a chief executive officer and supported by a corps of professional staff.See also
- List of recognized accreditation associations of higher learning
- Educational accreditationEducational accreditationEducational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...