Trinity Theological Seminary, a pioneer in distance theological education in the US (founded in 1969) has dropped its PhD programs -- accepting no new applicants as of yesterday.
TTS is a bit of a strange bird. Generally speaking they provide solid education with an appropriate amount of rigor. They are in no way -- nor have they ever been -- a degree mill. But they've always struggled with the accreditation issue. They had "validation" from a couple of British universities (which they unfortunately called "accreditation" -- damaging their reputation -- along with some of their past marketing practices). They are currently teaching the University of Wales BA and MA degrees -- in addition to the TTS degrees that they offer.
A couple of years ago they attempted to get accreditation from one of the regional US accreditors but that unraveled -- further damaging their credibility.
I suspect that they're gearing up to take another run at it. But my guess is that they'll attempt DETC recognition this time. DETC, which is recognized by CHEA and the US Department of Education, does not currently accredit any PhD programs. But DETC would be very appropriate for what Trinity does and who they are.
TTS has kept its DMin and EdD programs -- which I think would be acceptable to DETC. It looks like they have restructured some of the masters level programs, too.
Whatever it is that they're up to I hope it works -- for the sake of their students, graduates, and the other schools which will follow their lead.
1 comment:
Brad,
Your comments are very fair and, I believe, accurate. One can find many comments on the web, which are quite disparaging of TTS and seemingly based on another agenda. Like you, I hope that their accreditation application sticks this time. I know enough about them to conclude that (in general) they provide a sound education and that they are serious about learning.
Marc
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