Steve Pettit & BJU featured in Greenville paper

is that BJU recently submitted over 14,000 pages of documentation as their official request for accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

That would be approximately 161.3 pounds of paper, without including the weight of boxes for each case of paper. So we’ll round up and make it a nice 170 pounds of paper. Or just about the average weight of any given 20-29 year old male. O_o

I hope that they didn’t have to print it all and deliver it that way, or it might be 20 years before they hear back…

You’re welcome, Chip. But just for clarity sake, I’m not a “Dr.” :). My dad is the only PhD in the family.

Mark,

I have a photo of the BJU rep. wheeling in the 14,800 page document into SACS at Atlanta, GA. The binders were taller than the man himself. We are probably looking at three to four years for approval.

Mark,

I have a photo of the BJU rep. wheeling in the 14,800 page document into SACS at Atlanta, GA. The binders were taller than the man himself. We are probably looking at three to four years for approval.

A couple other things that came to mind as I recalled brother Pettit’s answer to a question about accreditation:

1) There is apparently a sense of finality to the submission (of the 14,000 pages!). In other words, all that is left for BJU to do is wait and pray - no editing, no additional information can be submitted, etc. (as I understand it). So it is reasonable to assume that the preparation process would be quite time-consuming.

2) There are, as I recall, 5 “levels” of accreditation - 1 being the most basic, and 5 being the most “advanced”. BJU has applied for level 5. So again, it is understandable that they would have taken great care in the preparation process.

I pray that God grants them favor. This is important.

[Todd Wood]

Guess what just came in the mail today for my daughter, Hannah? Nicely packaged material from BJU. What a coincidence.

Back in the ol’ day, I use to work as an admissions counselor for BJ.

I will be waiting to see how the school will convince my daughter that BJ is the best option for her.

I would hold out for a Bruins sweatshirt and coozey.

It may be that BJU being against accreditation in the past could be prophetic in coming years. I think it’s the right short term view, but if you’re paying attention to the zeitgeist it could be the case in the next 20 years, schools will be forced to give up on sexual ethics in order to retain accreditation. See what may be starting to happen at Gordon College in the Northeast.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/07/11/agency-review-whether-gordo…

Maybe Bob Jones Sr.’s gut was right back in the day, though I doubt he could imagine the time in which we live.

No doubt Shaynus. As I have mentioned I work at a secular university. Our accreditation organization (and they are regional) essentially micro-manages everything we do. It is incredibly detailed and often petty, yet none of my colleagues seem to mind.I can say this unambiguously as a member of the faculty senate and various other committees, almost every change we make is to make the accreditation people happy. Everything is in constant flux because every 2-3 years some new “earth shattering” education research shows some new paradigm, and everyone is told to follow it. And that is just the classroom! There are standards for dorms, for clubs (for example, clubs can’t have “belief requirements” anymore, even for leadership. So Christian clubs can’t require Christian leaders for example), and also conduct. The 14000 pages BJU submitted is just the beginning. Accreditation is a full time job.

I agree, Shayne. I have been following the Gordon College situation from afar. I think the New England accrediting agency can probably “bully” Gordon College a bit more simply because there aren’t that many colleges in the northeast who stand where Gordon does on sexual ethics. In the south (at least for now) it would probably be a different story. There would be a more significant outcry simply because there are a few more schools who still maintain some form of biblical, sexual ethic. But that is changing rapidly. Sexual ethics will likely be the defining issue for the church over the next 20 years. Schools and churches will either capitulate to the prevailing zeitgeist or they will be ostracized into oblivion, or even openly persecuted (fines and imprisonment). I regret to say that nothing surprises me any more as it pertains to this issue. At the same time, I rejoice because the true gospel always thrives amidst persecution.

Made me laugh. I will tell her, Barry. She was a little disappointed by yesterday’s mail. Same stuff that she has received before. I took her last night to the BJ website and clicked play on a year old video - LifeatBJU. She thought it was a tad boring. I need to find another promo.

She is shooting to be valedictorian next year in her public high school. Currently, she has several colleges running through her head but would like to work on the application process in the spring.

I need to fly her across country. I think being on the campus would be very helpful for her.

The tipping point for my oldest boy in going to his college of choice was when the college chancellor called him, and then a professor called him, and then my boy visited the campus.