Portland Bible College (PBC) is a four-year Bible college in Portland, Oregon, USA that offers theological and church ministry degrees. It was founded in 1967 and is associated with City Bible Church, which is associated with Ministers Fellowship International. The campus is adjacent to City Bible Church on Rocky Butte in northeast Portland.
Video Portland Bible College
Accreditation
Portland Bible College has chosen not to pursue accreditation. This means PBC is unaccredited and as such cannot be guaranteed by either the United States Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to provide quality education.
PBC claims that the school "has been granted exempt status by the State of Oregon and the State of Washington" to offer degrees. However, the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization does not list PBC on its list of "explicitly exempted schools." The OODA does have a second list of "authorized independent private colleges and universities" but PBC is not listed; a "North Portland Bible College" is listed instead but is at a different address than PBC and does not appear to be the same school at all. PBC is thus not a true four-year university but is rather a diploma mill.
As for Washington, PBC's letter claims the "Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board has determined that Portland Bible College qualifies for religious exempt status from the Degree-Granting Institutions Act" to award degrees. However, again, the degrees are all religious in nature rather than academic, and the state agency mentioned appears to mean the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board, which no longer exists but was rolled over into the Washington Student Achievement Council back in 2012.
The Degree-Granting Institutions Act is a 1986 law requiring all educational institutions in Washington state to be properly accredited. However, exemptions to the law exist in the form of either waivers or exemption. Neither are permanent and can be revoked. The law states that so long as the school in question only offers "degree program(s) in title and abbreviation, curriculum content, and objectives reflect the strictly religious nature of the institution" (and fulfills other criteria) is exempt. PBC does appear to fulfill this criteria but only offers religious, rather than academic degrees in Washington.
Maps Portland Bible College
Academics
The college's president, Dr. Frank Damazio, states that the college is "committed to training and equipping leaders to strengthen local churches" and "offers training in Pastoral Leadership, Worship & Creative Arts, Pastoral Counseling, and Youth Ministry along with a Humanities Program designed for university transfer." ("About PBC") The college awards six different degrees with multiple emphasis, including: Associate of Theology, Associate of Church Music, Associate of Christian Humanities, Bachelor of Church Music, Bachelor of Theology. Over 35 people work as faculty or staff at the college.
The School of Worship and the associated degrees in Church Music seek to provide a "broad knowledge of music, rhythm instruments and worship leading."
According to the college's webpage, for over 40 years PBC has had a consistently high rate of international students. International students make up around "twenty percent of the PBC student body" and play "a strong role in defining the core of PBC."
The college has formal transfer agreements with Portland State University, Warner Pacific College, Concordia University, Northwest Christian College and Pittsburg State University (Kansas). On a discretionary basis, the University of California (Berkeley), Arizona State University, Boise State University, Seattle Pacific University and Baylor University have accepted credits earned at the college. George Fox University, Western Seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary, Regent University, Liberty University, Azusa Pacific University and Multnomah University have honored the college's degrees on a discretionary basis.
Athletics
Portland Bible College Basketball Program is part of the National Christian Collegiate Athletics Association (NCCAA) and the Pacific Coast Athletics Conference (PCAC) and competes with NCAA, NAIA, and NCCAA institutions. It has had "12 All-Conference players and five All-American award winners while qualifying for the national tournament five of past six seasons." ("Athletics" at PBC)
References
External links
- www.portlandbiblecollege.org
Source of article : Wikipedia
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