Breaking up is hard to do.
When a Bible school looks for ways to grow or just survive, some decide to move to a liberal arts university model.
In doing so, they often leave the largest Christian college accrediting association in the US — ABHE: Association for Biblical Higher Education. ABHE requires that all members maintain a Bible/Theology core of thirty credit hours in their curriculum. However, when schools leave ABHE, nearly all of them lower their Bible/Theology core units.[1]
Does reducing these core Bible classes result in growth? Does it weaken a student’s spiritual development as many believe it does? And how necessary is a Bible core to a Liberal Arts degree? To answer these questions, I’ve briefly presented here some data from my recent dissertation: “The Future of Undergraduate Biblical Higher Education: ABHE and the Bible College Movement.”
Of the thirteen governing members of the CCCU (Council for Christian Colleges & Universities CCCU (see table 1) who were once accredited with ABHE. Only BIOLA University maintains the current ABHE requirement of 30 credit hours. The average Bible/Theology core of these thirteen institutions stands at 18.2 credit hours.
Table 1 Bible/Theology Core of CCCU Member Institutions Once with ABHE
Bible/Theology Core
Azusa Pacific University 18
BIOLA University 30
Colorado Christian University 12
Corban University 24
Crown College 24
Emmanuel College 18
Kentucky Christian University 12
North Central University 18
Northwest University 12
Point University 15
Simpson University 21
Southeastern University 18
Toccoa Falls College 15
Source: Data from College Catalogs of each institution during Fall 2016.
While moving from strictly a Bible college to a liberal arts university model often helps institutions grow, this is not always the case (see table 2). While eleven of these thirteen institutions have encountered undergraduate enrollment growth since leaving ABHE, two have not.
Some of the institutions have experienced great growth, specifically: Azusa Pacific (second largest CCCU institution based on Fall 2017 data), Colorado Christian (fourth largest), Southeastern (fifth largest), and BIOLA University (tenth largest). On the surface, these figures may indicate that a weakened Bible/Theology core contributes to growth, with one exception. BIOLA University shows that moving to a liberal arts university model does not necessitate a weakened Bible/Theology core.
Table 2 Fall Undergraduate Enrollment Comparisons
Last Year with ABHE /
Fall UG Enrollment Fall 2017 UG Enrollment
Azusa Pacific University unsure but listed on 70/71 report
F80 – 1,196 7,610
BIOLA University unsure but listed on 80/81 report
F80 – 2,298 4,048
Colorado Christian University 93/94 – 1,066 6,537
Corban University 95/96 – 694 1,021
Crown College 06/07 – 1,237 1,059
Emmanuel College 91/92 – 380 953
Kentucky Christian University 98/99 – 547 592
North Central University 90/91 – 1,182 1,076
Northwest University 94/95 – 839 950
Point University 93/94 – 262 1,926
Simpson University 90/91 – 356 777
Southeastern University 98/99 – 1,078 6,240
Toccoa Falls College 11/12 – 778 1,411
Source: Data from IPEDS.
There are also five associate members of CCCU who once had accreditation with ABHE (see table 3). The average Bible/Theology core for these five is 20.4 credit hours. Multnomah still maintains the 30-hour core (they left ABHE in Fall 2015). Four of the five institutions have experienced growth since moving towards a liberal arts model (see table 4).
Table 3 Bible/Theology Core of CCCU Associate Institutions Once with ABHE
Bible/Theology Core
Arizona Christian University 18
Mid-Atlantic Christian University 18
Multnomah University 30
Southwestern Assemblies of God University 18
University of Valley Forge 18
Source: Data from College Catalogs of each institution during Fall 2016.
Table 4 Fall Undergraduate Enrollment Comparisons
Last Year with ABHE /
Fall UG Enrollment Fall 2017 UG Enrollment
Arizona Christian University 09/10 – 401 786
Mid-Atlantic Christian University 09/10 – 165 192
Multnomah University 14/15 – 418 394
Southwestern Assem of God Univ 01/02 – 1,607 1,790
University of Valley Forge 00/01 – 618 704
Source: Data from IPEDS.
The focus of this research surrounds both the Bible/Theology core and enrollment trends. And the purpose of my research is to understand these models, not to tear down CCCU institutions who often show a weakened Bible/Theology core.
In fact, many factors contribute to enrollment growth and/or decline. And having a weakened Bible/Theology core is not necessarily detrimental to a student’s spiritual development.
Samuel Joeckel and Thomas Chesnes conducted a rather significant survey of CCCU faculty/students and published the results in 2012 (“The Christian College Phenomenon: Inside America’s Fastest Growing Institutions of Higher Learning”). They state, “According to our data, member institutions of the CCCU are places that succeed in cultivating faith and integrating that faith with learning” (62).
While the Bible/Theology core at CCCU institutions may be less than that of ABHE schools, if member institutions are succeeding with faith integration within a student’s given academic discipline, then one might conclude that students are experiencing spiritual development.
We need to consider the focused mission of Bible colleges versus the broader mission that many universities have. Thus, a robust Bible/Theology core is critical. At St. Louis Christian College, our Bible core is normally 45 hours, making up 37% of a student’s total course load. On the other hand, a student at a liberal arts university (e.g., someone majoring in physical therapy) probably does not need those 45 hours in Bible. We may conclude that the Bible core is often seen as relative to a desired degree.
[1] Some institutions do not always call this core Bible/Theology. A study of these thirteen institutions revealed that the core is called a variety of things such as: religion, worldview, Christian studies, and cultural and philosophical foundations.
