Seminary prepares to offer accreditation to their community

Established in 1948 in Henderson, Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary has spent nearly 75 years training and equipping those whose goals are to “advance the Kingdom of God through the local church ministry of fulfilling the Great Commission.” But a new twist seems to be necessary in order to provide the very best they can for their students.

With a past jobs placement rate of 100 percent and a reputation for producing quality graduates, TBI never felt that accreditation was a necessity to accomplish their goals. But over the years, accreditation began to be more and more appealing to parents and students who wanted to make certain that their time, money, and efforts were not wasted. Enrollment began to diminish, and TBI began to look into the requirements of this process.

In 2015, the college was accepted as an applicant by The Association for Biblical Higher Education, a recognized accrediting agency associated with the U.S. Department of Education and based in Orlando, Florida. In 2019, TBI reached candidate status, and as they were now recognized by the Department of Education, schools were more accepting of their credits. But full status and official rights and privileges had not yet been reached. Now, in mid-February, TBI is working to complete the final step as three of the college administrators will sit before the Commission on Accreditation with the goal of being moved to Initial Accreditation.

“We were led to this point because it suddenly became very necessary,” said Robert Wallace, CFO/Vice President of Advancement in the Seminary. “This has been an official 8 year pursuit not counting prep working up to it,” he added.

Such a process is not a walk in the park, but generally takes between eight and ten years of much effort on the part of the faculty and staff. It has required many of the faculty members of TBI to pursue additional credentials and degrees and has cost roughly $1,000,000 to accomplish.

“It is not for the faint of heart,” Wallace laughed. “It’s been very rewarding, but a long pursuit.”

There are 11 standards that TBI must meet in order to reach this goal. Having third-party accreditation, however, will help the seminary to present themselves as an institution in good standing and financially stable, as well as offering easier transfer of credits to other educational facilities. It also helps them to assure a long-term stability in providing transcripts and assuring students that if they start there, they can finish there.

“We feel like we are a start up,” Wallace said, explaining that though the school will celebrate their 75th anniversary next year, they have completely reinvented themselves over the past several years.

Wallace went on to say that reinventing themselves from the inside while retaining their standards on doctrine has been complicated. He emphasized that they have not changed what they teach, but are working to become more efficient and a better school.

“That would say that what we taught before was not right, and that’s not what we believe,” Wallace finished. “We are maintaining our doctrinal standard, but our structures are being reinvented, changed, and made better.”

Offering 155 courses, with graduates serving on four continents, and 76 percent of the 20212022 students employed in ministry upon graduation, TBI is sponsored by and connected to Calvary Baptist Church in Henderson. They are also affiliated with the American Baptist Association. But they welcome students from everywhere--all churches and all backgrounds.

There are several churches in the Northeast Texas area that support and hire graduates from TBI including Tanglewood in Atlanta.