Baptist Bible colleges can be a great match for students looking for a well-rounded education that prepares them for a successful career and helps them develop into a mature, responsible, moral person. College can be a difficult time for students who are overwhelmed by school work, the amount and variety of social opportunities, and immoral temptations. A conservative Baptist Bible college can help keep students on the right track by encouraging them to take advantage of the right kinds of academic, social, spiritual and professional opportunities while they are away from home. Once a student has chosen to attend a Baptist Bible college, however, he or she still needs to research individual schools and consider factors like accreditation, location, school size, academic offerings and more.
To begin your search, visit the Southern Baptist Convention list of colleges and universities. These schools belong to the Southern Baptist denomination and network, so it’s a good way to verify that the Bible college you’re researching is a valid Christian community. The SBC site also has a list of Southern Baptist seminaries in states like California, New Orleans and more. The traditional SBC colleges list includes top universities like Baylor University and Ouachita Baptist University, as well as smaller schools that may be less familiar to you. Once you start researching individual schools, make sure that you verify each university’s accreditation status with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Regional accreditation is the best kind of accreditation a college or university can earn, and you will be guaranteed that the school you want to attend has met certain academic and organizational standards set forth by authoritative agencies. Just as you want to verify a school’s commitment to a strong Christian community, you will also need to verify its academic standards.
As you research Baptist Bible colleges, you will notice that some schools, like Baylor University and others, are larger universities that have received national recognition, may offer undergraduate and graduate programs, and are well-funded, highly distinguished schools. These types of universities are very much steeped in their Southern Baptist heritage and promote a moral, faith-based community and lifestyle, from the classroom to social and service projects to vocational training. These schools, however, also cater to non-Baptist students. While they offer or even require religion classes, and restrict alcohol usage, they do not always enforce strict dress codes and may allow more typical college clubs and organizations, including Greek life.
If you are more interested in attending a smaller or even more conservative school, you do not have to give up reputation or academic integrity. The University of the Cumberlands, for example, enrolls just over 2,100 students and has been named one of the Best Colleges of 2009 by U.S. News and World Report. It offers study abroad opportunities, undergraduate departments in human services, history and political science, math and physics, communications and theatre arts, and more, as well as two graduate programs. The religion program offers a Church Ministries Track for those who plan to make a career out of Christian ministry, and a Religious Studies track for those who prefer a more academic route. East Texas Baptist University is another small school of just 1,200 students that still offers athletic programs at the NCAA Division III level, study abroad, and more. Students are required to attend chapel/assembly programs, however, and residence halls are not coed except for the family housing dorm. Depending on your preference for a large Baptist university or a smaller, much more conservative school, you can become a member of a faithful Christian community of tens of thousands or just over a thousand.
