Association for Biblical Higher Education explained

The Association for Biblical Higher Education
Formation:	1947 (not-for-profit corporation in 1954)
Headquarters:	Orlando, FL
Location:	5850 TG Lee Blvd, Suite 130 Orlando, FL 32822
Leader Title:	President
Leader Name:	Philip E. Dearborn^[1]
Key People:	William Blocker, DMCE, Board Chairman
Num Staff:	12
Website:	https://www.abhe.org

The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC) is an evangelical Christian organization of bible colleges in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. It is a member of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education. The ABHE is interdenominational but requires annual affirmation of a common statement of beliefs. It is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

History

The organization was founded in 1947 as the Accrediting Association of Bible Institutes and Bible Colleges.^[2] The name was shortened in 1957 to the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges. From 1973 to 1994 the organization was called the American Association of Bible Colleges, but the name Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges was restored in 1994. In 2004 the name of the organization changed to the Association for Biblical Higher Education "in order to reflect its expansion of scope with graduate education accreditation and programmatic accreditation."^{[3] [4]}

Statistics

The ABHE has 161 member institutions.^[5] Over 63,000+ students are reported to be enrolled in ABHE Member institutions.^[6]

Affiliations

The ABHE is a member of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education.^[7]

Accreditation

The ABHE is incorporated in the State of Illinois as a not-for-profit corporation and exempt from income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.^{[8] [9]} It is a recognized accrediting agency in the United States.^[10] It is recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Standards for accreditation

To achieve or retain accreditation from ABHE, a school must demonstrate that it is accomplishing its mission and goals through a comprehensive system of assessment and planning.^[11] It also requires that the school annually affirm its tenets of faith; the tenets also include a position statement that supports conservative Biblical views on sexuality with which the school must agree.^[12]

Honor society

The ABHE sponsors the Delta Epsilon Chi honor society for students at its accredited institutions.^[13]

See also

• List of recognized accreditation associations of higher learning
• Educational accreditation

Notes and References

1. Web site: Association Staff. 23 November 2016 . Oct 13, 2020.
2. George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christian Education, Volume 3, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2015, p. 86
3. George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 241
4. http://www.abhe.org/default.aspx?pid=14 History
5. Web site: Member Directory . 2024-02-05 . abhe-dir.weaveeducation.com.
6. ABHE, About ABHE, abhe.org, USA, retrieved June 8, 2021
7. International Council for Evangelical Theological Education, Members, abhe.org, USA, retrieved June 8, 2021
8. http://www.abhe.org/pages/NAV-ABHEFacts.html ABHE Facts
9. Ralph E. Enlow (2011), President's 2011 Annual Report, ABHE, accessed 2 December 2011
10. Web site: Agency list . . Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs . 2011-12-02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111130033508/http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Agencies.aspx . 2011-11-30 .
11. Web site: Comprehensive Standards . ABHE . 3 February 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160113225158/http://www.abhe-resources.com/pdfResources/COA/comprehensive_standards.pdf . 13 January 2016 .
12. Web site: Tenets of Faith . The Association for Biblical Higher Education . https://web.archive.org/web/20200715025207/https://www.abhe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/ABHE-Tenets-Human-Sexuality.pdf . 15 July 2020 . dead.
13. Web site: 2014-09-24 . Honor Society . 2024-02-05 . Association for Biblical Higher Education . en-US.