Perceptions of college presidents from past and present AABC accredited institutions towards the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges and regional accreditation

The purpose of this study was to discover and delineate the perceptions of college presidents from past and present AABC accredited institutions towards the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges and regional accreditation, and to observe possible relationships between presidents\u27 perceptions about accreditation and institutional accreditation status. A survey instrument was given to the entire population of 100 presidents from institutions with one of three accreditation relationships; (a) AABC only, (b) dually accredited (AABC and regional), and (c) regionally accredited, formerly AABC. The survey response rate was 75%. The two overarching research questions were: (1) Was there a difference in perception among presidents from the three different groups in terms of the value and benefit of AABC and/or regional accreditation? (2) Was there a difference in perception among presidents from the three different groups in terms of the perceived compatibility of AABC and/or regional accreditation? The study found the following: (1) Survey respondents seemed to have greater confidence in the future viability of regional accreditation than in future viability of AABC accreditation. (2) College presidents from institutions accredited by AABC viewed the benefits of regional accreditation more favorably than the presidents from regionally accredited institutions viewed the benefits of AABC accreditation. (3) College presidents from all three groups saw the benefits of regional accreditation as outweighing the benefits of AABC accreditation, especially when it came to attracting students to the institution. (4) College presidents were favorably disposed towards dual accreditation and anticipated an increase in both dually accredited institutions and in those that drop AABC upon gaining regional accreditation. Accordingly, the presidents indicated in the future more institutions may drop AABC for regional or dual accreditation. Increasing numbers of dually accredited institutions will create challenges for AABC, regional accreditation associations, and college presidents. The leadership of AABC has already undertaken creative reforms to address the areas of concern the study revealed