American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions
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: ''Not to be confused with the [[Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada]], the primary accreditation agency for North American seminaries.''
'''American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions''' (AAATI) is a [[Christian]] nonprofit organization offering [[educational accreditation]], based in [[Rocky Mount, North Carolina]].<ref name="CBC" /> It was formed in 1983.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} The composition of the board is unknown.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} According to [[Steve Levicoff]], it is an [[accreditation mill]]<ref name="NIFIcrit">[http://levicoff.tripod.com/ The NIFI Criteria or How to Spot a Degree Mill in 75 Easy Steps], Steve Levikoff's website (accessed October 22, 2007)</ref> operated by [[Dr. Cecil Johnson]], president of '''Christian Bible College''', a [[distance education]] [[Bible college]] based in Rocky Mount that Levicoff identifies as a [[diploma mill]].<ref name="Levicoff" />
AAATI is not recognized as an accreditor by either the [[United States Department of Education]] and [[Council for Higher Education Accreditation]].<ref>[http://www.chea.org Council for Higher Education Accreditation]</ref>
AAATI is not required to be recognized by the groups mentioned above.
It will approve accreditation to qualified schools for an initial fee ($125 in 1993) and annual renewal fee each year if re-approved, as described by Steve Levicoff,<ref name="Levicoff" /> who called it a meaningless accreditation mill that unaccredited religious schools cite as "approval" or "accreditation" in order to avoid appearing to be diploma mills.<ref name="Levicoff">Steve Levicoff. ''[[Name It and Frame It?]]''. (3rd edition) Institute on Religion and Law. 1993 (page 34-35) ASIN B0006F1PCQ</ref>
==Affiliated institutions==
Institutions that have claimed membership in, or accreditation from, the AAATI include:
* [[Alpha Omega Bible College & Seminary]] Inc., Elkton, South Dakota and [[Shalom Bible College & Seminary]], West Des Moines, Iowa<ref>[http://www.alphaomegabiblecollege.org/accreditation/ Accreditation], Alpha Omega Bible College & Seminary website (accessed October 21, 2007)</ref>
* [[Andersonville Theological Seminary]]<ref name="ATS">[http://www.andersonvilleseminary.com/pdf/info.pdf Andersonville Theological Seminary 2007 Catalog]. When accessed on [[October 21]], [[2007]], the "Accreditations and Affiliations" section on page 7 stated that the school had accreditation by AAATI. However, this information was not in that institution's catalog on [[April 18]], [[2007]] [http://web.archive.org/web/20070418180207/http://www.andersonvilleseminary.com/pdf/info.pdf] or [[January 8]], [[2008]].</ref>
* Christian Bible College, Rocky Mount, North Carolina<ref name="CBC">[http://www.christianbiblecollege.org/statement.htm Statement of Faith], Christian Bible College website (accessed October 21, 2007)</ref>
* [[International Institute of Church Management]] Inc., based in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, USA, and Chennai, India<ref>[http://www.iicmweb.org/accre.htm Accreditation and Membership Particulars], International Institute of Church Management website (accessed October 21, 2007)</ref>
* [[National Chaplains Institute]]'s [[Biblical Life College and Seminary]] (distance education) <ref>[http://www.biblical-life.com/BLCS1.htm Biblical Life College & Seminary webpage] (accessed October 21, 2007)</ref>
* [[Northwestern Theological Seminary]]
* Oval Bible College, Lake Charles, Louisiana (distance education)<ref>[http://www.bibletrainer.com Oval Bible College website] (accessed March 26, 2008)</ref>
* [[Pacific International University]]<ref name="PIU">Pacific International website states that its "memberships do NOT constitute accreditation by the U.S. Office of Education."{{cite news | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060504034113/http://paciu.edu/profile/distance-learning-credentials-recognition.shtml | title=Credentials and recognition | publisher=Pacific International University |date=January 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-10-21}}</ref>
* [[Patriot Bible University]]<ref>[http://www.patriotuniversity.org/index.php?mod=Articles&menuid=67 Accreditation and Consumer Protection] on Patriot Bible University website (accessed October 21, 2007)</ref>
* [[Slidell Baptist Seminary]]
* [[Zion Ministerial Institute]]
==See also==
*[[Educational accreditation]]
*[[Accreditation mill]]
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.chea.org/ Council for Higher Education Accreditation] – Official website
[[Category:Unrecognized accreditation associations]]