What about accreditation?

New Geneva holds the exact same accreditation as the original Oxford or Cambridge University – NONE. Educational Institutions, be they parochial schools or private colleges usually seek accreditation because they hope that the accreditation will catapult them immediately into the good favor of potential students and faculty. A very successful professional educator once candidly said that accreditation is often sought because the educational institution cannot stand on its own merit. Accreditation, therefore, becomes a vote of no-confidence in the faculty and the curricula. At New Geneva, we do not seek accreditation from any outside institution or state. The proof of our scholarship, and professional ability to raise academically courageous leaders rests in our faculty and tracts of study.

In what way is New Geneva accredited?

The New Geneva Christian Leadership Academy is officially recognized as meeting the essential requirements of education according to the Westminster Standards (1647). This Confession teaches that the civil government may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word or interfere in matters of faith. Education at New Geneva is both the administration of the Word and a matter of Faith. Likewise, New Geneva accredits each student’s scholarship, leadership, and action towards reforming and exceeding the US Department of Education expectations and influence. New Geneva is however recognized as a non-profit, religious institution by the Virginia State Council of Higher Education.

What about college acceptance?

There are many colleges and universities that will accept the degrees furnished by an independent school. However, there are many colleges and universities that will not accept degrees and or credits from schools that are even state accredited. It all depends upon the policies at those other colleges.

How do students transfer credits from New Geneva to other colleges?

If you wish to transfer credits from New Geneva to another college or university check with the registrar’s office first to see if they will accept New Geneva’s credits. To help students, New Geneva maintains a list of colleges which have already evaluated and agreed to accept New Geneva transfer credits. Students wishing to transfer credits or degrees to New Geneva need to submit a copy of their transcript for review.

What about Graduate work after Undergraduate completion?

There are many schools that will allow graduate work from a graduate of an independent or private college. It all depends on the school. New Geneva can assist you in finding such a graduate program. Graduate candidates to New Geneva are genuinely accepted even if their undergraduate work was not focused upon a theologically based field of study.

New Geneva’s worldview on federal accreditation:

College accreditation is popularly viewed as a process through which students are ensured a quality education. Acquiring an accreditation status recognized by the federal government is voluntarily chosen by many colleges because they and their students want access to certain government and private funding sources. Research into the value of accreditation has demonstrated conclusively from research and experience that accreditation does not ensure quality (George Leef, Can College Accreditation Live Up to Its Promise?, American Council of Trustees and Alumni, Director of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, previous Vice President of the Locke Foundation).

For the past 25 years, home educating families have ensured the quality education of their children through their personal involvement and free market decisions. New Geneva is encouraging and enabling this same level of quality, which has been demonstrated through achievement testing to be 30 percentage points better than accredited schools.

During the last 100 years, institutions of higher education have collaborated with federal and state agencies to limit the awarding of degrees to accredited institutions to protect their market share with the effect of charging a high tuition for a low-quality product. Honest reflection by most college graduates and employers will confirm this. In the pursuit of employment, they can be asked to look beyond the paper degree to learn of the genuine character and ability of the person applying for employment.

The fact that accreditation gives rise to the secularization and homogenization of even Christian college curricula, is of even more concern to Christian families. Therefore, New Geneva encourages and enables families to accredit the specific programs of their own children. Where accreditation is desired for a program, families can form a review board for each student consisting of the student’s parent(s), pastor(s), academic advisor(s), and professional advisor(s). This essentially combines the value of a graduate school committee, accreditation team, and church leadership under the authority of the parents. Acknowledging the authority of the family and church are key to the highest quality and most effective accreditation.

The student may invite desirable employers to participate on their review board and choose to pursue apprenticeships, internships, coops, summer employment or entrepreneurship opportunities with their desired employers at any time.