Accreditation
In Steve Levicoff's Name It and Frame It? New Opportunities in Adult Education and How to Avoid Being Ripped Off by 'Christian' Degree Mills he explained that while a non-accredited school is not necessarily a degree mill, he wrote that Patriot Bible University was a degree mill. The college has varied its policies over the years, but it has been criticized for awarding students degrees based on questionable standards such as "life experience" or "ministry evaluation" that lack academic rigour and merit.
The university is not accredited by any recognized accreditation associations of higher learning. As of 2007, it was recognized by the American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions (AAATI), which has no recognition from the United States Department of Education or any other government educational organization. The AAATI is itself considered an accreditation mill, and provides approval to schools for a $100 charge. In 2008, it was accredited by Accrediting Commission International. The ACI is again not recognized by the US Department of Education. The St. Petersburg Times reported, "Alan Contreras, who heads Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization, which closely tracks schools with questionable accreditation. 'Anything accredited by ACI in Beebe, Ark., is either fake or substandard, as far as I know.'"
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