Patrick Henry College, the Purcellville-based Christian college founded two years ago primarily for formerly home-schooled students, has been denied accreditation by a national group because it requires professors to sign a statement of faith including that they will teach creationism.
The college of about 150 students, which will graduate its first class this month, is appealing the decision by the American Academy for Liberal Education, a private group approved by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit liberal arts colleges.
At issue is the school's Statement of Biblical Worldview, in which professors agree that all courses will be taught with the understanding that God created the world in six 24-hour days. In a letter, academy President Jeffrey D. Wallin told Patrick Henry that the statement conflicts with the requirement that "liberty of thought and freedom of speech are supported and protected, bound only by such rules of civility and order as to facilitate intellectual inquiry and the search for truth."
Patrick Henry President Michael P. Farris said: "It took us by total surprise. Apparently, there are some [AALE] board members whose views on diversity just simply do not allow them to believe that someone who believes in creationism should be in the big tent of academic freedom."
When the school begins offering biology in the fall, Farris said, professors will explain evolution but will ultimately teach that creationism is true, based on faith and science.
Accreditation is a lengthy, multilayered and formal process through which private colleges and universities recognize one another as quality institutions. Colleges are licensed to enroll and graduate students by state agencies, and Patrick Henry passed the final stage of Virginia's approval process in November.
Many private colleges and universities then pursue further accreditation by one of dozens of private agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Only students at schools that are privately accredited can receive federal financial aid, and many graduate schools look to accreditation as a sign that a student has a legitimate undergraduate degree.
Patrick Henry does not accept federal money, and Farris said several students have been accepted at graduate schools. But the school plans to challenge the academy's decision while pursuing accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the leading group that accredits schools in Virginia.
Wallin said the academy's rules prohibit him from discussing the specifics of Patrick Henry's case, but he spoke to the general circumstances.
"Patrick Henry came to us in good faith, and they were treated in good faith. This is not a matter of whether one likes an institution. It's a matter of whether an institution meets the standards," he said. "We expect openness of inquiry. It's very hard to have a liberal education if one does not have open inquiry."
The academy was founded in the mid-1990s to recognize strong liberal arts programs. It has been approved to accredit colleges since 1999.
Several experts said the rejection of Patrick Henry's application illustrates an interesting debate about academic freedom in higher education.
"I think any institution that imposes an ideological test on faculty is going to have a certain difficulty with accreditation, perhaps a substantial difficulty," said Michael B. Goldstein, a lawyer who heads the higher education practice at the Washington law firm Dow, Lohnes & Albertson.
"Can you say you believe in the fundamentalist approach? The answer is, sure. But can you restrict a faculty member in pursuit of his or her academic area? And the answer is, that you're not supposed to."
Mark A. Noll, a professor of Christian thought at Wheaton College in Illinois, said the issue can be more tricky.
"Voluntary groups [such as the academy] can make up guidelines however they want," he said. "But the question about academic freedom is a tricky one. It's fair to say that academic freedom has always been relative; it's never been absolute. . . . What I wish people who champion academic freedom would realize is that they do not believe in it absolutely."
