Patriot Bible University

Patriot Bible University (PBU), formerly known as Patriot University, is an unaccredited fundamentalist Christian correspondence school located in Del Norte, Colorado which issues religious degrees only. PBU is not accredited by any agency recognized by the Department of Education. Patriot Bible University is divided into 3 schools - College of Ministerial Studies, College of Christian Education, and Patriot School of the Bible. The College of Ministerial Studies and College of Christian Education offer Christian Bible degrees at the undergraduate, and graduate degree levels. Patriot School of the Bible offers Bible diplomas, certifications, ministry and leadership training, and continuing education.

History
It was established in 1979 as Patriot University in Dallas, Texas. Then in 1985 it became affiliated with Hilltop Baptist Church in Colorado Springs. Beginning in March 1988 the school was authorized by the State of Colorado Higher Education Commission to issue "religious degrees". In 1993, its address was listed as 6915 Palmer Park Blvd in Colorado Springs with Wayne Knight as President and Director. Hilltop Baptist Church continues to own and operate Patriot Bible University. Also in 1993, the published admission requirements included that applicants must be "Bible believing Christians." In July 2004, the school changed its name to Patriot Bible University and moved out of College Heights Baptist Church and into a building in Del Norte, Colorado at 1135 French St. In 2007, it had a total of four employees. According to Patriot's website it issues approximately 50 to 100 Christian religious degrees (Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorates) per year, and has about 400 active distance learning based students in the United States alone.

Accreditation
The university is not accredited by any United States Department of Education recognized accreditation associations of higher learning. The college itself has claimed that it simply does not choose to be accredited by regional accreditation agencies. PBU's accreditation is a religious non-governmental accreditation, rather than secular - voluntary, rather than mandatory. The laws of Colorado give the authority to grant religious degrees. The authority to grant degrees comes from the individual State, not the school's accrediting agency.

Tuition, requirements, and criticism
Patriot Bible University is a correspondence Bible college with student-directed studies. The school does not employ professors. Critics consider this style of teaching to be substandard. Every student is required to take Bible and Science. The course is based on research by Dr. Henry Morris. The course covers the harmony between science and the Bible, the problem with the theory of evolution, the validity of the flood, Biblical archaeology, and scientific insights into prophecy. This requirement is also frustrating to evolutionist critics. Every student is also required to take God in American History. A course which teaches that America is a Christian Nation. This course aims to prove that our American heritage is a Christian heritage. This course shows, based on extensive research, the close relationship between God and the founding and development of our country. This worldview is very unpopular with Academia and Evolutionists. Students seeking a Bachelor degree are required to earn 128 credits. The school's current policies allow students with previous college credits to attain bachelor's degrees in months, rather than years, for as little as $38 per month plus books. The university offers a monthly fee, unlike most universities, which only charge per-credit fees. Patriot allows students to "prepay" for tuition and books (such as, D.Min. fully pre-paid, $1899 and Masters $1399) and for those who already have a secular Bachelor degree they "are required to complete only 12 courses for the Bachelor level".

Master’s students are required to do a thesis and Doctoral students a dissertation. The submitted work is not kept at the Library of Congress and the ownership is retained by the student. This policy is unusual in academia and has caused critics to be suspicious.

Notable Alumni - Young Earth Creationist Kent Hovind
Much of the criticism of Patriot is leveled at the controversial creationist evangelist Kent Hovind, who received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Patriot in 1989 and 1991 respectively, both in Christian Education. Hovind's use of the title "Doctor" in particular has provoked interest and subsequently, scrutiny of his education credentials as well as his dissertation. Hovind has become the lightning rod in the battle over public school science curriculum. He is adamant that schools should teach creationism and not teach evolution. He has many critics and mainstream teachers who believe evolution should be taught in public schools and not creationism. Patriot has posted Hovind's religious testimony on its website and posted a defense of him.

Critics have described Hovind's dissertation as incomplete, low academic quality, poor writing, poor spelling, and ungrammatical style. Critics have only seen and reviewed a rough draft of the dissertation. In 2010, Patriot responded to Wikileaks' claim to have revealed Hovind's dissertation. Patriot wrote the posting was not the "finished" product, but because they do not "retain ownership to student thesis’ or dissertations, as is commonly practiced by many schools," they "cannot release student work to the public".