Citizen of the Month

Part one of a series…

Who are these guys, anyway?

Some disturbing information has been made available to TN420 recently concerning the Impact International Church in Bristol,VA. Presided over by Ryan LeStrange.

[i]LeStrange Couple[/i]

The confusion has to do with the accreditation of the Church/School in Bristol and New Life Bible College (NLBC) in Cleveland, Tennessee. All one has to do is type in “Accrediting Commission International” (ACI) in most any search engine and examine what people say about this unrecognized accrediting agency.

Additionally, there are plenty of books that also discredit ACI, i.e., Bears’ Guide To Earning Degrees By Distance Learning . Many empolyers use this guide to protect themselves and their employees from bogus degrees.

The site Bakers Guide is helpful for one to understand the seriousness of recognized accreditation.

Now it could be argued that because IIC is teaching a “Christian” program that they do not want the state telling them what to teach. We totally understand that if they are seeking federal or state funds. However, regional accreditation from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
does not consider if you are a religious or secular school. They consider the standards of the school…the teaching of basic educational fundamentals. NLBC offers degrees all the way up to doctorate, and from an earlier conversation with a member of the staff, they are seeking accreditation through NLBC.
How does one college accredit another college? This practice is not allowed in the real academic world. Each college must stand on their own merits, as it should be.

We have learned that NLBC is accredited through Life Christian College , which is accredited by ACI which is not recognized as a legitimate accrediting agency.
Another question is “why” would IIC want to be affiliated with any educational agency of dubious character? Shouldn’t Christians, in the interest of example, not strive for excellence in everything we do? I suppose the reasoning for schools to seek ACI accreditation ranges from naive to outright deceitful.

Recent research on unaccredited Christian schools shows RHEMA stands as one of integrity. They make no claims that they are an accredited school. A potential student knows the truth from the beginning as to what can be done with the training.

You may be asking why we care. Our reason is simple: We are from this area and we do not want to see any agency, religious or not, mislead our faithful citizens. According to a student that is attending the school in Bristol, they are unaware that courses taken from the IIC school or NLBC would not transfer to accredited colleges in this area. However, we understand that Lee College in Cleveland Tennessee will accept up to thirty (30) credits from NLBC. What about the student who takes 60 hours from NLBC and wants to transfer to Lee College? Obviously they have wasted 30 hours at NLBC.

Wow, Looks like the “Church Incorporated” has a little explaining to do. Bogus Degrees? Sounds pretty serious to us. If you are presently attending Impact International Church (Inc), we strongly suggest you refrain from parting with any more of your hard earned money until you’re SURE that the degree you’ve been promised is Accredited by an Agency that’s Recognized by the Department of Education
and the next school you intend on attending.

We will continue to report on IIC as we uncover more information. Until then, Impact International Church Inc., for all you do, this Blog’s for you. :-)

[i]Many thanx to “UT77″ for the contribution to this Blog and concern for the quality of education in our beloved area. You rock, dude![/i]