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Patrick Henry College does not accept federal funds, but the Commonwealth of Virginia requires colleges and universities to be accredited. Farris says some students have declined to enroll in the school because it lacked accreditation. The school also stands to lose money from corporate matching programs. The school has an annual budget of $3.5 million.

Patrick Henry College is filing new accreditation applications with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. Meanwhile, it is appealing the AALE decision, saying the academy presented no substantial evidence and "departed significantly from its written procedures and protocols."

Wallin stands by the process: "The real issue, from our standpoint, is whether the institution is providing a liberal education." Farris disagrees. "What they're asking us to do is commit intellectual schizophrenia," he says. "It really is an effort to try to divorce Christianity from what they consider the secular areas of life."

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Also appearing on our site today:

Give Us LibertySecular educators have it backward: Faith statements promote academic freedom

In a letter to Patrick Henry College, American Academy for Liberal Education President Jeffrey D. Wallin took issue with the school's Statement of Biblical Worldview.

The college website has posted the school's Notice of Intent to Appeal and the full 54-page appeal.

Patrick Henry College press releases and articles on the matter include:

Patrick Henry College denied accreditation for creationist views (May 10, 2002)

Accreditation vote postponed (Winter 2001)

News articles on Patrick Henry College include:

Patrick Henry's First Graduates—The Washington Post (May 26, 2002)

Religious college denied accreditation, creationism a factor—CNS News.com (May 16, 2001)

Academy Declines to Accredit Va. College—The Washington Post (May 11, 2002)

Higher Yearning—The Washington Post (Nov 27, 2001)

Cash Purchase Expands Campus—The Washington Post (Jan 25, 2001)

College Faces Test of Its Own—The Washington Post (Oct 2, 2000)

Dorm Life Delayed—The Washington Post (Aug 10, 2000)

Education Evolution—The Washington Post (Apr 16, 2000)

Founders Plan Virginia Campus To Train a Christian Vanguard—The Washington Post (Sep 26, 1999)

A recent Chronicle of Higher Education article looked at whether Christian colleges' faith statements violate academic freedom.

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July 8 2002, Vol. 46, No. 8