Patrick Henry rewrites Statement of Biblical Worldview
After denying preliminary accreditation to Patrick Henry College in April, the American Academy of Liberal Education (AALE) announced this week that it has approved the 150-student school for pre-accreditation.

The Purcellville, Virginia, college, designed for homeschooled students, previously was denied accreditation because of its teaching of world origins.

Patrick Henry's Statement of Biblical Worldview said that all professors had to believe that "God's creative work … was completed in six twenty-four hour days." The AALE ruled that the position disqualified the school from pre-accreditation because it limited "liberty of thought."

After appealing the decision and rewriting a portion of the Statement of Biblical Worldview, the school was notified Wednesday of its pre-accreditation status. (A school given pre-accreditation is reviewed again after five years for full accreditation.)

In its appeal, Patrick Henry stressed that the language of its Statement of Biblical Worldview did not ban discussion of other theories. The school contended that while it upholds the ultimate truth of six-day creationism, it encourages full discussion of opposing views. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required), administrators showed accreditors the school's biology curriculum. The same textbook is reportedly used by numerous other universities and colleges.

The school also provided AALE with a rewritten Statement of Biblical Worldview. Patrick Henry says the rewrite is a further clarification of its stance, the AALE says it was a policy change.

"This is a great example of accreditation at work," said AALE president Jeffrey D. Wallin. "They didn't meet our academic ...