Request to change name of HBTS on hold for now

January 20, 2003

Request to change name of HBTS on hold for now
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communication
___DALLAS--A proposal to change the name of Hispanic Baptist Theological School has been tabled by the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Education Coordinating Board.
___After hearing the concerns of Texas Baptist university presidents, the coordinating board at its Jan. 14 meeting voted to table for three months a recommendation that the San Antonio-based institution's name be changed to Baptist University of the Americas.
___The HBTS board of trustees unanimously voted in October to recommend restated articles of incorporation for the school, adopting the new name.
___Trustees made that recommendation based on the desires of constituents and sensitivity to cultural context, according to President Albert Reyes, who presented the name change proposal to the coordinating board.
___HBTS sent out 1,800 surveys and letters of inquiry to students, alumni and other interested Baptists. Of the 273 who responded, two-thirds thought the school needed to change its name.
___Representatives of HBTS decided the school's name should include "Baptist" to reflect the institution's commitment to Baptist distinctives, as well as to describe its denominational affiliation, he said. They chose the phrase "of the Americas" to identify the school with missions initiatives beyond Texas and the United States, and to express its affinity with all the peoples of Latin America.
___But the aspect of the proposed name that caused considerable discussion in the coordinating board meeting-- and earlier at a gathering of Texas Baptist school presidents --was the term "university."
___HBTS is in the process of seeking accreditation with the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges and has applied with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for a certificate of authority to grant degrees.
___The school was recommended for a certificate of authority on Dec. 13, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is scheduled to vote on that recommendation Jan. 30. Approval would mean the school could offer a bachelor of arts in biblical/theological studies as early as the spring 2003 semester. Accreditation with the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges could come as early as August 2003, Reyes said.
___Trustees proposed the name change pending approval by the accrediting body. According to state regulations, the school could be fined for using the name "university" or "college" without proper accreditation.
___Anticipating this approval, trustees favored "university" over "college" as a part of the school's name because the Spanish translations of the two terms have different connotations than they do in English, Reyes explained.
___"'Colegio' in the Hispanic context means high school or vocational school," Reyes said. "'Universidad' more accurately reflects a degree-granting institution."
___Reyes also noted that a number of Bible colleges have changed their names in recent years to identify themselves as universities, notably Philadelphia Biblical University, Columbia International University and Southwestern Assemblies of God University.
___"There's quite a bit of diversity among schools accredited through the AABC as to how they identify themselves," he said.
___Bob Riley, president of East Texas Baptist University, expressed the concern of several Texas Baptist university presidents that prospective students could misunderstand the proposed name.
___He emphasized that students might think hours earned at the school in San Antonio necessarily would transfer to universities accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Riley currently serves as a Texas delegate to the SACS Commission on Colleges, the recognized regional accrediting body for 11 states in the United States and parts of Latin America.
___Reyes responded that many of the Spanish-speaking students who come to HBTS would not be able to meet the admissions standards of SACS-accredited universities, and they are not interested in transferring to a university. Instead, if they continue their education, it usually is at a seminary.
___Even so, he indicated the school would make every effort to clearly communicate its status with respect to accrediting bodies and other educational institutions.
___"The burden will be on us to take extra care and caution to make sure students know our school is not a liberal arts university with credits transferable to the SACS universities," Reyes said. He pledged that as "an act of integrity," that disclaimer would be included in promotional materials for the school.
___Doris Stevens, coordinating board member from Clifton, asked if the term "institute" had been considered.
___"In Latin America, an institute is not understood to be a degree-granting institution," Reyes responded. He noted that the school plans to retain the name Hispanic Baptist Bible Institute for its non-degree, adult continuing education programs.
___Some coordinating board members noted the lengths to which other Texas Baptist schools had gone to reach university status, as it is understood among SACS-affiliated schools. Other questions concerned whether Bible colleges that have adopted the "university" name are recognized by regional accrediting bodies.
___According to a listing on the SACS Commission of Colleges website, Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie is a level three member--the same status held by Dallas Baptist University, Houston Baptist University and Wayland Baptist University. Columbia International University in South Carolina is listed as a level five member.
___The Philadelphia Biblical University website indicates that it is accredited with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional accrediting body for that area.
___Reyes said HBTS is "on a different track" with the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges than SACS-affiliated schools, and it serves a different constituency than the other schools.
___"I don't foresee us accumulating the number of colleges and faculty required to become a university" as recognized by SACS, Reyes said. The school aspires to be a Bible college, not a university, in that respect. But it is closer to being a "universidad" than it is to being a "colegio," as Hispanics understand those terms.
___A number of Bible colleges recognized by the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges but not the major regional accrediting body do use the term "university," including Bethesda Christian University in Anaheim, Calif., and Heritage Christian University in Florence, Ala.
___It would be unfair for a Mexican national to earn a bachelor of arts degree from an institution that his peers in Mexico might consider a high school-level institution, Reyes said, highlighting the importance of earned credentials and bestowed titles in the Latin American culture.
___David Nabors, BGCT treasurer and CFO, asked if the institution could operate under two names to serve the two distinct constituencies, designating it as a "Bible college" in English and as "universidad" in Spanish.
___While not ruling out the possibility, Reyes said that option had not been considered and he could foresee that it would be confusing.
___The coordinating board voted unanimously to table the measure until its April 14-15 meeting in Abilene.

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