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HISTORY It was established in 1979 as Patriot University in Alamosa, Colorado at the home of school founder Dr. Lonnie Skinner. She served as instructor of school July 2004 and served as pastor of College Heights Baptist Church. In July 2004, the school's name was changed to Patriot Bible University and moved out of Skinner's home and into new offices in a former medical clinic to the small town of 1,700 people in Del Norte, Colorado . This move was intended to give Patriot space for offices, a library, publishing center and classroom space. Currently, Patriot 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. ACCREDITATION Steve Levicoff 's ''Name It and Frame It? New Opportunities in Adult Education and How to Avoid Being Ripped Off by 'Christian' Degree Mills'' (4th ed., 1995) listed Patriot Bible University as a Diploma Mill (or a degree mill) {Link without Title} . The college has varied its policies over the years, but it has been criticized for awarding students degrees based on questionable standards such "life experience" or "ministry evaluation" that lack academic Rigour and merit, issuing advanced degrees in months rather than years, and for charging a monthly fee (most universities charge a per-credit fee). The school's catalog contains course descriptions but no listing of the school's faculty or their credentials. The university is not accredited by any federally recognized accreditation. Patriot is recognized by the . The group provides approval to schools for a $100 charge. {Link without Title} CONTROVERSY Critics have charged that Patriot Bible University is a Diploma Mill as it has unreasonably low graduation requirements, lack of sufficient faculty or educational standards, and a suspicious tuition scheme, among other issues. The college itself has claimed that it simply does not "choose" to be accredited by standard associations {Link without Title} . Patriot Bible University is however authorized to operate as a Bible college and to legally issue "religious degrees" by the State of Colorado Higher Education Commission. That Patriot Bible University has existed since 1979 and has been legally issuing degrees since then, plus the fact that fewer than 100 degrees are usually issued per year, does little to quell concerns about Patriot being a Degree Mill . Patriot's tuition and curriculum practices are unusual at best, and decidedly questionable, and a degree from any such school is worth no more than the paper it is printed on. Some of the criticism is leveled by critics of one of its controversial, well-known graduates, American creationist and evangelist Kent Hovind , who received a Ph.D. degree in Christian Education from Patriot in 1991 (it no longer offers this degree). Hovind's use of the title "Doctor" in particular has provoked extensive scrutiny of his education credentials and his dissertation. ALUMNI
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