Accreditation

Facts Palm Beach Atlantic University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award the following degrees: bachelor’s, master’s, doctor of pharmacy, and doctor of nursing practice. For questions about the accreditation of Palm Beach Atlantic University, contact the Commission on Colleges at:

1866 Southern Lane
Decatur, GA 30033-4097
(404) 679-4500 or www.sacscoc.org

Persons wishing to review documents related to the accreditation of Palm Beach Atlantic University should contact the Assistant Provost for Accreditation and Assessment at (561) 803-2050.

Palm Beach Atlantic University has received specialized accreditation, certification, or licensure from the following organizations:

  • Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)
    • The Palm Beach Atlantic University Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy Doctor of Pharmacy program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), 135 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 4100, Chicago, IL 60603-4810; (312) 664-3575; FAX (312) 664-4652, web site acpe-accredit.org.
  • Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
  • The PBA School of Ministry Graduate Department is accredited by The Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). The following degree programs are approved by the Commission on Accrediting: Master of Divinity and Master of Arts (Christian Studies). These degrees are approved both at the West Palm Beach campus and PBA's Orlando extension site. The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada is located at 10 Summit Park Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15275-1110, (412) 788-6505.

PBA Statement of Educational Effectiveness

The mission of PBA’s School of Ministry Graduate Department (GSOM) is to prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and character for effective Christian ministry. This is accomplished through a cooperative effort between faculty, students, and other University departments and involves multiple levels of assessment and other student support services.

GSOM Learning Outcomes

All GSOM programs emphasize the following four learning outcomes:

  1. Evaluate and synthesize interpretive methods and traditions, and apply exegetical method to the interpretation of a biblical text
  2. Analyze and evaluate the broader heritage of the Christian tradition, the more specific character of particular Christian traditions and communities, the ways these traditions transcend particular social and cultural settings, and the ways they come to unique expressions within such settings
  3. Appraise the cultural realities and structures in which the church lives and carries out its mission and design a creative response to these realities
  4. Develop the capacities for personal faith, emotional maturity and moral integrity that are requisite to a life of ministerial leadership

The Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Divinity and Master of Business Administration joint degree (M.Div./MBA), and the Master of Divinity and Master of Science Mental Health Counseling dual degrees (M.Div. + MSMHC) emphasize an additional fifth learning outcome:

  1. Cultivate the capacities for ministerial leadership within both the congregation and the broader public context

Direct measures of student learning from 2018-19 revealed that 76% of GSOM students met the prescribed standards for these degree learning outcomes.

Indirect measures of student learning from 2018-19 revealed that 100% of GSOM graduates either “agree” or “strongly agree” with the following statements on the ATS Graduating Student Questionnaire: “I have been satisfied with my academic experience here” and “If I had to do it over, I would still come here.”

Completions, Graduation Rates, and Placement Rates

Number of total completions (graduates) through summer 2019: 44 (37 M.Div.; 7 MACS)

With data available through the 2016-17 academic year, 64% of students who start a degree in GSOM progress to graduation.

With data available through spring 2019, GSOM is encouraged that thirty-eight of forty-one (93%) total GSOM graduates found suitable placement within six months of graduation. Of these forty-one, twenty-one are employed in full-time pastoral ministry, two are employed as full-time chaplains, and three students have undertaken post-graduate studies at the prestigious institutions of Princeton Theological Seminary, University of Cambridge, and the University of Edinburgh.

  • Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE)
    • The athletic training program has been granted Continuing Accreditation through 2028 with the CAATE, 6850 Austin Center Blvd., Suite 100, Austin, TX 78731-3101.
  • Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) 
    • The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master's degree program in nursing, and Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Palm Beach Atlantic University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington DC 20001, (202)887-6791.
  • Florida Board of Nursing
  • Florida Department of Education (FLDOE)
  • International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE)
    • Palm Beach Atlantic University has received specialized accreditation for its business programs through the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education located at 11374 Strang Line Road in Lenexa, Kansas, USA. IACBE Accredited Programs.
  • National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)
  • Palm Beach Atlantic University is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music located at 11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21, Reston, Virginia 20190-5248. Telephone: (703) 437-0700, Facsimile: (703) 437-6312.
  • National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)

In addition, Palm Beach Atlantic University is a Business Education Alliance member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

In February 2020, the AACSB Initial Accreditation Committee reviewed and accepted the Initial Self-Evaluation Report of the Rinker School of Business and we continue working closely with our AACSB mentor to progress toward alignment with the required AACSB Standards.

The RSB will continue to make and report progress on accreditation standard alignment.  Complete alignment with AACSB standards further enhances the RSB and empowers students.