Committed to providing "higher education as a Christian mission,"
Patrick Henry College -- the first such college
in the nation designed specifically for home schooled children, has
received approval from Virginia education authorities to open its doors
this fall.
According to college officials, the school has begun accepting
applications from potential students for its fall courses after
receiving approval from the State Council of Higher Education for
Virginia. The college's next step is to gain approval to grant degrees,
which will have to wait for higher education officials to visit the
college site after it opens and make a determination whether the
college's curriculum meets state guidelines.
The college's mission "is to provide academically excellent higher
education with a biblical worldview, using apprenticeship methodology,"
according to PHC academic officials. Initially the college will offer a
major in government, in order to "promote practical application of
biblical principles and the original intent of the founding documents of
the American republic, while preparing students for lives of public
service, advocacy and leadership."
PHC President Michael Farris. |
Of the state council's approval, Michael Farris, president of Patrick
Henry College, said "The unanimous vote ... which permits PHC to enroll
students and begin classes, is a strong affirmation of our commitment to
academic excellence in Christ-centered higher education."
The college, which will cost an average of $15,000 per year and will
not accept any type of federal assistance or government tuition, is the
first in the nation oriented specifically to home schooled children with
strong Christian ethics, though it is not limited only to young adults
schooled by parents at home.
Farris, an attorney and ordained minister, is also founder and
president of the Home School Legal Defense Association, a legal advocacy group that promotes and defends
home schooling parents in court battles.
Richard Jefferson, a spokesman for the college, told WorldNetDaily he
is optimistic that the state education council will ultimately approve
the college's degreed programs as well.
Besides accepting student applications, the school is also
interviewing professors and instructors.
Farris said he hopes the school will emulate "the Harvard University
during the initial days of our republic, not the Harvard of the Year
2000. We are trying to train a generation of leaders that will imitate
the values of our Founding Fathers," he said.
Farris said the school would use an "apprenticeship" model, actually
having students do legislative assistance and research, as well as
academic models "in traditional classrooms studying government."
"We're trying to bring together two lines of educational thought," he
said, adding that he would like students to "hit the ground running"
when they graduate, "ready to carry with them a Christian and
constitutional worldview."
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