To ensure that Cohen Institute and ICBT-St. Louis maintains their high educational standards, Cohen Institute and ICBT-St. Louis have sought accountability through accreditation. The purpose of Cohen Institute and ICBT-St. Louis partnering with an accrediting organization, is not to gain “approval,” but to undergo scrutiny by a monitoring agency to verify and vouch for the ongoing quality of its programs—as well as—its academic policies and facilities.
Cohen Institute and International College of Bible Theology has received accreditation with Accrediting Commission International, Inc. (ACI) of Beebe, Arkansas. ACI is primarily a religious school accrediting association. ACI has no affiliation with the federal or state departments of education. ACI is renowned to be one of the largest non-governmental accrediting organizations in the world—specializing in Christian colleges and seminaries.
Due to constitutional issues regarding the separation of church and state, Cohen Institute and ICBT-St. Louis is exempt from the governmental requirements of the Missouri Department of Higher Education Proprietary School Certification Program based on the religious designation of the programs and degrees offered at Cohen Institute and ICBT-St. Louis. In accordance with subsection 173.616.2 RSMo, this exemption was granted Cohen Institute and ICBT-St. Louis as “a not for profit school owned, controlled and operated by a bona fide religious or denominational organization which offers no programs or degrees and grants no degrees or certificates other than those specifically designated as theological, bible, divinity, or other religious designation.”
