McDowell Bible College
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Now Accepting Admissions for Fall 2023

   • McDowell Bible College (MBC) is a FREE or very low cost tuition online college with no online fees offering a quality, full-term, diploma producing experience. Check out our cost page for information on scholarships for most students and low tuition everyone else.
   • However, we are not an easy degree mill or a church bible study site. If you are willing to do the hard work you will certainly earn your certificate or diploma. Our academic standards are as high as one would expect from a quality online college or university.
   • Click on the APPLY button today and learn what you need to apply to attend MBC.

McDowell Bible College is dedicated to our Lord Jesus Christ and to His service. As the name implies, we are a bible-oriented college and seminary, and the curriculum is designed for Christian students who do not have major disagreements with our doctrinal statement (listed on the About Us page). They say that nothing is FREE, and they are right. Although we have free or low cost tuition, we demand the same work as any institution of higher learning and some students and alumni appreciate it enough to donate to the college as often they can. Our school was founded to help those who fall into one or more of the following categories:

      • Current or future church or non-profit religious organization employees who wish certification in their fields without taking the time earn a diploma. We offer certificates in Ministry, Biblical Studies, Information Systems Management for Churches and Non-Profit Organizations and Leadership and Administration for Churches and Non-Profit Organizations which require only 12 courses that can be accomplished in about a year to complete the certificate, while still earning college credit towards a future diploma.

      • College students who wish to earn a diploma related to service in churches or religious non-profit organizations. We currently offer two-year or four-year diploma programs in Ministry, Biblical Studies, Information Systems Management for Churches and Non-Profit Organizations and Leadership and Administration for Churches and Non-Profit Organizations.

      • College graduates who wish to earn a graduate diploma related to service in churches or religious non-profit organizations. We currently offer Master of Ministry, Master of Biblical Studies, Master of Information Systems Management for Churches and Non-Profit Organizations and Master of Leadership and Administration for Churches and Non-Profit Organizations..

      • Students who cannot afford the high cost of college or do not want to encumber themselves with a large amount of educational loan debt. Our tuition is currently free or very low cost and yet we provide a quality, full-term education and we are probably the only school that includes a better than state of the art on-line classroom experience for no additional fee. Others charge as much $100 or more per course for online fees alone. There are no fees except the graduation fee which simply pays for the graduation items, banquest and services. If you are unable to attend graduation due to being overseas or approved for some other special need, you can be mailed your diploma and cap and gown after graduation.

      • Students who want a FREE or low cost quality education. We do ask for students who can afford it to donate each term to help us continue this ministery, but otherwise it is indeed free or very low cost. McDowell Bible College is recognized by the National Bible College Association as an accredited educational institution meeting their standards for certification and accreditation. This is not a degree mill. If you are looking for an easy ride, we are not your school. Our academic standards are high and equivalent or exceeding the level of many if not most bible colleges and seminaries with on-line programs. You will be proud of the certificate or diploma you get at McDowell Bible College as it prepares you with the knowledge you need to conduct your ministry. (See About Us page for more information on state licensure exemption and accreditation and to view our certificates.)

Interactive Online Classroom -

We have a proprietary online classroom presentation system that is as user friendly as it is informing. Other on-line colleges and universities have to pass on to students hundreds of thousands of dollars in expense purchasing an external on-line classroom system such Blackboard or another system, charging additional fees up to $100 or more per class. There are no such fees at MBC. McDowell Bible College has our own in-house software and IT staff. Our online classroom experience includes pages where the following activities take place:

      • Classroom Office — The professor will post messages for the class here, so check regularly to get the latest update. This is also where you can interact with the instructor.

      • Syllabus — The course syllabus which is the complete guide to your course is posted here. Within the syllabus, you will find a listing of your textbooks. For those of you on full scholarship, you will find links to E-book versions of these textbooks. Course requirements, assignments and exams are detailed. You will find a weekly calendar matrix of weekly lessons and readings you need to study, as well as the assignments required for that week. It is topped off by course goals and institutional requirements for the course and students.

      • Assignments — This page provides the dated weekly lesson folders for the class, within which you will find links to each lesson’s requirements for that week to include: lesson description, readings required, links to additional documents or resources, class lecture(s), as well as quizzes, exams or other class assignments that need to be turned in for that week. MBC has determined that visual lectures, presentations and graphics help you to better understand the material and we place everything you need for the lesson in the folder so that requirements are easy to understand and to access. Therefore, we offer many video lectures and audio-visual aids to learning for each and every course, not always just a reading assignment every week. We also encourage students to contact their instructors or faculty advisor by email when help is needed.

      • Gradebook — As your grades become available for quizzes, exams or assignments, they are privately posted here with links to their graded answers and instructor comments.

      • Forum — Here is where students and faculty can interact for classroom discussions, make prayer requests and participate in discussion board assignments.

      • Library — This links you to the Dollie Mae Rush McDowell Library for McDowell Bible College. This library includes links to E-Books, links to scholarly resources and journals, and a listing of our hard copy library. Paying students may borrow a limited number of books by mail each month or non-paying students may pay to borrow them, if they are not reference books, reserved or otherwise put on hold.

      • Transcript — Your unofficial online transcript is available free at any time after you have registered for or completed courses at MBC.

      • MBC Home — Return to the main website for McDowell Bible College.

Become a Student Today!
We hope you will join us in the coming year for this program of quality, on-line education that is FREE (or very low cost tuition), demanding (but fair), and can be completed by anyone with reasonable effort. We will provide you with the tools you need for your area of study that is supported by in-house programming sometimes better than state of the art. Our in-house IT staff has decades of programming and IT experience and are responsive to problems. Our tuition is low, or free, so that is why a quality education with McDowell Bible College is not only a good deal, but a comparison is almost non-existent. McDowell Bible College is set up on the standard tri-semester system with three full 15-week terms each year, Spring (January-April), Summer (May-August) and Fall (September-December). Before one of those term deadlines end, click “Apply” and become a student at MBC and you will never regret it.
MBC News for 2022

(5/24/2022)
MBC Going to Shorter Terms in Calendar Year 2024
Beginning the Spring Term of the 2023-2024 school year, MBC will move to four 12-week terms per year. This will allow students to complete terms in less time. Often, our students have obligations the prohibit them from being able to dedicate themselves to courses for 15 weeks, thus some drop out as late as the 12th week. Also, this will allow new students to jump in sooner into the next term and begin their studies. We will continue on the semester hour system, instead of the quarter hour, so we will be doing semester hours in quarter hour time.

A large number of religious higher institutions have gone to shorter terms, mini-terms, etc. so that students are not required to negotiate a course over 15 weeks. As a limited test, MBC tried mini-terms. What we found was that seven week terms did not allow our students sufficient time to complete the same amount of work in less than half the time. The result was numerous dropouts, so we did not continue the program. Therefore, we feel that a good compromise is for our students to be able to complete four terms a year.

This will change the minimum hours requirements. Beginning January 2024, full-time minimum will be nine (9) semester hours undergrad and six (6) semester hours graduate and three (3) semester hours at the doctoral level. Six (6) semester hours undergrad and three (3) semester hours graduate (non-doctoral) will constitute half-time.

Tentatively, the four terms of 2024 will start on the following dates: Winter Term January 8, Spring Term April 8, Summer Term July 8, Fall Term October 7. Fiscal School year will continue to be Fall to Summer terms. Graduation date will continue to be the third Saturday in May (i.e. May 20, 2023, May 18, 2024). If this is affecting you in any way, discuss it with your appointed faculty advisor who is appointed according the the school of your degree program:

Ministry and Biblical Studies: Dr. Selby Choules - SelbyChoules[at]mcdowellbiblecollege.org
Leadership and Administration and Information Systems Management: Dr. Travers Rymer - TraversRymer[at]mcdowellbiblecollege.org
Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry: Dean McDowell - larrymcdowell[at]mcdowellbiblecollege.org

Students Pray for Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Others
Please put the people of Ukraine in your prayers. The death and destruction is above anything experienced in Europe since World War II. However, remember that over the last decades we have had Christians in jeopardy in may parts of the world due to conflicts and hatred towards Christians from radical muslims and others. Many countries in Africa have suffered as a result of this persecution, yet our brothers and sisters keep the faith. Our students in Ethiopia and elsewhere have suffered. More recently there have been attacks in Kenya against Christians. So keep our fellow Christians around the world in your prayers.

MBC News for Spring 2022
(Updated 5/26/2022)
List of 23 Countries of Students at MBC:
Botswana
Cameroon
Canada
Ethiopia
France
Ghana
Haiti
India
Indonesia
Kenya
Liberia
Netherlands
Nigeria
Philippines
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Spain
Tanzania, United Republic of
Uganda
United Kingdom
United States
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Mobile Website Version Available. There is now a mobile version available for viewing through your cell phone or mobile device. It does not allow a log in or entry into the classroom or administration areas of our website. It is for informational purposes only. That means that the requirement for a laptop or desktop computer to access our classroom is now enforced. If you use a cell phone or mobile device to access the website, it automatically goes to the informational version of the website without any classroom. You will need a laptop or desktop computer on a wideband internet connection to access everything you will need as a student.

Withdrawal Policy. Withdrawal should be done voluntarily and early in the term if you find that you cannot keep up with the work. Otherwise, if you miss three assignments in a row without submitting a plan to your instructor on how you will catch up, you will automatically receive a WA if you are passing the course or a WF if you are not passing with the assignments taken. If you voluntarily withdraw from the course by the end of the seventh (7th) week, you will receive only a W for your grade. After the 7th week, you will receive either a WP or WF. Instructors are not responsible to remind you to get your work in on time. We have held off on late penalties due to late assignment postings and IT problems, however, they will be reinstated after the eighth week for most courses. So, get your work in on time, or at least contact your instructor as soon as you realize you cannot make it.

• The new syllubus program seems to be working well and providing a unique central resource for classes that, in my experience, is not available elsewhere. Not only is the syllabus generated automatically, but it is dynamic allowing last minute changes to be included and it contains links to resources and books within the syllabus itself. Feedback from students and faculty has been that it is well-received.

• You have probably noted that the course number has changed. No longer are separate sections of two courses of the same type differentiated by a letter. Now, it uses its class number. Therefore, ENG1001-A has become ENG1001-126. Obviously, this number will get larger in the future, but programmatically, this allows for a more accurate depiction of the course number itself.

God Bless!
Larry McDowell
Dean, McDowell Bible College


McDowell Bible College
An on-line international school that serves English speaking Christian students around the world.
sed Deus illuminat - God Enlightens

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