The South African Theological Seminary (often abbreviated and referred to as SATS) is located in Rivonia, in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was started in 1996 by Christopher Peppler, D.Th. Ph.D. Th.D., who, in addition to being its founder, was the seminary's principal and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the first 10 years of its existence, through early 2006. Today, at this writing, Reuben van Rensburg, D.Th, is SATS's new principal and CEO; and Dr. Peppler has become the chairman of the seminary's board of directors... though in a non-executive capacity. SATS is a fully-accredited, fully-distance-learning institution of undergraduate and graduate higher education in South Africa; and it is one of the best bargains in non-secular (and maybe even secular) accredited distance learning anywhere in the world.
Thelogical/Denominational Heritage edit
SATS's denominational affiliation and/or theological underpinnings are tough to describe... which makes some people uncomfortable. We, as humans, like our categories... especially when it comes to religion. It just makes life simpler; and it can help us from offending someone, while we're chatting with them, if we know what is their religious perspective. For most of us, it's useful to know, for example, if a given church or religious organization is part of the Baptist heritage or affiliation, or the Methodist, or the Lutheran, or the Episcopalian, or the Roman Catholic, etc. But SATS springs from a background which declares itself unambiguously "interdenominational." Precisely what that means in a world that so loves its religious categories is not so unambiguous.
It might be easy, once one reads a bit of the history of the churches that are behind the founding of SATS, to just think of it as at least marginally Baptist in denominational heritage. It is, however, a challenge to determine precisely where SATS stands, denominationally, if not theologically. SATS's Statement of Faith and Mission Statement are helpful, but not to the point that we can neatly categorize it in the manner we might like. It's certainly fair to say that SATS is closer to being on the theologically conservative end of the denominational spectrum... an evangelical institution, by most standards. However, certain statements of social concern, policy and practice, as may be found on the web sites of its founding churches, seems to suggest a general open-mindedness and ecumenism at SATS that would tend to belie what many in the US, for example, might tend to think of as theologically "conservative."
In the end, it's probably most useful to take a look at the web site of the church at which SATS's founder is a pastor (and the elders of which church remain SATS's overseers to this day); and also at the web site of the church from which that church sprang, in order to get a better and clearer picture of precisely what are SATS's theological underpinnings and sensibilities.
SATS oversight is provided by (and its founder is the pastor at) The Village Church in Lonehill, a Northern Johannesburg suburb, not far from SATS; and the Village Church was originally founded by the 100-year-old Rosebank Union Church in Hurlingham, Sandton, South Africa, a few kilometers to the South of The Village Church. Worthy of note (and possibly serving as a bit of a guide to SATS's underpinnings) is Rosebank's Statement of Faith, its Vision Statement, its Mission Statement, and its Statement of Values. Though there is clear theological and socio-political conservatism in some of those words, there is also a welcoming openness which tends not to be present in many conservative denominations and faith groups... particularly in the US. Perhaps it's fair, then, to say that SATS and its founding churches, though unambiguously evangelical, are a bit more moderate... which probably isn't such a bad place to be.
In any case, SATS is decidedly Christian... actually "Christocentric," by its own declaration. It sees its mission as "provid(ing) Biblical, Christocentric distance education and training to Christians (and pastors, in particular) within their local church environment; to equip them to be Holy Spirit-empowered members of God’s household." And SATS most certainly does that.
Programs edit
All of the SATS's programs are available via 100% distance learning, with no residential requirement whatsoever. That means that anyone, anywhere in the world, can take (and get acadenmic credit for) a SATS course; or may obtain a SATS certificate, diploma or degree. And as the reader will learn further down in this article, such academic credit is legitimate and generally accepted in every country... even the United States.
At this writing, the SATS offers seven accredited certificates, diplomas or degrees:
- The Certificate in Christian Life (one year)
- The Certificate in Christian Counseling (one year)
- The Certificate in Worship Studies (one year)
- The Diploma in Biblical Studies (two years)
- The Bachelor of Theology (BTh) Degree (3-4 years)
- The Master of Theology (MTh) Degree (1-2 years, course and thesis or solely thesis-based)
- The Doctor of Theology (DTh) Degree (2-4 years dissertation-based)
The Certificate in Christian Life program is actually just the first phase of an evolving, largely research-based Missions program that will eventually be expanded into an undergraduate diploma and degree program in Missions as well.
That same Certificate in Christian Life also counts as the first year of the undergraduate Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree program; with the second year of the BTh being the Diploma in Biblical Studies. The third year of the BTh is simply called "third year BTh studies", at the completion of which one may exit the program with the three-year version of its Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree. If the three-year BTh holder intends to go on to a masters program, then he/she may continue into the fourth year of the BTh program and emerge with a four-year "Hons" version of the SATS Bachelor of Theology (BTh Hons) credential... especially well-suited, because of that fourth year's extensive training in how to do proper academic research, to preparing one for SATS's thesis-based Master of Theology (MTh) degree program.
And speaking of the SATS Master of Theology (MTh) degree, it is a two-year program that is available in two flavors:
- If one's theological underpinnings are strong, then the program applicant should choose the "thesis" route to the MTh, in which there is no coursework or exams, and the student must write a 120- to 140- page thesis which must be printed and bound, much like a typical US doctoral dissertation; or,
- if one has what the SATS calls a "thin" theological background, then the program applicant should choose the "structured" version of the MTh program in which two or three "mini thesis" are completed by the student, and in which a certain amount of coursework may be required.
In either case, the student may choose a "major" for his/her MTh in any of the following areas:
- Practical Theology
- Pastoral Counselling
- Systematic Theology
- Old Testament
- New Testament
- Biblical Studies
- Children’s Ministry
- Leadership
- Church Management
- Bible Translation
- Missiology, Homiletics
- Church History
- Christian Education
- Greek
- Sport Ministry
- Worship Leadership
The Certificate in Christian Counseling is a stand-alone course of study that isn't part of any degree program (though some of its subjects are). It takes a year to complete, and its body of coursework is impressive, as Christian counseling credentials go. For reasons both of its quality, and its low cost (as will be discussed further down in this article), this little-known certificate may be among the best of its class of fully-distance-learning undergraduate credentials anywhere in the world.
The Certificate in Worship Studies is also a year-long, stand-alone course of study that isn't part of any degree program (though some of its subjects are). Like the year-long Certificate in Christian Counseling, this worship certificate is among the best of its class of similarly-titled/designated fully-distance-learning credentials anywhere.
SATS also offers what it calls its pre-tertiary R.O.A.D.S. to Discipleship program, which is an independent (or group) study program intended to "rapidly bring Christians to a point of functionality and effectiveness in the local church." It may be purchased either as a complete package of courses which an individual may study at home, or as a package which includes a materials duplication license so that a church may reproduce copies and then offer them as part of a group study. The word "R.O.A.D.S." is an acrostic for the title of each of the program's five major categories:
- Relationships
- Outreach
- Anointing
- Doctrine
- Structure
And the R.O.A.D.S. to Discipleship program, like most SATS programs, is extremely ecnomical... at least by US standards... as will be discussed further down in this article.
For Christian Educators, SATS has built a special, 10-credit course (a mere subject, not an entire program or course of study), in concert with The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), called The Biblical Worldview of Christian Education. According to the SATS web site, ACSI is "strongly recommending that all Christian teachers should take this subject and reshape their teaching methods accordingly." The course promises to "help you to change from the secular worldview in which you were trained, to a Biblical worldview, based solely on God's Word. It is designed to help you practically apply this knowledge to lesson plans and effectively impact learners with the truths of God's Word. As this subject is accredited by the South African Qualifications Authority, the credits earned can be used towards a qualification. We have also included it as an elective in our theology programmes."
Legitimacy and Accreditation edit
For those who understand educational accreditation in the United States; and who know what it means for a college, university or seminary to be US "regionally" accredited by an agency approved by the US Department of Education (USDE) and/or its Council on Higher Education (CHEA), SATS is similarly accredited in South Africa. In fact, SATS remains one of the few of its particular kind of South African tertiary educational institutions to have such a high level of governmentally-approved accreditation.
Despite its political turmoils and manifold social and health problems which plague it, South Africa is a country which has a strong culture of educational accountability, just like the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and many, many other countries around the world.
- A word of caution: One must be careful not to confuse "South Africa" with any country on any other part of the African continent. Some African countries do not have the aforementioned "culture of educational accountability," and have governments whose officials can be "bought" by diploma mill operators who then obtain governmental accreditation from said countries for their bogus educational institutions and credentials. The African country of Liberia, just to give one example, is notorious for that sort of thing. The country of South Africa, on the other hand, should not be confused with such nefarious African countries as Liberia just because they're on the same continent.
The sort of South African governmental accreditation that SATS has is easily on-par with that of a regional accreditor in the US; or of the sort of imprimatur provided to a university in the UK by virtue of its having either a Royal Charter or approval by Act of Parliament, and then a positive assessment by the UK's QAA. All of SATS's programs are accredited and/or approved by, or are registered with the South African Council on Higher Education (CHE), the Education and Training Quality Assurer (ETQA) of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), and the South African Department of Education.
Because of SATS's strong accreditation within its own country -- a country with that all-important, previously mentioned culture of educational accountability -- a person outside of South Africa who obtains a distance learning degree from SATS, and who wishes to present and use said degree within his/her own country, will usually find it quite acceptable, on its face. However, as is often the case in the United States (and in many other countries), the holder of a SATS (or any other "foreign") degree who tries to present and use it outside of the country from which it was issued may find himself/herself needing to have said degree evaluated and declared, by what's called a "foreign credential evaluator," as equivalent to an accredited degree from the country in which he/she is trying to use it. In the United States, the foreign credential evaluators used by most employers and accredited institutions of higher learning to determine if non-US degrees are on-par with accredited US degrees are The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) or any member agency of The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). Most other countries have similar agencies, and the reader need simply do a little investigating within his/her own country to find one.
Course Credit edit
US students are used to either the "semester hour" or the "quarter credit" (trimester) systems. The "semester hour" system is by far the more common in the US (read more here), and so this article will only use it, and not the trimester/quarter-credit system, for purposes of comparison with the South African credit system.
In short, the ratio of South African credits to US semester hours (SA-to-US) is 3.75:1. In other words, each one (1) US semester hour is equivalent to three and three quarters (3.75) South African credits. So,
- a typical three-US-semester-hour course is equivalent to 12 South African credits; and,
- a typical 30-US-semester-hour, year's-worth of study is equivalent to 120 South African credits; and,
- a typical four-year, 120-US-semester-hour bachelors degree is equivalent to 480 South African credits; and,
- a typical 36-US-semester-hour masters degree is equivalent to 144 South African credits.
South African colleges and universities sometimes make the conversion more confusing by offering courses that are such as 15 South African credits, which converts into 3.75 US semester hours... which a US student would rarely see in a US college or university course (i.e., US colleges and universities tend to make their courses worth amounts of credit expressed in whole numbers, not decimals). So the South-African-to-US (SA-to-US) credit conversion can sometimes be a little tricky. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that some South African institutions don't use the 4:1 SA-to-US credit ratio. Instead, they use a 3.75:1 SA-to-US credit ratio -- or, worse, something in between 3.75:1 and 4:1) -- which, in the case of a 3.75:1 SA-to-US credit ratio, would mean that a typical 120 US-semester-hour bachelors degree would be worth 450, not 480, South African credits. It can really get confusing.
Gratefully, SATS, for the most part, uses the 4:1 SA-to-US credit ratio.
All three of SATS's certificates (the Certificate in Christian Life, and the Certificate in Christian Counseling, and the Certificate in Worship Studies) are each one year in length and are worth 120 South African credits, or the equivalent of 30 US semester hours. (As earlier mentioned, once one completes the one-year Certificate in Christian Life, one is one-third of the way through the three-year version of SATS's BTh degree, and/or one-fourth of the way through the four-year (Hons) version of SATS's BTh degree.)
The SATS Diploma in Biblical Studies is two years long and is worth 240 South African credits, or 60 US semester hours. But only one year's-worth (120 South African credits, or 30 US semester hours) of the diploma's study is new and specific to said diploma. The first half of the diploma (its first year of study) is the aforementioned Certificate in Christian Life. So, in other words, one first gets the Certificate in Christian Life as the first year of the diploma's two years of study; and then one gets the second year of diploma-specific study, and one is then given the two-year diploma. (As earlier mentioned, once one has completed the two-year Diploma in Biblical Studies, one is two-thirds of the way through the three-year version of SATS's BTh degree, and/or halfway through the four-year (Hons) version of SATS's BTh degree.)
The SATS Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree comes in two flavors:
- 1. a three-year version worth 360 South African credits, or 90 US semester hours; and,
- 2. a four-year (Hons) version worth 480 South African credits, or 120 US semester hours.
The latter, four-year (Hons) version of the SATS BTh, is intentionally and unambiguously masters-degree-preparatory... in SATS's case, in preparation for its Master of Theology (MTh) degree. However, because of the structure of SATS's four-year BTh, and its conformity with the standards of the South African accreditors and that country's qualifications framework, the four-year SATS BTh will adequately prepare any student for any graduate degree at any college or university. That's the primary purpose of that fourth year.
The former (the three-year BTh version) is not equivalent to anything in the US. It is similar, however, to three-year bachelors degrees offered by Canadian, British and Australian schools... and by schools in many other non-US countries.
Three-year bachelors degrees are more common outside the US; and even though they're a year shorter than typical US bachelors degrees, they often contain more coursework in the degree's major or concentration area than do similarly-titled, four-year US bachelors degrees. The reason is because so much of a US bachelors degree's coursework hours -- from 30 to 42 in a typical US bachelors degree -- is "eaten up," so to speak, by general education requirements; and another 24 to 30 hours are devoted to "general electives" (that are typically from the same categories of courses as are the aforementioned "general education" courses); and neither kind of "general" coursework may be in the degree's major or concentration area. In a 120-US-semester-hour bachelors degree, that leaves, at most, 60 hours -- usually less -- which can be devoted to the degree's major or concentration.
Three-year (and even four-year) non-US bachelors degrees, on the other hand, tend to be nearly completely devoted to study in the major or concentration area, foresaking US-style "general" education and electives. Consequently, even a three-year, non-US bachelors degree will quite often have the equivalent of 50 percent more coursework in the major or concentration area than will a similarly-named four-year US bachelors degree; and a four-year non-US bachelors degree can, theoretically, have twice the coursework in the major or concentration area as does a similarly-named, four-year US bachelors degree. When the four-year US bachelors degree holder argues that his degree is more "well rounded," the non-US degree holder will argue that that's not a problem since non-US countries tend to cover those "general education" subjects at lower (secondary and/or pre-tertiary) educational levels.
So who wins the argument? Perhaps it doesn't matter. What does matter is whether a non-US bachelors degree will get its holder into a US accredited masters program; or will get its holder a job in the US which requires a bachelors degree as the job's minimum educational level. And the answer, fortunately for most with non-US bachelors degrees, is: Usually it will... that is, as long as it's at least a four-year (and not merely a three-year) bachelors degree. Though a typical non-US four-year bachelors degree is usually shy of the 30 or so hours of "general education" coursework that so many US colleges and universities like to see, if US employers and accredited masters degree programs started turning-up their noses at perfectly legitimate and hard-earned four-year, non-US bachelors degrees, it would probably cause some kind of international incident!
US foreign credential evaluators sometimes declare even three-year non-US bachelors degrees to be equivalent enough to similarly-named four-year US bachelors degrees that they can be accepted as requisite for entry into US masters degree programs, and/or suitable for any US employment which requires a minimum of a bachelors degree as requisite education; and it's even more common for such declarations to be made regarding four-year non-US bachelors degrees... that is, as long as they come from institutions that have a US-style culture of educational accountability, and government-sanctioned accreditation, such as the UK, Australia, South Africa and many others.
Sadly, there are situations when a non-US bachelors degree holder finds himself/herself having to take some US-style undergraduate "general" education and/or electives courses to augment their non-US bachelors degrees so that they will be acceptable into certain US masters programs... or even to certain US employers. But, gratefully, that's the exception, not the rule.
The bottom line, however, is that, in the US, non-US degree holders intending to proffer said degrees to US colleges and universities, or to US employers, should always get an evaluation or two from one of the big US foreign credential evaluators (such as The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) or any member agency of The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). An evaluation isn't expensive (usually well under $500; sometimes as little as $85); and the cost of such evaluations is usually worth budgeting right into the cost of any non-US degree intended for use in the US, right along with textbooks and other expenses. Similar advice applies to non-UK degrees intended for use in the UK... there's an agency in the UK that evaluates foreign (non-UK) credentials, too. In fact, most non-US residents will find, if they look for it, that there's an agency very much like that in their own countries.
As for the SATS BTh -- whether the three- or the four-year version -- one can never tell if it will be accaptable to US schools and/or employers until one actually pays for a credential evaluation. There's no question that a given SATS course worth 12 South African credits is every bit as rigorous as any similarly-named three-US-semester-hour course at an accredited US university. There's no question that the SATS BTh is a good degree that's worth every bit of whatever is its US-semester-hour equivalency... be it 90 US semester hours in the case of the SATS three-year BTh, or 120 US semester hours in the case of the SATS four-year BTh. But will the SATS BTh's (or any non-US bachelors degree's) lack of "general education" coursework be an impediment to its being acceptable to most US masters programs? Or to most US employers? Only a credential evaluation will tell; and it will also depend on the US masters program, or US employer, to which it is being presented. Some will accept it (probably most), and some will not... as is true, if you think about it, of nearly any degree, no matter where it's from!
In the final analysis, someone in the US does not take an extraordinary risk to obtain his/her bachelors degree from the likes of SATS... especially if the US masters program (or potential US employer) to which he/she plans on presenting it is religious in nature. Among religious institutions and employers, the SATS certificates, diplomas and its bachelors degree need make no apologies to anyone. They're first rate, even by US standards.
As for the SATS's Master of Theology (MTh) degree: At this writing, SATS says its thesis-based MTh is rated at 120 South African credits, which is equivalent to 30 US semester hours. A typical US masters degree is 32 to 36 US semester hours... sometimes more. Many US Master of Theology (ThM) degrees are also worth in the area of around 30 to 36 US semester hours, just like the SATS MTh; but some are worth at least 42 US semester hours of credit... sometimes even more.
So, is the SATS MTh really as good as most run-of-the-miill US masters degrees? Yes, probably... even at its current 30 US-semester-hour equivalent value.
Is the SATS MTh as good as most 30- to 36-US-semester-hour US MTh programs? Unquestionably!
But is the SATS MTh as good as one of the beefy US ThM degrees of 42 or more US semester hours? No, probably not if it's one of those types of MTh/ThM degrees. However, in the not-too-distant future that question will be moot because SATS will soon be increasing the amount of work required to get its MTh. At that point SATS will re-rate its MTh's value up to 180 South African credits, which is equivalent to 45 US semester hours... and then pretty much all bets will be settled.
The SATS pre-tertiary R.O.A.D.S. to Discipleship program is non-credit.
The Cost of Going to SATS edit
SATS's cost -- or, more accurately, its low cost -- is its strongest suit... at least for those in the US. In short, SATS is a real bargain... especially by US standards. It's such a bargain, in fact, that it simply cannot be ignored among even non-religious, accredited distance education programs. SATS is worth a look, no matter what kind of accredited distance learning program one seeks.
Though SATS doesn't calculate its costs based on US-style dollars-per-credit-hour, it can easily be calculated by taking the number of equivalent US semester hours that a given SATS credential is worth, then dividing its cost in South African Rand by said number of US semester hours, then converting the result into US dollars. Simple as that.
Of course the precise value of the South African Rand (ZAR) against the US dollar varies from day to day; but, at the time of this writing, the US dollar is so strong against the South African Rand that SATS programs only cost -- you'd better sit down -- the equivalent of only around $45(US)... again, that's at this writing.
That kind of cost per credit hour is simply no longer seen in the US except, maybe, at very small community colleges, trade schools, unaccredited schools, and certain kinds of very small religious institutions. Even the DETC-accredited Rescue College, formerly one of the best values in town, recently raised its prices to $75 per US semester hour. Only super-cheap US distance learning associates-degree programs from the likes of Ashworth College or Penn-Foster College (both accredited by DETC, which is approved by USDE and CHEA) are in SATS's price range.
At $45 per US semester hour, at this writing:
- Any of SATS's one-year certificates cost around $1,350(US).
- SATS's two-year diploma costs $2,700(US) (or only $1,350 more than the certificate which is its first year of study).
- SATS's three-year Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree costs around $4,000(US); and its four-year BTh costs around $5,400(US).
- According to the SATS web site, the Master of Theology (MTh) costs 6,100 South African Rand per year, or a grand total of 12,200(ZAR) for the entire MTh program. Though the SATS web site says that that translates into $1,240(US) per year, or $2,480(US) for the entire two years, that must have been back when the Rand was stronger against the US dollar. At this writing, if 12,200(ZAR) is, in fact, what the SATS MTh costs, then, at the current rate of conversion, that's only $1,640(US) for the entire two-year MTh program. And even if the SATS web site is wrong (and it might be since several other parts of it are clearly out-of-date), and so even if the real price of the MTh is over $3,000(US), that's still a bargain.
And, remember: We're talking about fully-accredited credentials that would be considered equivalent to similarly named/designated credentials by most US regionally-accredited colleges, universities and seminaries; and also by most US employers. Even the US military will accept SATS credentials as equivalent to similarly-named/designated credentials issued by US accredited institutions of higher learning. US schools, employers, and the military would simply require a US foreign credential evaluattion from (like AACRAO or any NACES member agency). (In the alternative, the US military will sometimes seek what it calls a "wash letter," which is a declaration from a US accredited college or university, on its letterhead, that the non-US credential in question really is equivalent to a credential of similar name/designation which it offers.)
Though the SATS Doctor of Theology (DTh) is not yet approved (and, as earlier explained herein, will likely not be for some time), SATS has said that it is considering pricing it at from 1.5 to 2 times the price of the MTh. If so, and if the MTh is $1,640(US), then that would put the price of the DTh, when it's finally available, at no more than $3,280(US)... probably less. And even if the price of the SATS MTh is actually as high as $3,000(US), then that would put the price of the SATS DTh at no more than $6,000(US)... still a bargain by US standards!
Conclusion edit
It is the low cost of SATS, in addition to its fine overall quality (and the fact that its credentials are truly accredited), that makes it such an amazing value... at least for those in the US.
This writer could not more strongly recommend it to those for whom its degrees would be valuable!
The SATS Bachelor of Theology (BTh) -- especially the four-year version -- would probably get one into virtually any ATS-accredited US MDiv or MTh/ThM program. It's a strong enough bachelors degree that it may very well qualify its holder to get into most US secular masters degree programs, regardless of major, as well (though, again, that would depend on several factors, including how well it fared in a foreign credential evaluation).
The SATS Master of Theology (MTh) is a strong graduate credential. It would probably get one into virtually any ATS-accredited US Doctor of Theology (DTh) program; or possibly even a US PhD program... be it secular or non-secular.
And coupled with a Bachelor of Divinity (BD or BDiv) degree from some other non-US, fully-accredited, fully-distance-learning institution, the SATS MTh could be most attractive. For example, one of the best, and least-costly distance-learning Bachelor of Divinity (BD or BDiv) programs out there is the University of London (External Program) (U-of-L) Bachelor of Divinity (BD). It is one of the oldest and most respected credentials of its kind... an ordination credential in parts of the world where there is no such thing as a US-style "MDiv" degree (which is pretty much most of the world); and the U-of-L BD only costs, at this writing, around $6,500(US), including textbooks and all fees... even local exam fees.
If one -- even someone in the US -- were to obtain the fully-distance-learning U-of-L BD for $6,500(US); and then the fully-distance-learning SATS MTh for $1,640(US) to $3,000(US), one would have spent only $8,140(US) to $9,500(US); and would have spent only five years, full-time, obtaining them... probably from the comfort of his/her own home. But, most importantly, one would have one of the most enviable sets of religious credentials available... possibly good enough to be declared "MDiv equivalent" in the US; and, therefore, possibly good enough for ordination in some US denomintations.
But even if that BD/MTh combination weren't good enough to be declared "MDiv equivalent" (and, if not, it would most likely be because US denominations are just so hell-bent on only accepting the hallowed "MDiv" as a first professional degree suitable for ordination), then the U-of-L BD with the SATS MTh would, nevertheless, be good enough to teach at most any good seminary... and at many secular colleges and universities, too!
SATS is, hands down, one of today's best deals in accredited religious distance learning. Its accreditation is better than most religious schools in South Africa typically seek. SATS, unlike most religious schools in that country, has the type of accreditation that secular South African colleges and universities typically have. So SATS's credentials have high academic value.
Even at twice the price, SATS is an excellent place to get one's fully-accredited religious credentials... even for non-religious use. It's the bargain of a lifetime!