History

Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College is named in honor of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan which began as a Free Will Baptist institution in 1840. (Hillsdale College in Michigan is no longer affiliated with Free Will Baptists.) Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College in Oklahoma continues the legacy of quality Christian education which began in Michigan over a century ago. Oklahoma Free Will Baptists had a vision for an institution of higher learning. That vision resulted in a Bible Institute which eventually developed into Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College. It began in the basement of the First Free Will Baptist Church in Tulsa in January, l959. It was moved to Wagoner in the fall of 1959, to the Northwest Free Will Baptist Church in Oklahoma City in the fall of 1961, then a few miles south to the Capitol Hill Free Will Baptist Church in the fall of 1962. In 1966, the College began operating on its present campus. State accreditation was gained in 1970 for the two year program. The four-year B.A. in Theology was added in the fall of 1972 with the first graduating class in May, 1974. This program also received state accreditation allowing graduates the opportunity for admission into a graduate program. Students can now transfer the two-year A.A. degree to a senior college majoring in any field they desire, or they can continue at Hillsdale working for the baccalaureate degree. Candidacy status with the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools was gained in September of 1995, and for the first time Hillsdale was recognized by a national accrediting agency. Accreditation with TRACS followed on January 1, 1999. In 2002, Hillsdale received approval from TRACS to offer the masters degree.