General Information
Subpages
Mission
Equipping students to discover and develop their divine design to serve Christ and the world through Spirit-empowered life, learning, and leadership.
Vision
Southeastern University is anchored by Spirit-empowered education in a Christ-centered, student-focused learning community. Southeastern’s global impact is marked by a deep commitment to transforming minds and engaging culture through the integration of faith, learning and service. Each student’s divine design is nurtured and unleashed through the investment of faculty and staff, relationships within the community, the rigor of scholarship, diverse learning experiences and the discipline of spiritual formation, which propels students into a lifetime of serving the world in the Spirit of Christ.
Accreditation
Southeastern University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, masters, and doctorate degrees. Southeastern University also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Southeastern University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).
Other discipline-specific accreditations and licensures:
Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE)
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) - Southeastern University is approved to grant degrees that meet certification requirements for a Florida teaching credential.
History
Southeastern University was founded in 1935 by Alabama District Superintendent J.C. Thames and other Southeastern District leaders within the Assemblies of God denomination. Originally named the Alabama Shield of Faith Institute, it was renamed the South-Eastern Bible Institute (SEBI) in 1936.
Guy Shields was the first president. Originally located in a former high school building in New Brockton, Alabama, the school opened its doors to students on November 4, 1935, under the direction of four faculty members. Two years later, on May 22, 1937, the first graduation exercises were held. Seventeen students received diplomas for the two-year academic program.
SEBI continued classes in New Brockton until 1940 when a decision was made to consolidate the school with Beulah Heights Bible Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. The school was known from 1940 to 1942 as the Beulah Heights South-Eastern Bible Institute. In the fall of 1942, Rev. Ralph Byrd allowed the school to relocate to his congregation at 301-7 Capital Ave., SW in Atlanta, where it then was once again named the South-Eastern Bible Institute.
In 1946, the board of directors voted to secure a permanent location for the full development of the school. A new campus location was purchased later that year in Lakeland, Florida. The Atlanta campus was sold, and the development of the new site began. From 1946 to 1952, SEBI was located at the Lodwick School of Aeronautics in Lakeland. In 1952, the school moved to its present location at Longfellow Blvd.
Student body growth continued at the new central Florida campus along with the academic programs. SEBI became South-Eastern Bible College in 1956 when four-year Bachelor of Arts degree programs began. After adding education degrees, the college’s board of directors changed the school name to Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God in 1977.
In 1986, Southeastern was granted regional accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. This accreditation was reaffirmed in 1991, 2001, 2011, and 2021.
Southeastern made a historic transition from college to a university offering its first master’s programs in the fall of 2005. In 2014, the university began offering doctoral programs.
The campus has expanded to over twenty buildings. The university currently enrolls about 10,500 students between the main campus in Lakeland and more than 200 partner sites. Approximately 24,000 alumni call Southeastern their alma mater.
What began in 1935 as a Bible-training school is now the largest Assemblies of God educational institution in America, producing future Christian leaders in the fields of church ministries, education, medicine, law, business, communication, psychology, social work, literature, and music.
Population
Between all of its delivery platforms, Southeastern University has an enrollment of more than 10,000 students. Students are enrolled at the main campus, partner sites and online.
At the undergraduate level, approximately 2,300 students are enrolled at the Lakeland campus, where students and faculty can know each other on a personal level which lends to the development of lifelong friendships. A student is more than a number; he or she is known by name. Southeastern’s caring community gives personal support to individuals.