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Honorary Degrees: A Prestigious Academic Recognition
An honorary degree is a distinguished academic award conferred by universities to recognize outstanding contributions to society, culture, or a specific field—regardless of whether the recipient has completed formal academic study. These degrees, also known as honoris causa, have a long and storied history, dating back to the 15th century at European universities.
There has always been two pathways to Ph.D. level degrees. The two are distinct but provide the pathway but the degrees are given under difference circumstances. One the Matriculated degree which is course study and the other Honorary Degree which wavers course study in the place of course study. Both has merit and pathway.
Benjamin Franklin is perhaps the most famous early American recipient of honorary degrees. Despite his limited formal education, Franklin was recognized for his remarkable achievements as a scientist, inventor, and statesman. In 1759, the University of St. Andrews awarded him an honorary doctorate, and in 1762, Oxford University bestowed upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law. Franklin took pride in these honors and thereafter referred to himself as “Doctor Franklin,” even though he had no medical training.
Harvest Christian University has continued this tradition by awarding honorary doctoral degrees to individuals who have made significant impacts in their fields, particularly in music, entertainment, and humanitarian work. These honorary degrees recognize achievements and influence beyond the classroom, honoring those whose life’s work embodies the values and mission of the university.
Honorary degrees remain a meaningful way for institutions like Harvest Christian University to celebrate excellence, inspire current students, and align with the values of achievement and service.
The Department of Mis-Education
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) does not accredit colleges or universities. Instead, it recognizes accrediting agencies that operate independently. This is mandated by federal law: the Department’s role is to determine whether an accrediting agency is a “reliable authority as to the quality of education or training offered,” as outlined in 20 U.S.C. § 1099b and 34 CFR Part 602.
The underlying rationale is that ac-creditors have failed to protect students and taxpayers, and have instead enforced ideological requirements and failed to ensure educational quality.
Statement on Department of Education Funding Mismanagement Over 25 Years
Over the past 25 years (2000–2024), the U.S. Department of Education has received approximately $1.2 trillion in total federal appropriations for K-12, higher education, and related programs, averaging $48 billion annually. Despite this massive influx, states have shouldered 80–90% of total education costs—contributing roughly $960 billion to $1.08
trillion nationwide over the period (averaging **$38.4–$43.2 billion yearly per state share)—while federal funds reached states at only 10% or less of total spending, or $120–$240 billion total (averaging **$4.8–$9.6 billion yearly).
As A Result
Department of the Interior: Will take over education programs and grants related to Native American, Alaska Native, and tribal education, including
• Other Agencies:
• Department of Treasury will manage federal student loan and grant programs.
• Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special education and disability programs.
• Department of Labor will handle vocational, technical, and adult education programs.
• Department of Justice will take on civil rights enforcement in education.
• Department of State will manage international education programs.
HARVEST CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
OFFICIAL INSTITUTIONAL AND JURISDICTIONAL STATEMENT
Regarding Texas Jurisdiction, Religious Distance Education, and Concerns Concerning Coordinated Regulatory Conduct
Harvest Christian University (“HCU”) issues this statement to clarify its institutional status, educational operations, and position concerning the jurisdiction asserted by Texas agencies.
HCU is a private religious and Indigenous postsecondary educational institution legally incorporated in Missouri as a university and degree-granting institution. Its principal offices, academic administration, online instruction, and degree-granting operations are based in Missouri. HCU maintains no instructional campus in Texas and does not originate its academic operations from Texas.
The controlling Texas provision is 19 Texas Administrative Code §7.14, titled “Distance Education Approval.”
Section 7.14 provides that an eligible out-of-state institution without a Texas physical presence may offer distance education to Texas residents without obtaining permission from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (“THECB”), subject to the applicable accreditation or reciprocity conditions.
More specifically, 19 Texas Administrative Code §7.14(2)(B) provides that an institution offering a degree program or courses leading to a degree in a religious discipline through distance education is exempt from seeking THECB approval.
THECB’s own published guidance similarly states that an eligible out-of-state institution generally does not require Board permission merely to offer distance education to Texas residents. Physical activities—including certain clinical placements, internships, or other in-state operations—may create a separate physical-presence question. HCU maintains that no such physical-presence trigger has occurred with respect to its Missouri-based online religious instruction.
In HEB Ministries, Inc. v. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 235 S.W.3d 627, 649 (Tex. 2007), the Texas Supreme Court held that Texas Education Code §§61.304 and 61.313(a), governing degree-granting authority and the use of protected educational terminology, could not constitutionally be applied to a religious institution’s program of religious instruction.
The State therefore may not impose an unconstitutional regulatory system upon a religious institution’s religious programs merely because the institution awards religious degrees or uses educational terminology in connection with those programs.
The Texas agency’s allegation appears to rely upon a claimed jurisdictional trigger arising from HCU’s use of the terms “university” and “degree-granting institution.” HCU maintains that no such trigger exists merely because:
Accordingly, HCU’s position is that Texas law and THECB rules do not require HCU to obtain Board approval for qualifying religious-degree programs delivered entirely through distance education when no Texas physical-presence trigger exists.
HCU is also concerned about communications and actions involving personnel or officials associated with THECB, the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”), and the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (“TRACS”). Based upon the sequence and apparent coordination of certain communications and enforcement-related actions, HCU believes there are legitimate questions concerning whether these entities exchanged information or acted jointly in a manner that unfairly targeted or prejudiced the University.
HCU does not present an allegation of unlawful collusion as an established fact without supporting evidence. However, the University expressly reserves the right to request and review public records, agency referrals, correspondence, emails, reports, complaints, and communications among THECB, TWC, TRACS, their officials, employees, representatives, and other involved parties.
HCU calls for full transparency and an impartial examination of:
HCU denies allegations that mischaracterize its institutional status or Missouri-based online religious operations. Nothing in this statement waives any constitutional protection, jurisdictional objection, religious-liberty claim, procedural right, legal defense, or remedy available to HCU.
Harvest Christian University remains committed to religious education, Indigenous identity, institutional integrity, due process, transparency, and compliance with all laws that lawfully apply to its operations.
Issued by Harvest Christian University
Office of the President
Missouri, United States
THE HIDDEN COST OF ADVANCED DEGREES: TIME, ATTRITION, HEALTH, FAMILY, AND LOST INCOME
A master’s degree is normally designed to require one to two years of full-time study. A Ph.D. is commonly presented as a five-to-seven-year undertaking, yet many candidates remain enrolled for ten years or longer because of dissertation delays, financial difficulties, family obligations, employment demands, supervisory conflicts, health problems, or changes in academic direction.
The Council of Graduate Schools found that approximately 46% of doctoral students completed within seven years and 57% completed within ten years. Out of every 100 doctoral students:
The 43% should not all be classified as dropouts because some remained enrolled beyond ten years. Nevertheless, published research estimates that 30% to 50% of Ph.D. students withdraw from their programs, depending upon the country, institution, and academic discipline.
In a Council of Graduate Schools study involving underrepresented minority STEM doctoral students, 44% completed within seven years, 36% withdrew, and 20% remained enrolled. Seven-year completion rates also differed by discipline:
Some students change disciplines, transfer institutions, accept a master’s degree instead of completing the doctorate—sometimes called “mastering out”—or leave higher education completely. There is no single national percentage covering every form of degree change, but these outcomes are included within the broader pattern of doctoral interruption and noncompletion. Council of Graduate Schools.
The emotional burden can be serious. A systematic review covering 23,469 Ph.D. students estimated that 24% experienced clinically significant symptoms of depression. An analysis covering 15,626 students estimated that 17% experienced clinically significant anxiety. The researchers warned that unpredictable completion periods, financial and food insecurity, competitive employment markets, publishing pressure, and uncertain funding can affect physical health, personal relationships, academic performance, and program completion. Scientific Reports systematic review
Research has also documented suicidal thoughts and behaviors among some doctoral students. However, the available evidence does not support a reliable universal suicide rate for Ph.D. candidates, and it cannot establish that graduate school alone caused a suicide or suicide attempt. The systematic review specifically reported that available data were insufficient to calculate a pooled rate of suicidal ideation. These findings should therefore be presented as a serious mental-health warning—not as proof that doctoral education directly causes suicide.
Long hours, low income, relocation, delayed family plans, childcare pressures, and uncertainty about graduation can place significant strain upon marriages and personal relationships. Mental-health research reports effects on interpersonal relationships, but there is no credible national statistic proving that a particular percentage of Ph.D. students divorce because of doctoral study. Divorce usually has multiple causes; graduate-school stress may be a contributing factor in individual cases, but it should not be described as the sole cause without evidence.
Chronic stress may also be accompanied by sleep disruption, exhaustion, reduced physical activity, headaches, digestive difficulties, worsening preexisting conditions, and diminished overall well-being. These health effects vary among individuals and require appropriate medical or mental-health assessment.
The cost of a doctorate is greater than tuition alone. The Council of Graduate Schools describes graduate-school opportunity cost as:
Lost income + lost employment benefits + educational expenses − expected long-term financial gains.
A working professional who leaves a $60,000 position for five years could forgo approximately $300,000 in gross wages, before considering retirement contributions, employer health insurance, bonuses, raises, tuition, interest, and living expenses. Extending the program to ten years could double the wage opportunity cost. This is an illustration, not a national average
. Council of Graduate Schools: Cost and Value of Graduate Degrees
Some graduates later discover that their industry has changed, their position does not require the degree, or employers value experience more highly. Others pursue a second master’s degree to enter a new profession, qualify for promotion, or obtain a specialization their first degree did not provide. The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms that a master’s degree may support advancement or increased earnings in certain occupations, while professional experience may be more valuable in others. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
A person who invested seven to twelve years, accumulated debt, experienced family or health problems, or left a doctoral program without graduating may feel hurt when another person receives an honorary doctorate. That response may arise from disappointment, unresolved loss, or a belief that the honorary recipient received a title without enduring the same academic process.
No credible national study establishes what percentage of frustrated or unsuccessful doctoral candidates become angry about honorary degrees. That conclusion is a reasonable psychological interpretation, not a documented statistic.
An earned doctorate and an honorary doctorate nevertheless serve different purposes. An earned doctorate certifies completion of academic requirements and original scholarship. An honorary doctorate recognizes exceptional service, leadership, achievement, or contributions to society. Respect for honorary recognition does not diminish earned scholarship, and respect for earned scholarship does not justify hostility toward honorary recipients.
Harvest Christian University’s Academic Honorary Degree Program recognizes distinguished individuals whose leadership, ministry, professional accomplishments, humanitarian service, entrepreneurship, scholarship, Indigenous advocacy, and community contributions reflect the mission and values of HCU.
HCU honorary graduates include bishops, pastors, chaplains, educators, authors, business leaders, public servants, community advocates, artists, humanitarians, and international leaders. Many recipients were already accomplished before receiving their honorary degrees; the HCU recognition formally celebrates those established records of service and achievement.
Following their recognition, HCU honorary graduates have reported continued success through:
Qualified HCU honorary recipients may also be invited to participate in the University community through alumni leadership, mentoring, lectures, ceremonial service, advisory work, or honorary adjunct appointments under applicable HCU policies. An honorary appointment does not automatically establish eligibility for a paid faculty position or replace the qualifications required for academic employment.
HCU recipients may properly list the recognition on a résumé or curriculum vitae under “Honors and Awards,” clearly identifying it as an Honorary Doctorate or Doctorate Honoris Causa. It may also be included in an official biography, website, press release, ministry profile, or professional introduction with accurate disclosure of its honorary nature.
HCU does not represent an honorary doctorate as an earned research degree, professional license, or guaranteed qualification for employment or promotion. Its value rests in the achievements for which it was awarded, the University’s formal recognition of those achievements, and the relationships and opportunities that may develop from that recognition.
The continuing accomplishments of HCU’s honorary graduates demonstrate that honorary recognition can celebrate a lifetime of meaningful work while encouraging recipients to expand their leadership, service, scholarship, ministry, and positive influence.
Honorary degree recipients are generally selected because they have already demonstrated exceptional achievement, leadership, scholarship, public service, humanitarian work, business success, religious service, or contributions to society. The degree publicly confirms that an educational institution has examined and chosen to recognize those accomplishments.
The University of Florida describes an honorary degree as “the greatest recognition the University…can give an individual” other than an earned doctorate. Eastern Connecticut State University similarly calls it “the highest recognition that colleges and universities can bestow.” University of Florida Eastern Connecticut State University
An honorary degree can provide several practical and professional benefits:
An honorary degree has a practical value comes from the documented achievements, institutional recognition, reputation, relationships, and visibility associated with the award.
U.S. Department of the Treasury:
The administration of federal student loans has been considered for transfer to the Treasury Department, given its experience with financial management and lending programs.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
There has been discussion of moving certain education-related loan or grant programs to the SBA, though this is less commonly cited than the Treasury.
.U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ):
Civil rights enforcement in education, such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, could be transferred to the DOJ to maintain legal protections for students