Talk:Canadian Mennonite University

Cleanup
I've cleaned up this article by dividing it into sections, adding an infobox, and more information about the programs CMU offers. It is no longer a stub, so I've removed the stub template, but there's plenty of room for more detailled information to be added about each program. I've also supressed the edit links by each header because they were a little distracting. Ben Babcock 03:58, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

University vs. Seminary
I have moved Canadian Mennonite University back into the "Universities and colleges in Manitoba" category. It was earlier removed from that category by Ardenn and placed into the "Canadian seminaries" category. Ardenn and I discussed the issue but could not come to an agreement on where the article belonged.

Ardenn's argument is basically that under the rules of most provinces in Canada, CMU would not be considered a university, and therefore it is not one for the purposes of Wikipedia. Ardenn referenced a list of academic higher learning institutions in Alberta showing that if CMU was located in that province, it would be designated a "private college accredited to grant degrees." I do not dispute this. However, I argue that it is still a university, for the following two reasons:


 * The category is "Universities and colleges in Manitoba", so the definition of the Manitoba government should be used. If the category was "...in Canada" it might be a different story (if the second point were not true).


 * The problem with the term "private college accredited to grant degrees" is that it is peculiar to Canadian provinces which a) allow private institutions to grant degrees, and b) refuse to allow such colleges the use of the term "university". However, there are plenty of private universities in the world outside of Canada, including a great number in the United States that no one would dare claim are not real universities.  The issue is not accreditation, it is that Manitoba allows private universities in the American style while the rest of Canada does not.  Admittedly CMU is a small university, but the real issue is its "privateness"--if the university was located in the United States, there would be no issue as to its status as a university.  It is only because it is a private university in a sea of Canadian public universities that the issue even arises.  It's accredited.  It's called a university by the province it's located in.  It's a university.

Please give your input. Osgoodelawyer 00:30, 5 April 2006 (UTC)


 * From the article itself, it is clear that it's a Seminary and not a University, despite the name. Ardenn 00:31, 5 April 2006 (UTC)


 * The fact that it has degrees in non-theological subjects shows that it is a university with a seminary (just like many universities run by religious groups elsewhere). Osgoodelawyer 00:46, 5 April 2006 (UTC)


 * If we go in the route of what it is considered a University in Manitoba you can see here that the Gov. of Manitoba names CMU as a University and as a Religious Institution here. Also I found this which could explain more details. I think this is tough call, I believe CMU falls in between. CMU provides both seminary and university degree/certificates/diplomas. Gadig 20:04, 10 April 2006 (UTC)