Known for many years as John Wesley College, the college changed its name to Laurel University in 2011. The university contains schools of management and ministry and created North Carolina's first state-accredited online MBA program using avatar technology with a virtual business internship experiences for students. Laurel University is the oldest undergraduate theological education institution in North Carolina. Laurel University is accredited with the Commission on Accreditation of The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), and the United States Department of Education.