RA and GAAP, Which one is better?

I found that UNISA has accreditation from GAAP and DETC. I want to know that between RA and GAAP, Which one is better?

Thank

 

GAAP is an acronym, which stands for generally accepted accrediting principles; it may have been coined by John Bear, I'm not sure. In any case, there is no accrediting agency named GAAP, rather it refers to all the government and private organizations that inspect the quality of schools as a group. DETC, the various regional accrediting agencies in the US, and the government of South Africa would all be considered part of the GAAP group. Obviously some of the members of the group are considered stricter than others. I really can't say if the South African government is considered more or less strict than the US regional accreditors.

In any case, it is rare for a US regional accreditor to accredit a foreign school, so lack of RA by a South African school certainly would not be a mark against the school.

 

Ashton is right, it can be assumed that any school that is regionally accredited meets the criteria for GAAP. GAAP is a handy way to measure the quality of schools that would not normally be candidates for U.S. accreditation, such as foreign schools. UNISA is a unique case in that foreign schools typically do not see the need for U.S. regional (or national) accreditation.

A degree from UNISA would be accepted in most circles as equivalent to an RA degree from a U.S. university.

Tony Pina
Faculty, Cal State U. San Bernardino

 

Bear has made it clear he did not coin the term. He heard someone else use it (at an AACRAO function, IIRC). However, he has popularized it.

DETC, as a recognized accreditor, would be part of GAAP.

UNISA's recognition as a South African university would be more valuable, in most cases, than its DETC accreditation. So why DETC? Well, two reasons leap to mind. First, they might want to be in on the ground floor of a great leap forward by DETC. Second, it answers (for Americans, anyway) that pesky-but-seldom-understood question, "Are you accredited?" It allows a simple "yes," rather than having to go into a lengthly explanation about GAAP. This also might help ease tuition reimbursement funding for their American students, although I've never seen any indication that UNISA cared a bit about the U.S. market.