Will Thomas Edison accept DETC credits...?

I took a distance education travel agent course with a residency with the Boyd School in 1996. This is a business school in Pittsburgh. I'm not sure if they were regionally accredited back then but my transcript said it was DETC accredited. The school did offer associates degrees back then.

The school is NOW part of Pittsburgh Technical Institute and it IS regionally accredited. I wonder if TESC will at least bank the credits somehow, which were listed in clock hours...

Also it is a 2 year CAREER college. I wonder if it would be considered COMMUNITY college credit...

 

According to http://www.degree.net/news/guestcolumn02.html the answer is no.

Sorry :-(

 

Thomas Edison State College does not accept DETC credits. But you could always use the knowledge you gained from those courses you completed toward getting credit by testing out or through portfolio.

Good luck to you,
Kit

 

From the linked article, "It is interesting to note that no DETC-accredited school has ever gone on to regional accreditation in the more than two decades DETC has been accrediting schools awarding bachelor's and higher degrees."

I seem to recall reading one or more postings in this forum about NA schools that later went on to achieve RA status. I know my mind is sound so I seriously doubt I imagined those postings. The entire RA v. NA debate smacks of bigotry and elitism with no logical basis. If one can earn portfolio credit at TESC by playing a guitar, why is a course in economics, for example, from a NA school not transferrable to an RA school?

 

AMU is in process of gaining RA after first being DETC accredited. WGU applied for both at the same time. UNISA (like several foreign Universities) was fully accredited by its own country before applying for DETC accreditation. I am unaware of any NA schools that have gained RA although it is likely AMU will very soon.

 

Thanks for that clarification Mr. Hayden. I thought Western Governor's University had its DETC accreditation first, then received it's RA later so I too was a little confused about the statement from linked article. I was unaware that WGU had applied for both at the same time.

I thought perhaps Education Direct might be an exception as well. They had full DETC accreditation first, then later achieved RA for their high school and vocational programs. But the statement specifically refers to "awarding bachelor's and higher degrees.", while Ed Diret only offers certificates and associate's degrees. But since Ed Direct does have full RA for their high school and vocational programs, I wonder if an RA school would fully accept credits from a completed vocational program through Ed Direct. There are some DI members who have completed certificate programs through Ed Direct, it would be interesting to hear their experiences if they have ever tried to transfer those programs to a related degree at a completely RA school.

Kit

 

Actually the school I went to was DETC and as of 1999 is NOW Regionally Accredited!!!
too bad it didnt come 4 yrs earlier.

I thought of sending it to TESC to see if I can do a prior learnign assesment but its probably more complicated than its worth...

 

Horne, I agree with you. It does smack of elitism. Not only that, but outright rejection of NA credits by RA schools is against the principles of CHEA which operates on the principle that all its recognized accreditors are equal. According to CHEA, DETC accreditation is equal to accreditation by any of the regional acccreditors. So the outright rejection of credits based solely on the source of accreditation being from one particular CHEA recognized accreditor is wrong, according to CHEA. (Also according to the U.S. Dept. of Education, which does not differentiate between regional accreditors and DETC.) Under CHEA's principles it's the same as if a Middle States accredited school refused outright to recognize any credits earned at a North Central accredited school based solely on the fact that those credits were recognized by a different regional accreditor.

However, the NA vs. RA debate still has credibility because currently in the real world that's just how it works regardless of whether anyone likes it or not. Most RA schools simply refuse to accept NA credits, period. Various reasons have been thrown around, ranging from elitism (DETC is not a "member of the club") to financial concerns of the RA schools. But regardless of any individual reason it is currently how the system works and it is currently legal, despite the fact that automatic rejection of NA credits is against the principles of CHEA. It's still not against any law.


Kit

 

I'm baaaaack....

It is not "elitism." It is "reality." Without discussing the efficacy of DETC's accreditation process, it has been clearly established that degrees from DETC-accredited schools enjoy a lower level of acceptance in both academia and in employment. That doesn't make them bad, but it should be considered. Those to whom this fact brings discomfort sometimes get dogmatic about it, ignoring the simple realities.

It is a simple thing to both support DETC's efforts and to acknowledge its limitations.

BTW, courses from DETC-accredited schools that have been evaluated by the ACE for credit are transferrable to TESC, Excelsior, and COSC.

Now if you want to accuse the RA's of elitism for this schism, I'd be on board with that. But don't kill the messenger.

(This is my 5,000 post. I've been napping for awhile in order to sort out some professional considerations. I'll be posting about that in a bit.)

 

I assume that you misunderstood what you read on this forum previously. While RA versus NA is a common "debate" here, I've rarely seen a position that could be described as bigotry or elitism. The usual position expressed is that RA is more widely accepted than NA. This is a simple statement of the way things work.

A school does not have to accept credits from other RA schools. I don't understand your claim that not accepting NA credits is bigotry and elitism.

 

The thing that amazes me is that when ever the RA vs NA debate comes up in this forum, there are the same several members that immediately post long condescending responses like crazy in the thread, beating down any attempt of the broader community to have a conversation on the topic, under the same old basic RA or nothing argument.

These same folks have 2000, 3000, and 4000 responses to their name, mostly spewing forth the same anti-competition rhetoric.

AND THEN, if someone comes along and is frustrated with one of the "big three" RA distance schools, do they get good advice? nope: they get slandered to a degree beyond any point of reasonability by senior members.

ya: bleck, boring, and fin.

 

The thing that amazes me is when people say they can't discuss something because of "slander". They are typically the only person in the thread that is insulting and condescending and on top of it don't even address the topic at hand.

 

Keep it up buddy, you are almost to 3000

 

Hey Bubba,

What's your opinion on RA versus NA or do you only state opinions of people?

 

damn near 4000 posts and not an RA or no way in 'em

I defy you, Bubba, to show where I have ever said RA or no way, or condescended toward those who like NA, or failed to stick up for ethical unaccredited schools--while acknowledging the restrictions on utility which exist whether I like them or not. Whiny mythmaking does not contribute to the conversation you supposedly want to promote. If you have something of your own to say, say it, but realize that we are not Rogerian therapists expected to hum and nod along with whatever you happen to say.

 

What amazes me is that the people who post on the equivalency of RA and DETC accreditation are never able to show any evidence of this supposed equivalency. No one is beating down an attempt at conversation. The conversation occurs regularly. The problem seems to come from the fact that those in the DETC=RA camp want their position accepted regardless of the evidence against them.

As to the issue of the number of postings people have in their credit. What the numbers mean to me is that for every post I've made I've probably read ten. So for me that means I've read about 20,000 postings. This doesn't count my history on aed, degreeboard, and all the other fly-by-night forums that have cropped up over the years. I firmly believe that I've learned a great deal from reading all those postings. I've changed my mind on more than one issue as a result of reading a well thought out and well articulated argument. You don't need to have 1000 posts to know what you're talking about but most people with 70 posts to their credit simply haven't done enough research to keep up. If you can present a well formulated argument then I'd like to read it. If you're just going to whine then this is all you're going to get.
Jack

 

No one is "beating" anyone down. But it is important to point out the realities. It seems you're resistant to that, preferring the rhetoric you decry.

I'm not "anti-competitive." Talk about bigotry! You assume something without knowing the truth. If you'd read any of those 5,000-plus posts, you'd realize that I am in favor of DETC. But that doesn't prevent me from pointing out some facts related to it, including its limitations. (DETC does this as well. And in my interviews with another national accreditor to become its Director of Accreditation--which I declined--it, too, is very much concerned about the lower acceptability of credits and degrees issued by its member schools.)

No one is "slandered." This is utterly false.

You're angry about (in your opinion) unsubstantiated rhetoric, then you engage in the very same? Stop with the personal attack and stick to the facts.

 

ACE Recommendation

Two years ago, Thomas Edison State College indicated that they would award credit for classes completed at DETC accredited schools, provided the classes had been evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE).

NB: These ACE recommended credits would not be considered as transfer credits from the DETC accredited school.

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3896

 

Kaplan College, recently turned Kaplan University, was accredited by the DETC as the "College for Professional Studies", but stopped accepted enrollments under DETC accreditation in March 2003 because it was pursuing and has gained regional accreditation.

The College for Professional Studies listing is still on the DETC page and you'll see that it was to undergo review in 2007. Note, that the given e-mail address under College for Professional Studies is "@kaplancollege.edu".

DETC Listing:
http://www.detc.org/degree.html#CPS

Kaplan University:
http://www.kaplan.edu/ku/

 

Re: ACE Recommendation

Last I checked TESC was accepting all classes that had been evalauted by ACE.
-Pat