DETC and Accreditation Question

Perhaps this may not be the best place to ask this question and maybe I should direct it to DETC but here goes(and thanks for taking the time to help me figure it out):

When a University, fully online, intends to apply for DETC accreditation, does the coursework that is taken by learners before the accreditation become valid? Say we use a hypothetical:

Learner A takes thirty courses but hasn't yet attained a degree per the online institution's requirements. The institution applies for accreditation and is successful and thus is DETC accredited. Does this learner lose out on the credits they took?re: do they go towards the accredited degree?

I know that probably the DETC is probably a good place to ask this question but I just wanted to get some thoughts or commentary. I really, really appreciate your help!

 

Well, here is my speculation. I am guessing that any coursework earner prior to accreditation would still be unaccredted. In my case, I waited until CCU (DETC) became formally accredited before embarking on my BS. But let's look at it a different way, if you take several classes, and the school then becomes accredited before completion (during completion) of the degree, the students degree may be accredited per se. I would not take a chance on this however.

I hope this helps,

Abner

 

Hi Brandon. Technically, it isn't the credits or the degrees that's accredited, it's the school that awards them. So if your hypothetical Mr. A takes 90 credits before the school is accredited and 30 afterward, he will ultimately receive a bachelors awarded by an accredited school.

The biggest risk to enrolling in a school that says that it's intending to pursue accreditation is what happens if the school is unsuccessful. In that case your Mr. A would be out of luck.

My own suggestion is that you should probably disregard any rhetoric coming from schools themselves about seeking DETC accreditation until the school's name actually appears on the list of applicants on DETC's website. Then you know that DETC has told them that they can proceed and that they have begun submitting their materials. But that still doesn't guarantee that the school will ultimately be accredited. Many schools' names have appeared on the applicant list and then fallen off again. Sometimes they linger there for a long time and the process can be slow.

Enrolling in a school before its accredited is a bit of a crap-shoot, there's some risk involved.

 

Another issue to consider here is that unless things have recently changed, DETC does not have any public candidacy process as the regionals do.

A school seeking regional accreditation will, after it has passed several of the hurdles required, be granted "candidacy" status by the regionals. The school is allowed to disclosed this to students, because a large percentage of schools granted candidacy ultimately achieve accreditation, and because a significant portion of the requirements for accreditation have already been met by the time the school reaches candidacy.

DETC does not (or didn't, last I checked) have any formal candidacy process, and frowns on schools representing that they are in candidacy. Without a formalized candidacy process, a school is free to claim anything, and many absolutely dreadful schools have in the past claimed that they have "candidacy" with DETC, or "are applying" or "are in the process of accreditation" or some similar language. Some truly awful schools have actually put forth the effort to apply to DETC and been turned down flat.

So, further amplifying what Bill said, I think it's risky, particularly with a school seeking (or claiming to seek) DETC accreditation, to enroll in classes prior to the school being officially recognized as accredited by DETC.

 

I wasn't speaking solely from a student's viewpoint because I wouldn't touch an unaccredited school. I'm speaking from someone who wants to start an online institution the correct, and above the board, way. It's, in my view, a catch-22 because if you wanted to actually do something the right way then you can't really offer any unaccredited courses because you'd be doing your learners a disservice as you said. I've looked into the requirements for DETC and they basically are policy-based and I will contact them with further questions which may be able to clarify better my situation.

Thanks so much for your time and effort in giving me a better understanding.

 

The predecessor of the U of Phoenix started out offering courses from accredited schools - I took several courses through them but the exams and units were through University of Redlands.

Another option for a startup school might be to offer courses that end up with the students taking CLEP or DSST exams.

 

From my understanding of the accreditation process, a school must have been in operation with students in the programs for at least two years to be eligible for accreditation. So, I would have to assume those students in the school's programs would have a degree from an accredited school. I believe some regional accreditation processes take up to seven years, i.e. WASC, from start to finish. The DETC takes one or more years for accreditation to be granted. I am again guessing it depends on the number and types of degrees offered.

 

oh yeah, hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas! Ours was very soggy here in NC. Could have used a canoe from good Ole St. Nick ;-)

 

It matters only that the school becomes accredited prior to one's graduation, and even that has some elasticity. For example, if one enters a school prior to its graduation, then graduates after the school's accreditation is granted, no trouble. However, we've also seen where one's graduation from a not-yet-accredited school has held up quite well once the school becomes accredited. It turns out that most employers don't check accreditation at all, and those who do seldom check to see when the school was accredited.

 

Thanks a lot for the continued comments! I appreciate all of the information.

 

And to add to your point Dr. Douglas. Some employers ask for transcripts from the school. The transcripts state "Acrredited by XXXX". The HR people I know (Including the State of CA) check their big black book of "Recognized" accreditors. If the transcripts show there is bona fide accreditation, the coursework is assumed to be bona fide. Most of the transcripts I have seen usually do not say "accredited as of XXXX". Know I suppose some employers will go to the trouble of checking when the school was accredited, but most want to find it simply "accredited" and move on with their jobs as quickly as possible. Most of them do not spend hours, day, months and years pondering the fine points of accreditation like we do.

Abner

 

So, is it normal for an institution to offer courses before they are accredited but in the process/candidacy?

 

I'm wondering if this should really matter. If a school becomes accredited, isn't it a bit silly to say that graduating the DAY BEFORE accreditation finalization is less legitimate than graduating the VERY DAY after? One would think that to be accredited means that a school has been meeting accreditation standards for some time before it becomes official. I would be interested in hearing opinions on this from people who have experience in the matter.

 

The only time it would matter would be if someone decided to enroll in a school that advertised the possibility of being accredited, then the promise never materializes. The other scenario? I suppose it is possible for someone to run across a stickler who noticed the school was UA during the time of the students attendance in an HR dept, though unlikely. Another risk would be trying to transfer credits to another school, where a savy enrollment counselor may notice the school was UA during the attendance period prior to accreditation (this is assuming the student completed his/her degree BEFORE the school received accreditation.

In my case, I waited until I saw CCU adverstised on the DETC website as being accredited. Once I was able to see the proof, I enrolled at a heck of a bargain prior to tuition increases.

Abner

 

Very well put my friend!

Abner

 

First of all thank you both for the recent additions to the discussion. The process I think that's correct is here:

1) Set up nonprofit, create policies, hire faculty, and design courses.

2) Market the courses despite accreditation not existing for the institution. But do you tell the students that these courses are unaccredited ahead of time? If they expect you to be above board about the accreditation issue, how would you get students anyway?

Why would someone knowlingly go to an unaccredited school? I'm just wondering the marketing strategies some schools go to despite the unaccredited nature of the programs. The credits earned would not be transferable to other programs within that two year time before accreditation.

3) Apply for DETC et al after two years of being in operation and submitting the self assessment reports.

 

Why a "not-for-profit?"It might be easier and lower cost to set up a "for-profit" institution. However you do not need to make a profit initially.

You should certainly explain clearly that your institution is non-accredited and let them know your goals.

If the courses offered were unique and not offered anywhere else. The American Graduate University comes to mind - it is now DETC accredited but initially and for several years it offered courses in government contracting not available elsewhere.

A start-up institution should offer certificates or post-graduate certificates - not degrees. If you have courses that students demand then you are in business.

I see a lot of courses offered in reliability engineering for example - mostly run by individuals, technical socities, or consulting or test companies.

 

Absolutely. It is their ability to create and deliver "accreditable" instruction that is measured. While it is a bit of a chicken-and-egg thing--students have to risk attending a school that might not someday become accredited--all schools go through it, except those that start out as branches of some other accredited school/system.

I used to take a lot of grief from the degree mill shills because I taught at an unaccredited school. That school went on to earn recognized accreditation, which I thought was nice.

 

I agree with a previous poster. You could start as a school that prepares you for a certain type of test. I would also consider prepping for IT certs. People pay big bucks for schools that only help prepare for passing the certification tests. This way there is an acceptable end-goal for the students.

Another acceptable avenue is to get IACET to review your courses and offer CEUs to currently working professionals. CEUs (continuing education units) are required by some employers and governments to maintain certification after it has been achieved (nurses, teachers, etc). You could then offer certification courses and get reviewed by DETC for that and THEN work your way to degrees. I am unsure what is required to be reviewed by IACET but I'm sure the rules are less than those of the DETC because the goal is different. You must have legitimate classes but not necessarily college level. It's not your job to prepare, only to refresh.

Certifications offered by somebody who is reviewed by IACET would be legitimate because each course in it would be reviewed by a non-biased recognized body.

There are likely many ways to start a school without offering degrees and avoiding the accreditation requirements but getting somebody like IACET on board would do wonders for you. IACET is the leading recognizing body of CEUs but not the only one. Look into that, many people will shell out the bucks for CEUs but there are freebies out there too.