Exploding the Myths about DETC Accreditation:

Distance Education and Training Council: The Global Leader in Distance Learning Accreditation

Exploding the Myths about DETC Accreditation:

Myth 1: DETC’s accreditation process
is not as rigorous as regional accreditation.
The reality is, DETC has specific, relevant, comprehensive standards and policies—crafted and
perfected for more than a half century—aimed solely at the distance education enterprise. DETC
evaluators gain access to online courses to validate that sound instructional practice is being consistently
followed.
DETC reviews begin with submission of curricula, which is sent to multiple reviewers. In addition
to the materials, reviewers evaluate online components of the courses to ensure sound instructional
practice is being consistently followed. Their evaluation reports become part of the on-site
review team’s process, which allows the team to focus on verifying the reams of data provided in an
institution’s Self-Evaluation Report. While this process compresses the institution’s site visit to a few
days, the overall process takes many months.
DETC emphasizes the quality of the programs and the demonstration of student learning.
DETC requires of each institution annual reporting on student satisfaction rates, course completion,
program graduation rates and, when relevant, third-party test pass rates as part of a metrics-based
outcomes assessment process.
DETC does a comprehensive review of its standards annually, and changes are issued every year.
For example, in the last few years, DETC has implemented a new process for outcomes assessment,
added a new readiness assessment process for applicants, and added new standards on the reputation
of school owners, the use of accreditation from unrecognized accrediting agencies by applicant institutions,
and the qualifications of faculty teaching general education.
Myth 2: Credits from DETC academic degree programs
are not transferable to traditional colleges.
In reality, the standard principles of good practice, as published by CHEA and as endorsed by
higher education groups like the American Council on Education and the American Association
of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, state that acceptance of transfer credit from one
institution to another is always left to the discretion of the receiving institution, and that transfer of
credit is not guaranteed by any reputable institution.
These principles also hold that credits should not be denied solely on the basis of the source
of accreditation of the sending institution. When receiving institutions follow these generally accepted
principles of good practice in credit transfer, the acceptance of DETC institutions’ academic
credit is high. Some 70% of DETC graduates who attempted to transfer their credits report that they
were successful.
4 Exploding the Myths About DETC Accreditation
Distance Education and Training Council
Myth 3: Online programs offered by
DETC institutions are of lesser quality
than programs from regionally accredited institutions.
When compared to regional institutions, many DETC institutions use the same learning management
platforms, the same textbooks, and have faculty with equivalent credentials. The criteria for
evaluating faculty are the same, and in fact some faculty at DETC institutions contemporaneously
teach at regionally accredited institutions.
Some universities accredited by DETC also hold dual accreditation with a regional body, and over
the years they have reported DETC’s process was far more thorough and stringent than the regional
process in areas related to program review, consumer protection, business standards, succession planning
and distance education.
DETC recognizes and appreciates the body of expertise and distinguished history of regional
accrediting associations, and as such has chosen to compare academic degree programs offered by
DETC institutions to similar degree programs offered by regionally accredited universities.
Before an institution can offer a new course, DETC requires an in-depth, content-focused review
by a subject specialist—always a qualified faculty member at a regionally accredited institution (to
ensure alignment with the curriculum standards at regionally accredited universities). Using a form
that involves more than 250 questions, the subject specialist is able to make fair and precise judgments
on the comparability of programs to regionally accredited institutions’ curricula.
DETC institutions report annually on their student satisfaction rates. Some 97% of all students
in all DETC institutions in the 2009 survey said Yes to the following survey question: “Did you
achieve, or will you have achieved upon completing your studies, the goals you had when you
started the course or program?”
Myth 4: Regional accrediting groups have more experience
in evaluating distance learning than DETC, and have
“greater recognition” from the government.
DETC enjoys the same national recognition from the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council
for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the regional associations. The criteria for recognition
are identical for DETC as for the regional bodies. Neither the Secretary nor CHEA makes any
distinction between the types of agencies being recognized.
The council’s sole function is the evaluation of distance education, and DETC has been perfecting
its standards and procedures for evaluating distance institutions for more than a half-century.
DETC has conducted more than 1,500 on site accrediting reviews to distance learning institutions
during the past 55 years, including several of the very largest distance institutions in the world.
Regional bodies, meanwhile, only recently have entered the field of distance accreditation.
Exploding the Myths About DETC Accreditation 5
Distance Education and Training Council
Myth 5: Regional accrediting groups have stronger consumer
protection standards than DETC.
DETC mandates a student-friendly, national, minimum tuition-refund policy for its members, as
a part of its extensive consumer protection standards, found within in the DETC Business Standards.
Regional bodies have no such minimum targeted for distance learning programs.
To protect the taxpayer, DETC institutions electing to participate in Title IV Federal Student
Aid programs must follow, in addition to the DETC Business Standards, a separate set of additional
standards—above and beyond what the Federal regulations require (e.g., the maximum annual revenues
an institution may derive from Title IV is capped at 75% of their total revenues, not the 90%
Federal law permits).
Of any accrediting association today, DETC has some of the most precise, prescriptive and comprehensive
standards addressing advertising and promotional practices, targeted specifically toward
distance learning. The DETC Business Standards address all aspects of promotional tactics, from honesty
in advertising to prescribed language for enrollment forms and disclaimers for credit transfer.
Myth 6: All accrediting bodies are the same.
One only needs to do a cursory review of the Web site of each of the more than 20 recognized
institutional accrediting organizations to ascertain the wide variety of approaches, standards and practices
used.
The diversity of American higher education is attributable in part to the different evaluation approaches
taken by each of the different accrediting associations. What sets DETC apart, and makes it
unique, is the fact DETC is the sole accrediting organization staffed, organized and equipped to focus
entirely on distance education as a method of teaching and learning. Distance education accreditation
is not a sideline at DETC; distance education is the reason we exist.
6 Exploding the Myths About DETC Accreditation
Distance Education and Training Council
Conclusion
We hope this guide has been helpful in giving some background on what distinguishes DETC
from other accrediting organizations, and why DETC accreditation is an online student’s best friend
when it comes to making the right choice in where to study. So if you are trying to decide on an online
or distance school, be sure to consider the advantages and protection you will get from enrolling
with a DETC accredited institution:
• DETC accredited institutions must deliver on their promises to students to maintain their
accreditation.
• Accredited status with DETC means students, parents, and members of the public can trust
that knowledgeable educators and potential employers have reviewed the institution to ensure
its programs offer students a quality education that will fulfill their goals.
• DETC has a rich and distinguished history dating back nearly 85 years. It has helped countless
hundreds of institutions to become better, and has aided millions of students. It has
helped protect the public from being misled by diploma mills.
At the end of the day, what DETC is trying to do is help people like you gain a good education
from a reputable distance education institution, and ensure you’re treated fairly while doing so.
Distance Education and Training Council
1601 18th St. NW, Suite 2

 

Exploding the myths about Exploding the Myths

I have regularly made available my 'deconstruction' of DETC's data. I guess I should put it here, again.
____________________________
AN ANALYSIS OF DETC’S SURVEY OF GRADUATES

SUMMARY
• DETC-accredited schools were asked to submit 2,100 names of graduates. 1,353 (64%) were submitted. Some sent just one or two names; others sent the requested 100.
• Of the 1,353 surveys sent out, only 18% were returned.
• 35% of the respondents gave permission to contact their employer; 65% said no.
• Of 80 employers contacted, 34 responded.
• Of the 34, 30 knew their employee had a distance degree.
• Thus out of every 100 employers, 35 were contacted, 15 replied, and 13 knew about the distance degree.
• Regarding transfer of credits, out of every 100 graduates, 67 did not try, 21 were successful, and 12 were not. Crucially, no distinction was made between acceptance by other DETC schools, and by regionally accredited schools.
• Over a seven year period, the percentage of students under age 30 dropped from 34% to 9%.

The Distance Education and Training Council in Washington published a 20-page booklet entitled “DETC Degree Programs: graduates and employers evaluate their worth.”

It is a report and analysis of research conducted by DETC in July 2001. 21 member schools “were asked to submit a random sample of 100 names of graduates from their degree programs.” There were three stated purposes:
• learning how DETC degree graduates felt about their experience
• how the degree affected their careers and personal life
• how employers felt about employees with a DETC-accredited degree

1,300 graduates and 80 employers were surveyed. 18% of the graduates and 42% of the employers responded.

DETC says that “the results of these surveys certainly reflect favorably on accredited distance study degrees. [The data] underscores the theme that DETC degrees are valuable, worthwhile credentials ...particularly to the student and to his or her employer.”

The introduction concludes, “We invite you to study the data that follow.” Here are my comments.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY
21 schools were asked to provide 100 names each, randomly.

COMMENT:
1,353 names were submitted out of 2,100 requested (64%) that might have been expected from the 21 schools. There was no explanation of why many schools did not comply in full with the request. Some sent just one or two names.

THE SURVEY:
226 questionnaires were returned. DETC believes that 18% is a good response.

COMMENT:
The 18% seems extremely low, since one would assume graduates would be eager to have further validation of their degree. Hypothesis that could be tested: The 82% who did not respond were people who may well have not been proud of or happy with their DETC degree.

THE SURVEY:
97% said the information they received before enrolling was accurate, and 98% said the program matched their expectations.

COMMENT
This is where school differences could be very relevant. For instance, only one survey was received from an Andrew Jackson University student, only two from the American Academy of Nutrition. We cannot assume that every school had identical satisfaction. We learn little overall satisfaction of all students and nothing about the individual schools.

THE SURVEY:
35% of students gave permission to have their supervisors surveyed by DETC.

COMMENT:
That means that 65% denied permission. Thus a remarkably high percentage presumably did not want their employers to know about their DETC degree.

THE SURVEY:
42% of the 80 supervisors responded.

COMMENT:
Thus 58% did not respond. This seems quite high.

THE SURVEY:
91% of supervisors knew that the employee had earned a distance degree.

COMMENT:
The statistics throughout are in this form. It is important to remember that this is 91% of the 42% who responded —and the 42% is of employers contacted -- but 65% of the employers were not contacted because permission was denied. It is safe to predict that the vast majority of employers do not know that the employee had a distance degree. In other words, out of every 100 employers, 35 were contacted, 15 replied, and 13 knew that their employee had a distance degree.

THE SURVEY
DETC reports that of the 33% who did try to have their degree or credits transferred, 21% were successful (presumably 21% of 100%) and 12% were not).

COMMENT
In other words, out of every 100 graduates, 21 had their credits accepted, 12 did not, and 67 did not try. Crucially, there is no indication of whether the transfer was attempted to another DETC school or to a regionally accredited school. The figure of 13/21 (or 40%) rejection is quite high, and would almost certainly be considerably higher, if transfer to non-DETC schools was considered.

THE SURVEY
Compared with results given from a survey seven years earlier, the number of students under 30 dropped from 34% to 9%, while the number over 41 rose from 23% to 34%.

COMMENT
If the data are representative, there is a very significant aging of the student population.

THE SURVEY
The overwhelmingly most popular reason people chose the degree program was “personal satisfaction” (74% chose it as the highest reason; next highest was “improve job skills” at 46%.)

COMMENT
And 78% rated personal satisfaction as the highest benefit; they got what they paid for.

 

Congrats on 5000 posts!

 

Negative, speculative, and foundationless comment. Provide evidence please that this is a legitimate theory to be verified. You are viewed as an expert in this field and comments like this, to my mind, carry weight and liable.

Negative, speculative, and foundationless comment. Provide evidence please that this is a legitimate assumption. I see nothing in the DETC data that could even hint that this is a valid assumption. Instead, I believe it shows your bias in this review.

Negative, speculative, and foundationless comment. Provide evidence please that this is a legitimate assumption. Why is this safe to predict?

Negative, speculative, and foundationless assumption. Provide evidence please that this is a legitimate assumption.



I was banned for 30 days for making other comments against CHIP, I am sure this will be a lifetime ban for daring to point out some of the hypocrisy posted here by the experts. I honestly just wish I could figure out WHY certain views are taken and supported, while other views (like mine) are met with moderators jumping in, locking me out of the board, sending threatening PMs to me, and so on. From moderators for gosh sake. The problem is when you come in and read things here as an outsider you think that there is an honest dialog going on.

It looks like I was corrected in the other thread when in reality I was locked out and could not respond!

See ya.

 

We don't ban people for debating topics. Nor repeating themselves in posts while offeriing little meaningful analysis. We do ban people for personal attacks against any member. However, I personally did not ban you, and I am generally more lenient when someone attacks me personally, so it must have been one of the other moderators that made the call.

If you can't see some serious methodology problems with DETC's study (not the least of which is that DETC itself conducted the study, rather than paying for an independent third party to do so) then there isn't much I can say, because anyone who's taken a research methodology course would immediately see the issues with the way DETC approached its data collection and analysis.

While I don't agree with all of John's criticisms, on the whole, he's raised a number of really important points.

I do find it somewhat damning that the sample size was only 64% of the target sample size when it was supposed to be a random selection of students, and even more so that only 18% of those even bothered to respond. There could be other reasons why the response rate was so low, but if I were DETC, I would certainly want to know what the real reason is. I think it's reasonable to infer under these circumstances that at least a portion of those who didn't respond had a less-than-happy experience.

John also rightfully points out some tremendous shortcomings in what data is being collected. We don't know where students are trying to transfer credits, we don't know why only 35% allowed their employers to be contacted; we don't know if the student believes his employer knows he has a distance degree, and we don't know what percentage of RA distance learning students pursue a degree for personal satisfaction, among other shortcomings.

Therefore, we really can't draw much of anything meaningful from this survey, and, quite frankly, it appears to have been pulled together (or at least interpreted) with the intent of using it for marketing purposes rather than to offer a rigorous analysis of DETC school acceptability and satisfaction.

To me, one of the most fatal flaws in the survey is allowing the schools to select the students to be "randomly" surveyed. A better design would have been for a school to provide a list of names of all students in the last 10 years and let the researcher randomly select 100 names from that list. Otherwise, the school could very easily skew the data by hand-picking students they have reason to believe would respond positively. And the fact that many schools failed to even provide 100 names would tend to infer, at least to me, that this is exactly what happened, and that the randomization of the process at the school level did not occur.

If that's the case, then the entire study is worthless; schools are of course going to pick students that they believe are going to report positively. If that isn't the case, it most certainly should have been addressed in DETC's discussion of its methodology. The fact that it wasn't implies that either DETC doesn't understand how to conduct a study and the importance of study design, or that it knows the data is skewed and not representative. Neither explanation casts a positive light on DETC.

 

One problem with the study, as I read it, is that there is nothing to compare the numbers against. You would need to do the same with RA schools and compare the numbers, otherwise it's difficult to say whether they are good or bad ... ?

 

I'm all for the DETC but John's breakdown did convince me that the study wasn't very useful in drawing any conclusion. I don't think the explanation was flawed to a point where John deserved the aggressive post against him by Redman. I feel that his opinion was well expressed, especially for an informal context like this one.

Thanks for the perspective!

 

Unfortunately, where there's little logic to back up assertions, the only remaining option is the use of vitriol.

 

In the spirit of full disclosure: I am an academic dean at an RA university who is on the advisory board of an NA (ACICS) accredited college. I have admitted a number of students who have credits from NA schools. So I do not have a negative predisposition toward national accreditation. I also oversee the academics of our online programs.

Having said that, I personally would not see the value of seeking DETC accreditation, since I do not see anything in Learner's post above that I do not already have to do for SACS. Seeking programmatic accreditation (e.g. APA, AACSB) can add value beyond regional accreditation; However, I do not see what added value my online campus would receive from DETC.

Perhaps I can add a sixth myth with an invitation that it be "busted":

Myth 6: For online programs whose institutions are regionally accredited, DETC accreditation offers no additional benefit.

 

Today they are very attractive to DETC graduates who wish to earn further RA degree.
They are bridging between DETC and RA.

In the past I think they achieved one accreditation then the other. Maybe then DETC seal of approval for DL and non traditional university had better value, it was looked as specialty accreditation of DL and no so mach as institutional accreditation.
.
Today every university offers some DL from small percentages to 100% on line and some see redundancy.

 

I had given a couple of the dual RA/DETC accredited universities serious consideration based on the premise of there being a back up accreditation in case one or the other goes south for some unforeseen/unfortunate reason. It's that PMP-centric risk analysis thing in me, I suppose. Ultimately, however, I went with a DETC-accredited institution because, at the end of the day, the cost/benefit analysis for an RA degree just didn't stack up as it pertains to my personal goals, parameters and employment sector. Your mileage may vary, but I am supremely confident in my critical analysis and judgment. Anyone who feels the need to disparage and criticize, have at it. I will remain unaffected.

 

Every one earned DETC accreditation first. Most went through both processes at the same time--DETC invariably taking a shorter period of time to achieve--but APU made the jump from DETC accreditation to RA several years after DETC accreditation. So....

No RA school that I know of has subsequently pursued DETC accreditation. A few foreign "RA equivalents" did it. At least one did it for marketing purposes; I can't speak for the others.

As John notes, the DETC survey is not only flawed, it contains a lot of bad news. Yes, some of John's comments were both speculative and negative. But "speculative" doesn't mean "wrong"; there are good reasons to think those things. And "negative" doesn't mean "biased."

I suspect (there I go, speculating) most doctoral programs at DETC-accredited schools would reject (negative, I know) such a survey towards the satisfaction of their degree requirements.

DETC seems to act more like a trade association than an accreditor sometimes. This is one of those times.

 

No. DETC accreditation was easier and faster to get. And being "accredited" (DETC) was a helpful marketing tool for schools going through the multi-year RA process. Remember, only one school has made the true leap from DETC to RA, and that's APU/AMU. (They had to move states to get a different RA, though. SACS was very hostile to them.)

There seems to be some pretty good DETC-accredited schools. With obvious advantages available from RA, it seems odd no other schools have made the leap. Perhaps APU/AMU is the only one capable of being accredited by an RA?

 

Would you share the level and specialty (major) of the degree you're pursuing? Feel free to omit the actual school if you wish. I have trouble believing there weren't RA options with comparable costs.

 

Rich, have you found that to be the case pretty consistently? The one credible argument I've heard in support of DETC over RA schools is that DETC schools are often substantially less expensive (and therefore may be affordable when an RA alternative is simply not), and from some of the numbers I've heard, I'd assumed it was true.

Not cheaper than, say, an exam-only degree at COSC, but cheaper than just about any RA program out there... but then, I haven't done a lot of firsthand research to compare lowest cost programs, either.

 

Okay, this will be my final post on this subject as I have neither the time nor inclination to continue to engage in a perpetual circular debate or otherwise continue to beat this dead horse senseless. Let me predicate my position, once again, on the basis that my critical thinking and judgment is tailored specifically to my goals and parameters as they pertain to my individual reality and, as such, what may or may not be important to others remains wholly irrelevant.

Costs were only one of numerous factors entering into my decision-making process, and not necessarily ranking that high on my overall totem pole since I was only evaluating lower cost institutions to begin with. After nearly a year-long process of applying to a half-dozen programs (RA, DETC and Dual), analyzing their unofficial evaluation reports and speaking with their respective advisers, the lack of specific answers to relevant questions needed to be able to make an informed decision, coupled with a good bit of condescension and really lousy customer service from the RA crowd, was a real turn off. Not a deal killer necessarily, but pretty irksome, nonetheless.

Additionally, over the past year I have spoken with dozens of colleagues, hiring managers, family and friends regarding my contemplation of finishing the degree I had started over 30 years ago. In doing so the questioning would frequently take on a couple of basic themes:

Is it one of those online degrees? It’s not a degree mill , is it? It is accredited, isn’t it?

When I answered affirmatively, the responses were generally very positive and supportive with occasional skepticism being voiced regarding the Online vs. B&M question. Never was I asked if the accreditation was Regional vs. National, and when I did bring this into the conversation the responses were usually – including from the hiring managers I had spoken with – something along the line of “Who cares?”

Once the accreditation distinction was resolved to my satisfaction, the institutions remaining on my shortlist were mostly DETC with a couple of dual RA/DETC schools. Long story short, after an exhaustive process my final decision was pretty much a no-brainer, and I remain very confident in the quality of my decision-making process and the education and opportunities that my DETC-accredited degree will afford me. I have been diligently pounding out CLEP/DSST exams for nearly a year now under and I am very much looking forward to finally starting my actual coursework next week. This is a very exciting time for me, and no one, including the RA Kool-Aid drinkers here, will be raining on my parade. Thank you and goodnight.

 

I just spoke to a friend who completed his degree at World College.

He was able to transfer some 100 out 139 credits required to earn BEET degree.

He completed 39 semester credit hours in one year.

The cost was around 3200 USD. ANd about 500$ in text books.
The college has a program were they buy back the books.

This makes it 82$ per credit hour. I think this was very affordable.
Included all the shipping expenses. Included Labs.

Since his earning the BEET degree about 4 months later he was transfered to a better paying position with his employer that required Bachelors degree in Engineering Technology and basically got good return on investment.

 

Yes, DETC schools are often inexpensive. But that doesn't mean there aren't comparably priced RA programs in most cases. And what's the tolerance for the difference when the RA choice is higher? A few thousand? Is that really the deciding point for a degree that will be a part of you for the rest of your life? I can't put a price on it for everyone, but everyone can do it for themselves. But I have to think even a 20 or 30 percent difference would be worth getting an RA degree.

Again, it's been my informal observation that there are almost always comparably priced RA options in most cases. At least, anecdotally. But I've never comprehensively run the numbers.

 

Gosh, I just asked a simple question. Nice response.

Umm, you're welcome? Who was raining on anyone's parade? Methinks you protest too much.

As for "RA Kool-Aid drinkers," it really is the other way around. DETC accreditation and its schools are the outliers, with their adherents doing all the insisting about comparability. Then they (you?) complain when their cherished delusions are challenged, instead of discussing the matter reasonably and with the facts. The result? Self-appointed victimization, seen time and time again. It doesn't help your case.