Is NationsU still on the New Applicant list?

Hey guys, is Nations University still on the new applicant list with DETC?
What is next for them in the DETC process??

 

Yes - Nations is still on the "New Applicants" list. Here's the current crop, pulled from Distance Education and Training Council: The Global Leader in Distance Learning Accreditation today:

•Innova College, Miami, FL
•iTeach US, Denton, TX
•Nations University, West Monroe, LA
•Orlando University, Orlando, FL
•Process Work Institute, Portland, OR
•Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles, CA

What happens next? Dunno. Maybe someone else with DETC or Nations connections does. I do know DETC's next Accreditation Meeting will be Jan 10-11, 2013. Maybe we'll hear something then...

Johann

 

Gotta give Nations credit for not giving up. But honestly, I'm not hopeful for them anymore. They're obviously doing something right to be able to keep getting students into graduate programs, but for whatever reason it's not translating into anything but a good reputation. And sure, a good reputation is great, but having that and accreditation is obviously the targeted goal.

 

If the Mayan prophecy is correct (possible end of world scenario on 12-21-12), the DETC will never meet again. :smile:

 

I wish NationsU well. Ive completed a few courses in their M.S degree program and i can certainly contest to the rigor and course requirements as being very thorough. At least from my perspective.

 

Nations seems to never give up on accreditation, a very admirable characteristic!

 

NU is to undergo an site visit from DETC sometime in Feb/March 2013.

NU is in the final stages of revising the curriculum. We will all know after the June 2013 DETC meeting. Title should read "an on site".

 

Over the last six or seven years, I've read quite a few postings, here and there, from students and grads of Nations who have attested to their school's rigor and quality of instruction. If it's as good as they say, then I feel there are very few schools that offer Nations' combination of:

(1) quality of course and instruction
(2) rock-bottom pricing (free for developing world, extremely low in US - something like no tuition, $250-year technology fee, IIRC)

I'm pleased to see Nations' persistence in seeking accreditation. It speaks well for the faculty and administration, both in sincerity of intentions - and not being afraid of hard work. I hope they will be rewarded for their efforts.

And thanks to AdjunctInstructor for the news. It came in while I was doing this post.

Johann

 

I think it's curious that Southwestern Law School is seeking DETC accreditation. They already have the ABA seal of approval (since 1970). The only thing I can figure is that they want to have accreditation for Masters courses in law (LLM degrees) which the ABA keeps an arms length distance from.

 

Presumably it has something to do with the LLM degrees. Southwestern, like some other standalone law schools, does not have regional accreditation. The US Dept. of Education recognizes ABA as an alternative accreditor for standalone law schools, and Southwestern does have that. But the ABA maintains that their "seal of approval" only covers JD programs.

This would seem to suggest that Southwestern's LLM programs are not accredited by any USDoE-recognized agency. And in that case, they are ineligible for Federal financial aid programs.

If Southwestern gets their LLM degrees approved by a national accreditor (such as DETC), then those degrees would have US-DoE recognized accreditation and should qualify for Federal aid. At least some of the Southwestern LLM degrees are offered by DL, so DETC might fit.

 

Thank you Johann. It is a grueling experience...meeting the new DETC accreditation standards. Since the original self evaluation report (SER) was approved DETC accreditation standards have changed and become more difficult to meet. Sadly, even though NU's SER was approved NU had to do major revisions (all schools accredited or otherwise had to meet the new standards) . Many new issues had to be worked through i.e. write new policy, follow strict student workload (clock hour) standards...well lets just say a lot of tedious work. Mostly being done by volunteer administrators. Odds are very favorable for NU this time around. However, we all will have to wait until June, 2013 in that there is no guarantees for schools with limited resources. Again, thank you.

 

So does this mean that the soon-coming January DETC Accreditation meetings will have no bearing on a decision for NU?

 

DETC evaluation team visit in Feb 2013

June 2013 is the DETC meeting in which NU will be on the table.

 

AI,

I notice in your sig line that you earned the MRS from NU and the MA from Liberty. In terms of rigor/substance of the program, were the two comparable?

 

Nu

At the time I completed the BRS and MRS the writing requirements at NU did not compare with Liberty's. The rigor of the academic content was fairly equivalent between NU and LU. However, writing requirements have been enhanced at NU and many other improvements are happening at NU.

Basically I would say in the past NU did not reach the quality that LU has and it is hard to compare the schools. Perhaps the important question is does NU facilitate acceptable program outcomes that are comparable to other nationally accredited degree graduates? I would agree that NU does.

 

Oh, okay. Don't mind me; my ears go up every time the DETC has another meeting, lol.