State Approved school to go DETC. Will my previously earned degree be NA?

OK, after a lot of coaching and reading here on this site, I have determined that it is in my best interest to pursue an MBA degree from an RA university. I earned my BS from CCU last fall. I enrolled with CCU before I realized all the technicalities of accreditation vs. state approval, but now I am more educated in that respect thanks to this web site and you good folks. Meanwhile, CCU is currently on the track towards DETC accreditation. If they are successful, will my current BS degree be accredited or will I have to take additional courses in order to re-graduate with a DETC degree (and is that even possible or worth it)?

I’ve been reading a lot of requirements on many of the DL schools for admission into the various MBA programs. I’ve found a few universities that will consider applicants with NA degrees (Liberty, Nova Southeastern, etc). Many of these schools have stated their requirements indicating that the applicant must hold a degree from an (NA) accredited college. (Noted “college” as opposed to holding an accredited “degree”). I am not certain if the requirement is that the degree is accredited, or the college be accredited.

Does this mean that if CCU gains accreditation that my degree now technically qualifies as from a NA college? I was always under the impression that my degree would never be accredited since it was earned at the time when the school was solely state approved.

I realize it may be difficult to get into an RA MBA program, but I am going make a concerted effort. I wonder if CCU gaining DETC accreditation will help my case any. What do you all think? Thanks!

 

I believe that your initial impression was correct. Your degree is an SA degree and will remain so. However, if they are successful in their DETC quest, there will be few people who will recognize this distinction in the future. Small consolation? Sorry. On the other hand, you may still be able to get into a good MBA program. I don't know too much about that subject but I'm guessing that since there are respectable MBA program(s) you can get into without a Bachelors degree of any kind, your situation can not be too dire. Good luck.
Jack

 

You may want to check out FMU .

I applied there with my BS from CCU (I also had a BS from COSC) and I was told tha I would be accepted into the program and they would accept CCU classes as pre-reqs for their MBA classes.

Since I had an RA BS, acceptance was assumed but I did not expect them to accept the CCU class and they did.

Does that mean they will accept a CCU degree...don't know but it is worth a try.

Good luck.

 

I believe this is an accurate statement. Charles Stanley received master's and doctoral degrees from Luther Rice Seminary before LRS was accredited by TRACS. He is not considered as having earned and graduated from an accredited school insofar as his LRS degrees. BTW, schools are accredited, not degrees.

 

By the way, FMU is not RA. They are accredited by - Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS)

I have heard that FMU has agreements with RA schools and if you complete an FMU degree, you will be accepted to certain RA schools.

I think someone on this forum has an FMU degree and went on to an RA school. FMU is a high quality school with a great reputation. I have lived in Tampa and now Jacksonville and both campus are highly respected.

 

Assuming that CCU does become accredited then I believe that your situation would be unique enough that it would be very much worth a shot trying to get the schools to accept your CCU degree. Of course, it would probably really increase the chance of success if you could say that CCU is already accredited. I'm not sure if it would be worth the wait until then for you though?

 

Re: Re: State Approved school to go DETC. Will my previously earned degree be NA?

Not exactly correct. And this is particularly relevant in the case of CCU.

In fact, this is a very complex issue.

It is my understanding that if a person enrolls before accreditation is granted and then the school gains accreditation before that person graduates, that person's degree is accredited.

There is one BIG exception. This is related to the school's highest degree-granting authority. DETC does not accredit degrees beyond the first professional doctorate. Academic doctorates are not accredited by DETC.

So, if a person is currently enrolled in CCU's DBA program, even if their degree is granted after CCU attains DETC addreditation, their degree is emphatically not accredited. Even though some would rather pretend otherwise.

 

Re: Re: Re: State Approved school to go DETC. Will my previously earned degree be NA?

I challenge this conclusion. DETC or RA bodies do not accredit degrees, they accredit institutions.

Therefore, if you graduate from UCLA, you technically do not have an accredited degree - you have a degree from an accredited institution. The same would be true of a DETC school.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: State Approved school to go DETC. Will my previously earned degree be NA?

For the purposes of this debate, at this moment, I will agree.

But the accrediting bodies ALWAYS identify the highest degree that an accredited school may award. For some, it's an associate's degree. For some it's a bachelor's. For some it's a master's. For some it's a doctorate.

No DETC accredited school is authorized to grant a DBA. None. Period.

So, in my opinion, to claim that a DBA from CCU (or any school) is accredited just because it was awarded after institutional accreditation was received is disingenuous, at best.

And for a current, real-world argument, I will refer you to a statement posted on DETC's website regarding UNISA: "(Note: DETC's accreditation is for courses, programs through the first-professional degree level only.)"

Would you also claim that a Ph.D. from UNISA is DETC accredited?

 

Re: Re: State Approved school to go DETC. Will my previously earned degree be NA?

 

FMU has articulation agreements with Barry and Nova.

 

I thank you all for your help and advice. I have to admit, when I was near the end of my program at CCU, I was rather disheartened to learn of the entire accreditation issue. I just feel too old to start a Bachelor’s program all over again. Truly, higher education should start by understanding the differences and nuances with accreditation before a person makes a decision. If it were not for this site and John Bear’s book, I would still be clueless! I mistakenly assumed that CCU’s state approval meant validation and approval, but I did not understand that it was not quite enough in the whole scheme of things. With that said, I am going to try to move forward and see what I can make of my CCU education.

Bill: Actually, I will probably wait to apply for an MBA program, possibly after (if) CCU earns DETC accreditation. It isn’t because I am waiting for CCU to earn DETC, but rather other issues in my life now, financial and employment related. I just got a new job and I need to be settled in first before I begin an MBA program, which might be a year down the line. Do you know how long the DETC approval process is for CCU?

Randall: Thanks for the tip on FMU. Is ACICS accreditation an acceptable standard? I know that DETC doesn’t have as much utility as RA. How does ACICS compare?

Last but not least, I did check out the program with Heriot-Watt, but in all honesty, I am apprehensive about the testing process. I am concerned about retaining all the information necessary to pass the test. I do much better when testing is broken into segments such as the standard chapter quiz, midterm, and then final. Anyone else with Heriot-Watt experience?

Thank you all again. I will let you know how I do out there. - Jay

 

A DETC decision on CCU would normally be in June 2004, one year from application. If there are correctable deficiencies it may be postponed for 6 months. I really can't see CCU as having any deficiencies. Presumably they are approaching accreditation with their eyes open.

In two or three years, when I hopefully receive my CCU DBA, I am looking forward to saying, yes, it is from an accredited school. Why would I say anything else??

 

It all depends what your definition of "acceptable" is. ACICS accreditation certainly means that the school is legitimate. But, transferring credits/degrees to a RA school is sure to be a problem, perhaps more so than from a DETC school, since ACICS is even less known that DETC. How ACICS actually compares to DETC in terms of acceptability is unknown.

 

After everything I've learned, I think it's probably safest to shoot for the "gold standard".... RA. That is, if I can get into a program with my CCU Bachelors.

 

Here is another thought-

Have you considered taking CLEP/DANTES/ECE exams to earn an RA BS degree? You can use the knowledge gained from your CCU degree to pass the tests and earn an RA degree.

I am not says this to be a smart ass. After I earned my BS from CCU, which I knew was SA and understood completely, I wanted to earn an RA degree for several reasons. I took MANY CLEP /DANTES / ECE exams in a VERY short period of time. I was able to pass quite a few because I learned the information from CCU classes.

Just a thought.

 

Hello again Jeff,

I remember your last post concerning this very issue. How were the results of your follow-up on the ideas given to you? In any case, good luck.

Tony