Everglades University

Very glad to have stumbled on to this board. I have picked up a lot of useful information during the past week or so.
I am currently considering an online degree program at Everglades University.
I understand at present they are Nationally accredited (ACCSCT), and are currently awaiting RA. I have heard that there are potential issues with NA university degrees when applying to a RA graduate school. Any clarity anyone can offer on this matter would be greatly appreciated. I would also appreciate any feedback anyone can offer regarding their experience with this school.
Thanks a bunch...

 

As Bear found in his 2001 survey of admissions officials, there are many RA schools that will not accept degrees and/or credits from NA schools. We're not talking about their stated policies, but their responses to a survey asking them about what they'll do and not do.

I'm not so sure it would be a good strategy to pursue a degree from an NA school with an eye on getting admitted to an RA school later on the basis of the NA degree. Just get an RA degree instead. (I'm still not convinced that there are better NA options for people, but it might be so in certain, specific cases.)

And welcome. You've stumbled well!

 

Why not just continue with NA by enrolling into an NA master's program?

 

Re: Re: Everglades University

Because for most people, at this point in history, it's a poor choice?





Tom Nixon

 

This has long been one of my issues. Why is it that when people want to make the argument, they don't use those schools that are RA-quality. For example, if someone wants to make the argument that Aspen University is every bit as good as a regionally-accredited university, who am I to argue? I would agree with them.

For some odd reason, though, "they" never choose those sorts of schools.

And, yes, welcome aboard. Always good things going on around here.



Tom Nixon

 

Re: Re: Re: Everglades University

Why?

 

Hi Wilco, welcome to the board.

I can't comment about Everglades University because I know next to nothing about it.

But more generally, I agree with the others that if your ambitions are to go to graduate school, then enrolling in an ACCSCT accredited school might not be your best choice. Most American graduate schools, including virtually all of the prominent ones, are regionally accredited. If your degree isn't RA or the foreign equivalent, then you may find some schools simply rejecting you and others making you jump through administrative hoops. It doesn't mean that you won't get in someplace or other, but your choices will be reduced and your hassles will be multiplied.

If you live in Canada, you will also have to investigate how Canadian universities see all this.

My understanding of ACCSCT is that it's historically been a vocational accreditor. It specializes in terminal job-related programs. Some of its schools are very good at that, give their students fine preparation and have high placement rates. But that vocational perception might carry over to graduates in more academic subjects as well.

So my general inclination would be to recommend the ACCSCT schools to students with vocational objectives, and to recommend that students with more academic interests and with ambitions to go on to graduate school consider regionally accredited programs.

 

California Culinary Academy.

http://www.baychef.com/about.asp (Note the '.com' domain.)

This school is accredited by ACCSCT and offers associate degrees. But it has the reputation around here as being perhaps the best chef's school in California. CCA graduates are in the kitchens of big-time restaurants all over the place. It's the kind of school where many of the applicants who apply to the associates degree program already have bachelors degrees and even graduate degrees.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this place to people with culinary or hospitality industry ambitions.

But I think that it illustrates the kind of programs that ACCSCT specializes in, and what 'top tier' ACCSCT schools look like.

It's not Stanford, but it's better than Stanford at what it does.

 

Thanks to all who replied. It really is appreciated. As per some of the responses, the obvious question is ... why am I applying to an NA college and risking possible issues with admitance to an RA grad program? As far as I know, Everglades University is the only school with any kind of valid accreditation for a Bsc in Alternative medicine degree. The exact field of study I am interested in. There are other schools ( Clayton College of Natural Health for example ) but I really question the validity of their accreditation.
My hope was to take a masters program in Nutrtion at the completion of the Bsc program. Interestingly enough, I may have found a school with just that kind of program in the University of Bridgeport. Once the holiday break is over, I hope to make contact with UB and get some clarity on how they would recognize the Bsc program from Everglades. That is, once I have satisfied my curiosity about UB. Oddly enough I have found some unflattering details, of an association with the Moonies. In light of that, the choice of UB as a graduate school, would seem to merit more investigation. Perhaps a poster on this board can offer up something of substance.

 

IMO, that is one of the few good reasons to choose NA.
Another good reason is when the student chooses a residential NA program because there isn't an RA program in the vicinity, and they just don't have the discipline for DL. Price might also be a good reason.

Tony

 

Re: Re: Everglades University

This is spot-on. During my recent, um, conversations with ACCSCT, one of their concerns that arose was their accreditation of degree-granting schools. The standards for bachelor's degrees was tossed together when they had just a few--and those were mainly provided by the few schools that were doing it. (ITT Tech, primarily, I believe.) One of their current initiatives is to redesign and strengthen these. They're frustrated--like DETC--over the lack of acceptance of their schools' degrees and credits by the RA community. (Shocker for the shills who can't accept this simple reality!) They're also starting a pilot program with three schools to offer master's degrees. To me, this means they're quite a bit behind DETC on this continuum.

I came away very impressed with the senior leadership at ACCSCT. They're bright, skilled, and have been at this for a long time. (They're leadership team has been very stable over the years.) I'm sure they'll do well in this matter, but it does make one pause. If you're interested in pursuing higher degrees, the proposition of attending an NA school now remains dicey. Wishing won't make that go away, but organizations like DETC, ACCSCT, and ACCICS can do it. In time, of course.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Everglades University

Now, Jimmy, you've been around here long enough to know the answer to this question. Do I really need to tell you?



Tom Nixon

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Everglades University

I just have problems with posts asking about specific schools being responded to with "Not accredited by an agency recognized by (the federal government...USDoE...CHEA," as if that's the gold standard and the all mighty final authority and yet DETC, an agency recognized by the feds, USDoE, CHEA, gets slapped around by quite a number of old timers on here.

I have yet for anyone to show me any facts or figures or statistics proving their points or naming even one person who has been hindered by having a DETC accredited degree.

I do know NA is not RA. I do know NA grads will have some problems getting into RA schools. However, there seems to be a few who suggest NA is "pret near"* the same as unaccredited.

*The Mississippi in me still comes out every now and then.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Everglades University

I think that it depends on the student and on why they want a graduate degree. But in general, I agree with Tom.

Why? Just go to the (CHEA website) and click on the institutional database on the lower left. You can generate lists of all the schools accredited by each of the acceditors. Compare the lists.

The regional accreditors accredit all of the nation's state universities. They accredit all of the doctoral research universities. They accredit pretty much all of the graduate programs that people are familiar with. I expect that the RA programs account for upwards of 99% of the scholarship and research produced by American higher education.

So my feeling is that if a student has an ambition to go on to graduate school, it would probably be a mistake to choose a direction that could make future access to the main body of American graduate education more difficult.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Everglades University

Unless of course the student chooses to enter an NA grad school.

Thanks for the info, Bill. The link you provided is interesting.

 

It may not be a reality for much longer.

 

You're still my bool, TC

Aspen is a fine school that seems to get good support here. However, are they really better (at least in terms of utility) than Education Direct, a school often bashed by RA-only gang members?

I have seen posts referring to E-D's outdated material. I even saw one post referring to them and CC (their sister school at the time) as diploma mills. But, unlike Aspen, E-D at least cared enough to submit most of their degree level courses to ACE CREDIT. They also had enough sense to form articulation agreement with highly rated RA B&M schools. Finally, it appears as if they may even be pursuing MSA accreditation.

Basically what I'm saying to you, Tom, is that the NA schools you perceive to be the good ones are not necessarily as good as what many here consider to be the bad ones.

Aspen is a properly accredited university with programs that are purportedly rigorous. However, until they utilize ACE CREDIT and form better articulation agreements, they will not be the best. Back around the time when "The Nooch" was Prez of E-D, a transfer agreement was formed with the Continuing Studies division of Roger Williams University (#11 US News Ranking, Northern Comprehensive division). In my opinion, this move set E-D apart from schools like Aspen.