DETC & Regional Accreditation

Hello Everyone,

Well, I'm a pinoeer in the distance learning arena receiving my BSBA and MBA from Columbia Southern University which is a nationally accredited university.

I've seen a lot of heated discussions regarding which accreditation body is better, regional or national. The regional students obviously say regional and national students say national.

My question is has any regional students gotten a degree from a nationally accredited university? It seems like many regional students are quick to jump and say their degrees are superior, but have you walked in the shoes of a student from a national university? If not, you shouldn't be judging because your only speculating.

I've walked in the shoes of many regionally accredited schools as well as national. I don't see superiority in a regional or national school. Both accreditation bodies adhere to strict auditing standards and regulations. To say a student received a higher quality education from a regional school is ridiculous and false.

 

All 50 state university systems in the United States use regional accreditation. Subsequently, if you have a degree that is only nationally accreditated, then the state universities will not recognize it. Thus, a nationally accredited degree will have limited utility in the United States. Private colleges that are worth their salt will also be regionally accredited.

How do you like dem apples?

 

jagmct1,

I hold engineering degrees of what is equivalent to Regional Accreditation... and those too from a B&M school. My MBA is from Aspen which is Nationally Accredited. While I have found no difference in the quality of work, it isn't totally wrong to consider the facts.

NA degrees are limited in utility from an academic perspective in that you may not be able to teach at Harvard or at California State University. You might not be able to qualify for doctoral studies at these schools either. I know some people on this forum do use a tone that suggests RA is superior and that is their opinion. No person should be penalized for adharaing to one! But from a utility perspective, it isn't wrong to recognize something this obvious. If one does indeed want to go for doctoral studies following their Masters from an NA school, there are other RA schools that would gladly accept you. Capella is one, Liberty is another... and there is a vast array of such schools!

So... other than the utility issue (which isn't really an issue if one keeps an open mind), I feel my MBA education at Aspen is every bit as good as (or better in some cases than) an MBA from an RA school.

 

There's been little discussion on this forum as to which education is better. Usually the discussion is around which has greater utility. RA has greater utility, especially in academia.

 

jagmct1,

I don't think I've seen anyone in here say the education at a DETC accredited school is inferior to a regionally accredited school. Most discussions have to do with future utility of the degree where regional accreditation holds a large advantage.

 

<I don't think I've seen anyone in here say the education at a DETC accredited school is inferior to a regionally accredited school.>>

Most discussions have to do with utility, yes, but many have to do with superiority/inferiority as well. Many in this forum feel that the DETC (and other national accreditors) offer an inferior education to that of RA. Whenever this issue comes up I always say what I'm about to say...it comes down to the school, NOT the accrediting agency.

There are great RA schools and very poor RA schools. There are great NA schools and very poor NA schools. As for my own personal experience, I have taken classes at a B&M RA college (local community college), via distance at a RA college (LSU), and via distance at 2 NA colleges (Eugene Bible College and Briercrest College). The highest quality (based on rigor, expectations, student/teacher interaction, content) by far was Briercrest, an NA school. None of the others are even a close second. My wife went to school at Nazareth College of Rochester, a highly rated private RA school in New York. She is of the opinion that Briercrest is equal to nazereth in terms of quality and student expectations.

It comes down to the school, NOT the accreditor. In fairness, I have to admit I have never taken a class from a DETC school. Both Na schools I have attended are accredited by the ABHE.

Pug

 

I'm not so sure anyone has proferred that the education received at the average RA school is superior to that offered by the average NA school. But there is a substantial difference in utility of said degrees.

 

Wow, quick response from eveyone!

Point well taken. The main accreditation issue does revolve around utility and transferability. As we all know, there's legislation in the works to remove the accreditation discrimination.

And your right, the majority of B&M universities are regionally accredited, but this does not mean regional is of higher academic quality. What about students from an international level. The U.S. has never been the top educators of the world and as a matter of fact, our country had been inferior to others when it comes to education.

Another point is that regional schools are just starting to dable into the online world, whereas national has been doing correspondence education for over 75 years. So, the regionals are trying to sell their academic programs based on their perceived higher accreditation becasue the national universities are taking students away. This is due to lower overhead costs, which in turn reduces students tution rates.

I figured why spend 3-4 times as much for the same accredited degree? UoP was upwards in the $400-500 per credit unit range. I paid $155.00 per credit unit at the national school.

As for work transferability, I've seen no problems whatsoever. When I was going to apply for the FBI (which requires an accredited 4 year degree) I inquired about my school (Columbia Southern University). The FBI had no problems with my degree. Plus, my current employer, a local law enforcement agency in CA, provided me with tution reimbursement for my classes. They will not provide tuition reimbursement unless your degree is properly accredited, which has to be pre-approved by the State.

So, transferability with some RA schools is still a challenge (with laws being worked to prevent that), but from a work standpoint, show me an employer that will not accept my application or consider me for employment because I got my degree at a nationally accredited school.

 

Folks:

There are several "pioneers" in nontraditional higher education that post here. John Bear, through his books, education ventures, articles, and legal activities is the obvious choice. Anyone who has co-authored such books (Tom Head, Tom Nixon) joins that category. Those with websites (Jonnie Liu, Steve Levicoff, Gus Sainz) certainly qualify. Heck, one could also make a case for frequent, progressive posters on this board (there are many). And if you'd allow, I'd like to slip in for the two research studies I've conducted (with graduates of nontraditional programs and with HR managers), along with the one I analyzed (John's survey of admissions officials).

Consuming nontraditional higher education? Hardly.

 

Do a search on the internet for tuition assistance or tuition reimbursment. You'll find many company policies. Many of them specify that going to an accredited school is required. Some of them specify what kind of accreditation. Some exclude national accreditation.

 

Well, that's too bad on the part of the employers if what you say is true. What's their basis on only allowing RA schools for tuition reimbursement? I've never seen a company or governmental policy saying that and if so, I would question if such a policy could be legally challenged. Again, it's discrimination and a law WILL be passed in the future to prevent this.

 

Jag

I think you are over estimating the percentage of proposed legislation that actually ever passes and the effect of the proposed legislation if it does pass. I may live in Oregon ("The Dreamers State." I know, I know, but, hey, they do what they want in Salem!) but I will believe it when it happens!

 

With regards to posibilities, anything is possible! But the question isn't whether a law will be passed... it's what does one with NA degree do till then. I understand your position but being a prospective fellow-graduate from an NA accredited institution, I'd urge you to consider facts.

 

Sniff, Sniff!

Wait. Wait, while I clear my eyes. I mean, I mean really, I'm so very proud! Not one of you attacked our friend with the NA master's degree for tense problems, spelling, or the use of "your" (the latter, even after being corrected). You confronted the poster on logic and factual points alone.
Man, I am, sniff, just so darned proud.

talk amongst yourselves...

snortle, sniff.

 

I don't believe that a law can do this, anymore than a law can be passed that forces all schools to be equal. Discrimination based on education is legal and generally considered good business practice.

 

Okay, so we slip from an unsupportable assertion to a wish. Fine.

 

<The FBI had no problems with my degree. >

That's because the FBI is a federal agency agency and the government accepts NA degrees. As far as you not having problems with your employer accepting (and even reimbursing) NA earned credit, I don't doubt that at all. It's been my experience that the private sector, for the most part, looks for a degree that is accredited by an agency recognized by the USDE. There are exceptions, yes, but it's been my experience that the NA degree is typically accepted.

That being said, one is always safer with a RA degree, period.

Pug

 

I think the legislation you are referring will make it more difficult to refuse transfer of credits based solely on NA accreditation, but it is not designed to level the playing field or prevent perceptions of value and utility. As Rich alluded, the perceptions of value and opportunity costs associated with RA/NA will continue to exist because consumers will demand that this disparity exist. It serves a purpose, and it is not all the doings of the universities. Consumers want it that way as well.

I, for one, do think the legislation in question will have considerable impact, as most schools just do not have the money and resources necessary to fight the many challenges they will receive when they refuse to accept credits for what are courses with obviously similar content and learning objectives. Believe me, the challenges will begin before the ink is dry and many RA universities would be wasting already limited funds in trying to fight those challenges. IT won’t be an avalanche, as there are just not that many NA students, compared to RA. But it will be a noticeable trickle and will cause some current bad policy to change.

 

That's EXACTLY correct and it should basically end the discussion. The cold hard fact is that an RA degree has much, MUCH more utility than a DETC degree. Whether or not that’s fair is beside the point (although I believe it is absolutely fair). It is reality, and those owning/considering a DETC degree who ignore the facts do so at their own peril.