I am seriously considering Northcentral Universisty with regard to a Ph.d in Psychology. I realize they are not fully regionally accredited at this time. How do others feel? Is anyone involved in programs with this online university? Any information is welcome. What is the general feeling as to their obtaining full regional approval? Thanks, Nursedisel ------------------
I have just enrolled in the business PhD program. Haven't started class yet. I selected NCU knowing that RA may not come through - but that is a risk I am willing to take. E-mail me at [email protected] if you desire to discuss this privately. Bill Hurd
I would certainly make sure that the NCU degree would meet my present and future needs before enrolling, i.e., in case they do not obtain full accreditation. NCU does seem to be working toward that goal, however, as with any new school, there is no guarantee. Russell
I believe that the vast majority of schools that gain candidacy to regional accreditation eventually are indeed accredited. However, there are still risks involved by enrolling now. It's a trade-off, as I'm sure tuition will skyrocket if they do gain accreditation. I'd call it a gamble at this point, but with pretty good odds. Bruce
As I've posted before, you have to go back to 1986 with the International Graduate School to find a DL school that failed to move from candidate to fully accredited. Then you'd have to go to 1980 and look at Prometheus College. That's two schools in 21 years. In the mean time we've seen these schools advance: Union, Walden, Sarasota, Capella, Jones International, Saybrook, CIIS, and Burlington. (I'm sure I'm forgetting some.) Northcentral is on a track to make it the first free-standing school to achieve regional accreditation while offering 100% non-resident doctoral programs. (Touro doesn't count because it was deemed to be under Touro College's accreditation. I'm talking about schools that did it independently, rather than through affiliation.) I suspect the NCA was very careful in its assessment of NCU, and that NCU must be a strong candidate. I just don't see NCA giving candidacy to this potential precedent if it had a chance to fail. That's just my opinion; I could be wrong. Enroll now or later? More likely, the decision should be "enroll here or elsewhere?" Waiting probably isn't an option for a lot of people; NCU may take several years to gain full accreditation. The Union Institute (as UECU) began awarding doctoral degrees in 1972. Their full accreditation didn't happen until 1985. Still, they were able to draw a good number of students over that time. (Due in part, I'm sure, to the newness of independent graduate study and due to the consortium of accredited schools that made up the Union. Still, the Union itself was unaccredited all that time.) Rich Douglas
