ACCIS (American College of Computer and Information Sciences)

Hi,

I am a new member looking for some information on ACCIS (www.accis.edu) . I understand from the ACCIS website that it is accredited by DETC and the State of Alabama. But going through some of the articles in this website itself , it seems that this level of accreditation is not enough since it is not regionally accredited. AIU on the other hand is regionally accredited. I would like some help on the following:

1. Does not having a university degree wit regional accreditation affect anyone's job prospects ?
2. What is the acceptance of ACCIS.
3. Are there any international students from ACCIS on this forum who can help me understand about the course contents and what they felt about it.

Thanks in advance ,

Warm regards

 

Just another quick question , are there any other distance learning courses which would offer similar courses at a lower cost ?

Regards

 

A few old ACCIS threads:

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15518
http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12189
http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10220
http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9134

 

I do not know how similar the programs are, but the University of London offers programs in Information Systems & Management (LSE) and Computer and Information Systems (Goldsmiths).

The fees for Information Systems & Management are £2500 "if completed within 3 years" and the fees for Computer & Information Systems are "less than £3500"

(indexed to inflation, books extra, there may be an exam fee, etc, etc)

Which appears to be a darn sight cheaper than the ACCIS fees of 123 credit points @ $225 each.

 

Thanks Ted, the links did help to an extent , but have left me more confused than I was earlier.

I am aware of the former bogus accreditation the College published but though that had been left behind and the college moved on. As of today what is going to be the College's standing ?

If there are other similar colleges giving online programs , I would be more than happy to explore those , would someone be able to help out there ?

Regards

 

Thanks James , but I am specifically looking for universities which can convert my prior college credits and grant credits based on work and life experience. Just want to be very sure that I do not land up with a diploma/degree mill.

Regards

 

My favorite universities that have online BSCS programs are:

Florida State University
Old Dominion University
University of Illinois, Springfield
Regis University

 

Briefly summarizing info posted here regularly: Based on my year-2000 survey of registrars, roughly 20% accept DETC degrees regularly, 20% sometimes.

I believe that if I had asked about acceptance of DETC credits that had been independently evaluated by the American Council on Education -- some DETC schools have done this, ACCIS hasn't -- the acceptance would have been higher.

And I believe (sure wish someone would do this research) that acceptance of DETC degrees would be higher in the business world, although there are some big companies (Microsoft, e.g.) that absolutely won't, and don't even allow people in DETC schools to qualify for their student pricing.

 

In addition to JoAnn's good BSCS suggestions, I would like to add Franklin University here in Ohio. I took my discrete mathematics class from them and found the instructor quite helpful and the proctoring process easily arranged through my local library.

Visiting their Web site to retrieve the above link, I notice they have slightly repackaged their offerings to include bachelor completion programs as well as combined BSCS/MSCS and BSCS/MBA programs. They also have an associate of science in computer science program, plus IT, MIS and 'digital communication' (Web) bachelors.

Interestingly, the associate program includes four 300-level classes.

Good luck,
Mark

 

Hi John - Just had to chime in here to say that while this may be the policy in writing, I know from first hand experience that Microsoft does allow students in DETC schools to qualify for student pricing - as does Adobe. It is certainly possible that education vendors of Microsoft products are doing this in violation of Microsoft, but if they truly had a policy, my guess is they would have come down hard on those vendors.

As to your comment about wishing someone would revisit/update the research you did - I wish that too and have actually suggested it to more than one person. If I recall correctly you indicated it cost @ $3000 for postage and printing. I'll keep working on it

Mary A

 

Mary: Just had to chime in here to say that while this may be the policy in writing, I know from first hand experience that Microsoft does allow students in DETC schools to qualify for student pricing...

John: Here is what it says on the box of the Microsoft Office that my wife bought last year, regarding who can buy it:

"Current faculty and registered students at a public or private K-12, vocational school, correspondence school, junior college, college, university, or scientific or technical school meeting all of the following criteria:

(i) organized and operated exclusively for purpose of teaching its matriculating K-12 or higher education students; and

(ii) institutionally accredited by a Regional Institutional Accrediting Agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Note: Accreditation by a National Institutional and Specialized Accrediting Body alone does not qualify an end user as a qualified educational user."

I have no idea if this is ever enforced, and if so, how.

Mary: As to your comment about wishing someone would revisit/update the research you did - I wish that too and have actually suggested it to more than one person. If I recall correctly you indicated it cost @ $3000 for postage and printing. I'll keep working on it

John: That was about my cost: the mailing list, 1,000 letters (and 1,000 stamped envelope for returns), printing, hiring a temp to address, stuff, and stamp. My time, and the great amount of time Rich Douglas spent doing statistical analysis, were without charge. I'd be so pleased, and would gladly consult (without charge) with whomever was going to do it. Let's double the stakes and do it with corporate HR people as well, please.

Or how about an MBA or MA project at, oh, say, Aspen for instance?

 

That seems to be very poorly worded . It implies that any school that does anything other than teaching students (eg reasearch grants which do not involve a post-grad student or commercialising research) is disqualified.

Would it also disqualify for profit schools? Do they not operate to make money and the teaching of students is just a consequence?

 

Microsoft accreditation requirements

Regarding Microsoft's requirements for sale of academically-priced software: I had asked Microsoft to clarify this in February 2004 because they had conflicting definitions of "eligibility". They responded that the correct definition is posted here:

http://www.microsoft.com/education/Eligible.mspx


"A public or private K-12, vocational school, correspondence school, junior college, college, university, or scientific or technical school that is either institutionally accredited by an accrediting agency nationally recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education or, in the case of public K-12 institutions only, recognized or approved by the Department of Education of the State in which it is located."

I work for a distributor that is an authorized Microsoft Education Reseller. They may have had an "RA-only" policy at one time (and may not have corrected all their materials), but I don't know that it has ever been enforced. We have sold to students of DETC-accredited institutions for years and have never encountered any resistance from Microsoft.
Regards,
Shawn

 

Address

ACCIS and Chadwick appear to occupy separate suites in the same building. Are these two schools related to each other?

 

Hi John - I'll keep working on the people I have suggested this would be a good thing to do!

As for the project, you'll have to take that up with the folks over at Aspen

Mary A

 

Re: Address

Yes, they are both owned by Dr. Lloyd Clayton, Jr.

 

Thank you for all the responses. I think the message coming from this thread and some others I found is pretty clear. RA is the way to go rather than DETC. I am looking for accelerated degree programs , really not interested going forward with further academics. I would much rather like to use this degree to better job prospects.

NOw I really am trying to hunt down RA distance learning institutes which offer credit for work and life experience along with credits for prior college.

Thanks for your responses.

Regards

 

Excelsior College
Charter Oak State College
Thomas Edison State College

Credit for work and life experience is achieved either through exmination (CLEP/TECEP/DANTES etc) or through portfolio assessment.

All are RA.