Do any of the "Big 3" accept DETC credits?

Do any of the "Big 3" accept DETC credits?

 

Thomas Edison State College (http://www.tesc.edu) allows DETC credits as prior learning assessment (PLA) provided the student has completed English Composition I & II at a regionally accredited college or university or at TESC.

The National Home Study Council (NHSC) was the forerunner to Distance Education and Training Council (DETC).

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:-ZaH7K9k6JIJ:www.detc.org/downloads/accredhandbook/2005/3%2520-%2520Introduction%2520-%2520Page%25207-8%25202005.pdf+%22National+Home+Study+Council%22&hl=en

 

Hi

Someone mentioned EC was going to start but I am rather surprised if that is true. Might be worth checking out however.

 

I have read elsewhere on Degreeinfo that Excelsior does not accept DETC credits.

 

Excelsior indeed does not accept DETC credits, however recently a DETC student pinned them down regarding ACE evaluated courses....so it's iffy and expect a fight.

As for TESC....no, at least not when I asked them.

COSC...I'm not sure, their website says no, but who knows.

 

Excelsior College is in the process of drafting new guidelines on accepting DETC credits. I've been told it the new guidelines will be completed by the end of the year.

I was the individual that challenged EC on not accepting DETC credits. Here is the letter I received my EC admissions.

=============================================

Dear Mr. Gauthier:

I am writing in response to your recent ! email message to our
Admissions Office regarding your interest in our MBA program and your intention to transfer credits that you've earned at Columbia Southern University.

First, let me thank you for considering Excelsior College. We are proud of our over 30-year tradition of providing high-quality and flexible degree program options to adult learners throughout the world.

I would also like to let you know that our academic affairs staff is in the process of developing a policy governing the process of transfer credit review and acceptance from institutions that have national or professional,but not regional accreditation. Columbia Southern University, with DETC accreditation, is one such institution. I expect that the policy and procedures will be approved within the next few months; once this occurs, we will make the information available to enrolled and ! prospective students via our website.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Anne F. Connor
Director of Advisement and Evaluation
School of Business and Technology
Excelsior College
Phone: (518)464-8711
Fax: (518)464-8777
[email protected]

=============================================

The RA discrimination against NA will not be tolerated for much longer. If I have to write a letter to each school not accepting NA credits, I will do so.

 

Excelsior College is in the process of drafting new guidelines on accepting DETC credits. I've been told the new guidelines will be completed by the end of the year.

I was the individual that challenged EC on not accepting DETC credits. Here is the letter I received from EC admissions.

=============================================

Dear Mr. Gauthier:

I am writing in response to your recent ! email message to our
Admissions Office regarding your interest in our MBA program and your intention to transfer credits that you've earned at Columbia Southern University.

First, let me thank you for considering Excelsior College. We are proud of our over 30-year tradition of providing high-quality and flexible degree program options to adult learners throughout the world.

I would also like to let you know that our academic affairs staff is in the process of developing a policy governing the process of transfer credit review and acceptance from institutions that have national or professional, but not regional accreditation. Columbia Southern University, with DETC accreditation, is one such institution. I expect that the policy and procedures will be approved within the next few months; once this occurs, we will make the information available to enrolled and prospective students via our website.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Anne F. Connor
Director of Advisement and Evaluation
School of Business and Technology
Excelsior College
Phone: (518)464-8711
Fax: (518)464-8777
[email protected]

=============================================

The RA discrimination against NA will not be tolerated for much longer. If I have to write a letter to each school not accepting NA credits, I will do so.

 

Bravo.

Thanks for sharing the e-mail. I would have done the same thing. I think a lot depends on who you talk to at the RA school in question with respect to the acceptance of DETC credits and degrees.

Question for you: Is Columbia Southern University ACE approved?

 

It is my understanding that the American Council on Education on approves courses and not universities or majors.



Tom Nixon

 

Tom,

You are correct. ACE evaluates individual courses and not degree programs or concentrations. I've been told a school that's already accredited by the DETC is going through a redundant process in being evaluated by ACE. Below is a note from Michael Lambert (DETC Executive Director) regarding ACE.

"ACE credit recommendations are okay for those DETC institutions that do not offer degree PROGRAMS, but want college credits for their career programs. We have maybe 8-9 DETC institutions that use ACE credit recommendations."

"For a degree awarding program, ACE credits are redundant and the expense of getting an ACE review is tough to justify. ACE has never contradicted the credits awarded by a DETC school. I do not believe that it would be a good use of funds for a degree awarding institution to undergo such a redundant
process."

 

Hmmm,

So the email says there will be a policy concerning their acceptance. It is possible that they will chose not to accept them or accept them only when ACE approved. It certainly seems strange to me that people enroll in programs that have limited acceptance and then later are unhappy with that lack of acceptance.

 

Dave,

To answer your question, EC is drafting a policy to accept credits from DETC accredited schools, whether their ACE approved or not. As stated above, ACE accredits individual courses and not degree programs. Columbia Southern University does not have their courses reviewed by ACE because they are properly accredited by the DETC. Being accredited by ACE, with already having DETC accreditation, is redundant and costly. As stated by EC admissions, CSU would be such a school that would be accepted for transfer to EC.

 

Hi Jamie

That is not what I read in the above email, but I can clearly see how it could be interpreted that way. I understand your point about ACE approval being expensive. At the same time many schools/organizations do not accept DETC credits or do it on a case by case basis, so it may very well be worth the additional cost. I guess it goes back to the often repeated phrase to be sure a school will meet current AND future needs.

 

Hmmmm...

Perfectly reasonable thought on the surface, but it assumes that DETC was each enrollee's first choice and the posts here don't bear out that assumption. Nearly every DETC student, most especially those enrolled in Ashworth or Ed Direct, mention cost as a major factor in their enrollment decision. Cost cannot be dismissed as a legitimate concern for prospective students but especially for mid-career adults seeking degrees. It's likely that many find themselves in the same position that poster (and recent Ed Direct student) TCord outlined, "too 'rich' for financial aid; too poor to pay tuition". Scholarships are not an alternative for these folks since the overwhelming majority are still limited to qualifying high school seniors, the few available to adult students are limited to those already enrolled in traditional programs. Employer-provided benefits have been cut drastically for many, often one of the first things to go is tuition assistance since it is understandably seen by many employers as a less painful choice than cutting health benefits. Sure, some can get loans but that may also not be a viable alternative since most mid-career adults are already strapped with mortgages and other financial responsibilities related to family. It is also a poor financial decision for most 30-something/40-something adults to tie themselves to long-term loans that can often total in amounts that easily match a second mortgage, the estimated remainder of their working lives may well leave them at a net loss. Again due to their age, waiting until they can afford RA is also not a reasonable expectation.

Although RA programs are available at many price points, I have yet to see even one that can match or come close to Ashworth or Ed Direct especially when you consider that hidden costs of all books and materials are included in the tuitions of those two DETC schools. The only possible exception are the incredibly affordable California community colleges, but wouldn't help TCord unless he is a California resident since those prices do not apply to students outside of California. But luckily for students such as TCord, DETC degrees have wider acceptance in business and government employment even though their acceptance is limited at best in academia. There have also been many posts here related to RA colleges that do accept DETC degrees for transfer. In fact, recent posts seem to suggest that completed DETC degrees transfer better than loose credits, that makes sense since the same is true of transfers involving RA credits vs. competed RA degrees.


Kit