Looking for Business/Marketing/Communincations diploma

Dear folks,

I have been searching for an undergraduate/graduate Diploma
in business/marketing/communications, and have not find one.

Why Diploma? My background is Journalism, but now starting a new career as Marketing Communications officer, that's why I need something fast but effective.

But there are some problems I found:
#Sooo many colleges offer "certificate" or "graduate certificate",
It is actually equal to a degree named Diploma here in Indonesia,
But I can risk my CV, because what is called "certificate" here cannot classify as a formal educational background.

#I do not know anything about accreditation bodies in UK nor US.
Can anyone tell me where can I find information about this?
What kind of accreditations that I should choose for distance learning?
DETC seems to be good enough in US, is that correct?
What about "ODL QC" in UK that claims to be equivalent to DETC?

#I cannot take a Diploma whatsoever from "unquestioning" institutions listed in DFES (UK),
Because I cannot afford the tuition fees
And mostly do not offer any installments.

Any kind of comments would help, please.
Thanks.

 

Part 1 of 2

Peacefullia,

uncle janko mentioned to me today that he suggested to you that you begin a thread, just like you've done here, which asks the questions you've asked here; and he felt bad that you did as he advised, but that no one here responded. So I'm gonna' see if I can give it my best shot, okay? It's kinda' long, so I've divided it into two posts...

Regarding US accreditation, you will find pretty much everything you need to know on this web page, plus what I'm about to tell you, below.

Regarding UK accreditation, you will find pretty much everything you need to know beginning on this web page, and then just work down the menu items on the left until you've read everything.

Just a helpful hint: When you ask about a given program or entity around here, be sure to include a link to its web site so that those from whom you're seeking comentary will not have to work so hard looking-it-up on Google; and also so that you'll be assured that whatever site they go look at is, for sure, the site of the entity about which you're inquiring.

The place you're talking about, I believe, is this one. And as to it I advise, simply: For UK programs/institutions, if it's not talked about favorably (or at all) on the DFES web site, then don't fiddle around with it! Avoiding getting suckered by a UK diploma mill simply couldn't be easier than that.

Cost often stands in the way of getting the academic credential that one would like; but, no matter how tempting, never try to shortcut by getting it from a substandard school or diploma mill. If you do, then sooner or later (probably sooner than later) you'll wish you hadn't. Stick with the "unquestioning" (that is, if I correctly understand what you mean by that word) institutions.

Just make sure it's from an institution that's accredited either by its government, or by an accrediting agency or department that has been approved by said government; and also make sure that the institution is authorized to grant degrees within its own country. Since diploma mills typically cannot meet both of those standards, it's a pretty safe bet that if you at least make sure that whatever institution from which you get your coursework/degree meets both of those standards, then you're probably gonna' be okay. Of course, there are some governments which collude with diploma mills, so what I just wrote may or may not always be true. By and large, if you stick with institutions in the US, the UK, Australia, South Africa, and counties of that sort of repute and stature; and if you make sure that both of the aforementioned things are true, you'll probably always be fine.

You asked about the UK: In the UK, just make sure that whatever UK coursework you take, or UK credential you get, is from an institution listed on that DFES website... either on this page or on this one. If you do that, you'll be fine.


Here's the skinny in the US...

Theoretically, as long the the coursework and/or the degree, diploma or certificate is from an institution that is accredited by an agency that has been approved by the US Department of Education (USDE) and/or its Council for Higher Education Accredition (CHEA) (or, some people say "approved by the US Secretary of Education"), then, as far as anyone in the US is (or at least should be) concerned, it's as good as it needs to be.

Unfortunately, among the various USDE- and/or CHEA-approved accreditors, coursework/degrees from institutions accredited by some agencies are have wider acceptance (and, therefore, greater utility) than that from institutions accredited by other agencies.

In the US, the so-called "gold standard" of accrediting agencies is the body of regional accreditors. These six (well... actually, technically eight) agencies accredit most public schools in most US cities and towns; and also most public colleges and universities. Among Americans who have even heard of a given type of accreditation, regional accreditation is the one they know about... most likely because it was a regional accreditor that accredited the grade school, high school and/or community college they attended. Private grade schools, high schools and colleges/universities are also accredited by the regional agencies. By far, the regional accreditors are the largest; and coursework/degrees from institutions accredited by them will tend to be the most widely accepted and will, therrefore have the greatest utility.

This reality flies in the face of the theoretical truth that coursework/degrees from institutions that are not regionally accredited, but which are accredited by one of the USDE- and/or CHEA-approved national, or specialized/professional accreditors are probably just as rigorous and high quality. The US government recognizes this, and so, when it posts employment advertisements, it does not limit the degrees which job candidates must have to those from institutions that are strictly regionally accredited; and, in fact, said job advertisements usually specify that candidates' degrees must be from institutions accredited by USDE- and/or CHEA-approved agencies.

That means that the US government will accept any degree from any institution, so long as said institution is accredited by an agency that appears on either the regional, or the national, or the specialized/professional accreditors list... all of which accreditors are listed in this PDF file.

DETC is probably one of the best-known (at least around here) of the national accreditors. Whether or not coursework/degrees from a DETC-accredited institution will be acceptable to whomever you intend to present it will depend, in largest measure, upon how they view accreditation, generally.

• If whomever you intend to present your DETC-accredited coursework/degree believes that regional accreditation is either the only kind of accreditation there is; or they believe it's the only kind that matters, then they may turn their noses up at your DETC-accredited coursework/degree. They'd be wrong to have that attitude, of course; but since many, many US regionally-accredited colleges/universities have precisely that attitude, it's a reality with which one must deal... like it or not.
  
• If, on the other hand, whomever you intend to present your DETC-accredited coursework/degree has what I would consider to be the proper and more appropriate attitude toward accreditation, then s/he will recognize that as long as said coursework/degree is accredited by a USDE- and/or CHEA-approved agency, then it's fine.

Sadly, there are more out there who see things the former way than there are who see it the latter way. That's just the way it is.

That said, there are probably now enough people, employers, colleges/universities, and government agencies out there today who see it the latter way that one is probably no longer shooting oneself in the foot (at least not as much as used to be the case) to take coursework, or to get a certificate/diploma/degree, from an institution that's only nationally- or specialized/professionally accredited.

Continued in next post...

 

Part 2 of 2

...continued from previous post

Well, for starters, if you intend to limit the countries from which you get it to the US or the UK, then make sure that whatever college, university or institute you get it from is listed on the aforementioned DFES web site (for UK institutions); or, for US institutions, in either this database or this one. Do that, and you at least won't get sucked-in by a diploma mill.

UK schools (or maybe some Australian schools) may be a better choice, simply because it's common in those systems for the pathway to certain degrees to have multiple levels. You begin the program, and after a while you've taken enough courses to earn the "certificate." Then, if you keep going, you'll finally get to the point where you'll have earned a "diploma." Then if you keep going, you'll finally earn the full degree. The US doesn't really do things that way. The US does have "certificate" and "diploma" and "degree" programs, and sometimes all of a certificate's coursework can be transferred into a higher "diploma" program; or sometimes all of a diploma's coursework may be transferred into a higher degree program... but the whole progression thing that one sees in the UK or maybe Australia isn't exactly how it happens in the US.

The regionally-accredited University of California at Berkeley has an International Diploma Program which probably offers what you're looking for... but I don't know if it's available via distance learning. But, even if it's not, for purposes of helping you identify what you're probably looking for, that's a good place to start.

If you just need the word "diploma" in your credential, and if you want to ensure legitimacy by making sure that the institution from which you acquire it is accredited by an agency that's USDE- and/or CHEA-approved, I suppose you could get a marketing "diploma" like this one, or like this one... but, honestly, something like that, good as it may or may not be, is not really an academic credtential. In the US, it's more like a career school credential... which, if I understand you correctly, is not really what you're looking for. It would be fast, though; and it is fully accredited by a USDE- and/or CHEA-approved agency. And it would be inexpensive. But I don't know if it's really what you need.

I simply don't have the time to go out and find a program for you, but I know that what you're looking for -- and at the price you can afford -- is out there somewhere. And I'm equally certain that some member here can point you to a few. I will try to circle back to this thread later, when I have more time, and try to point you to a few myself. For the moment, answering all your questions and trying to educate you is the best I can do...

...er... well... I can also add this: If you'd like to use Google to look for a few programs, I can give you the precise text strings which, when copied-and-pasted into the Google search box, are most likely to steer you toward what you seek. You may have to wade through many pages of Google search results but, if you're persistent and tenacious, you'll probably find something interesting.

For programs in the US, copy-and-paste the following into the Google search box:

• +diploma +marketing OR communications +"distance learning" OR "distance education" OR online site:.edu

Do not worry if the above text string wraps to a second line as it appears here. There's still no carriage-return/line-feed in it as it appears on this page, so if you just drag the mouse over it and scoop it up into your computer's "clipboard" as one, single, copied entity; and then paste it into the Google search box, it will all appear there as one single text string.

For programs in the UK, copy-and-paste the following into the Google search box:

• +diploma +marketing OR communications +"distance learning" OR "distance education" OR online site:.ac.uk

Again, just copy-and-paste it all at once, and it will appear okay in the Google search box.

To search for programs in Australia you could use Google, into the search box of which you could copy-and-paste the following text string:

• +diploma +marketing OR communications +"distance learning" OR "distance education" OR online site:.edu.au

or you could try using this search engine which may give you better, easier-to-find results. For example, using that search engine, if you plug the word "diploma" into the search box, and then if you select both "External" and "Online" down in the "Addendance mode" box, then leave all other selections set to "All", then click on the "Search" button, you'll get tons of potentially relevant, accredited Australian diploma programs. Just be patient as you check out every one that contains the words "marketing" or "communications" and I'll bet you stumble onto something... maybe even somthing that's affordable.

If I can find the time to come back and make some more suggestions, I will; and I hope some others will chime in.

Hope that helps!

 

...you're an angel DesElms...
I don't know what to say

a BIG thanks to you!!

I will start searching like you suggested.
and give my best regards to Uncle Janko

*new spirit*

Lia

 

Something I forgot to add when I suggested all that Google searching in my previous post:

• If you find a program in the US that interests you, be sure to check the USDE database, and the CHEA database, and make sure the institution's listed there as being somehow accredited.
  
• If you find a program in the UK that interests you, be sure to check this web page or this one, and make sure the institution's listed there.
  
• If you find a program in Australia that interests you, be sure to check this web page and begin learning about Australian accreditation; and then verify the program in question there or on whatever verification site to which it links you.

Let me know if you find programs in other countries, and I can tell you how to verify them, too.

 

Thread bump.

 

Lia,

Seven years ago I completed a Certificate in Marketing (UK) from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). This was and is about as good a marketing qualification as you can get at certificate level.

They do now offer online courses, including this one - Online Professional Certificate in Marketing

I fear this may be out of your price range, but worth a look, if only for future information.

All the best!

Dave C.

 

excellent thread

just had to bump it!

 

Dear Dave,

The course you pointed is still within my price range,
moreover there are several instituions offer CIM certificates,
with very interesting payment plan, including interest free installments, you can check this one: www.icslearn.co.uk.

And actually I've contacted them, and they replied promptly

So far i know CIM is similar to PCDI, they both offer professional Diploma/certificate.

I am considering both of them actually, but IF i can find an affordable academic diploma, I'd prefer this one.

Thanks anyway for your suggestion

 

Please let us know what you find that interests you, even if you don't think you can afford it; and even if it's not available via distance learning. By so doing, you will give us direction as to what will and will not fill the bill; and it might also jog someone's memory and cause them to chime-in about a program they happen to remember from their travels.

 

DesElms,

How many words do you type per minute????

 

Why, looking for someone to type your dissertation?

 

Seriously? Sixty to 80, net, on a bad day; a fair bit faster on a particularly-good one.

Hey... if he can pay my hourly rate, why the heck not?

 

Peacefullia, I am interested in the same line of study as you, namely business communications. I have done a lot of searching over the course of several months, and the program that I really like is West Virginia University's Integrated Marketing Communications graduate program. It is available via distance learning. They offer both a masters degree and a certificate in IMC. You can find the info here: http://www.imc.wvu.edu/theimcprogram/certificate.php

Jones International University also offers a masters degree in business communications. http://www.jonesinternational.edu/

Thomson Education Direct, my school, offers a degree in marketing, which is the program I'm currently taking. www.educationdirect.com

UC Davis offers a certificate in marketing. http://extension.ucdavis.edu/certificateprograms/cert_mrk.html

Deakin University offers a graduate diploma in public relations.
http://www.distancex.com/DeakinUniversity/GraduateDiplomaofPublicRelations.asp

And here is a page which has information about Communication and Marketing diplomas available in the UK.
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/nhs-knowledge_base/data/5645.html

Hope that helps!

 

Davenport University in Michigan has a diploma in Business Management. All of their programs are offered online and they are RA. This is a link to their school of business:

http://www.davenport.edu/tabid/111/Default.aspx

Hope that helps!