New DETC publication that may be of interest

DETC DEGREE PROGRAMS: GRADUATES AND EMPLOYERS EVALUATE THEIR WORTH

http://www.detc.org/downloads/2006%20Graduates%20and%20Employers%20Evaluate%20Their%20Worth.pdf

Given the discussions on DETC accreditation I thought this group might be interested in this publication. Of particular interest are the results on transfer credit. While a majority of students did not attempt to transfer their credits to another academic institution, of those who did try, 69% were successful.

Best,
Mary A

 

Mary, can you re-pos the link its not working

 

For the link Mary A provided, click here.

 

This is a good read, especially the survey of hiring managers. Although I realize that these sorts of surveys are designed to put programs in the most favorable light; the numbers are still encouraging.

Personally, I think the quality and impact of distance education for an individual depends on too many factors to blanketly say that its inferior to traditional schooling (yet, there are those who volunteer to lend that opinion)... the same can be said for superiority as well, and that goes for both distance ed and traditional ed... just too many variables. Quality education can be gained from many places, not just the one-size-fits-all model that "purists" want to tie everyone down to.

At the end of the day, the responsibility to prove the worth of these programs falls on the graduates and their ability to perfom, as well as on those who are in the position to hire. Sure, the same can be said of traditional education, but traditional ed is not fighting the same (though Dissipating) stigma that's being pressed against distance ed.

 

I think the matter depends on the nature of the education. Ashworth offers accredited programs specific consideration to AS in various areas clearly profession oriented. Excelsior offers bachelors and again seems to have a good general program geared to either general educational topics and/or trade education. In these areas ,the focused education. that will be applied to employemnt areas they clearly fill a nitch. I feel the weak spot is trying to use this accreditation for academic advancement or a higher credential not necessarily the MBA but for a degree for a profession. Example psychology or nursing or social work they are harder to use it would seem by my study on the matter.

 

From what I've been studying, being a career counseling/practicing psychologist is practically out of reach for any psych degree holder at the undergraduate level. Having said that, Psych degrees below the graduate level appear to be something that can certainly be used to finely round your education for business and also health care support. I think it opens doors to different sections like Human Resources, and Leadership/Management roles, not to mention Social Work.

A number of business degree programs include a psych course, so I think educational institutions have realized (and probably for quite some time) that having a researched understanding of human behavior is useful in any business structure.