Are RA DL flash-in-the-pan schools sub-standard?

Does anyone think the wording of this poll is maybe a bit biased?

 

Exactly which RA distance learning school(s) are you saying is(are) a "flash-in-the-pan"?

 

I assume that, given the constant bashing of UOP, it is included as a "flash in the pan." Yet it also has a B&M presence throughout the country.

Good thing the pollmeister isn't in charge of the political polls. The fact that one poster doesn't like DL doesn't make it a trend. I think DL becomes more mainstream-acceptable every day.

 

This is a trick question. The accreditation process is involved enough that a "flash in the pan" school would be out of business before approval. With that in mind, there is no such thing as an RA "flash in the pan" school.

Now if we were talking about new RA "burning slowly in the pan" schools, that may be a different story.

 

Not if RA is the standard. Is this flame bait?

This question isn't much better than asking if RA schools are sub-standard.

 

Scott Henley

The poll is obviously unscientific, for those of you who aren't aware of that.

LOL

Only Scott Henley can answer your questions and only he can clarify what he meant when he described DL schools as a "flash in the pan" if they aren't part of a traditional B&M institution. And, I dare say, Scott Henley isn't going to reply to this thread.

 

This is not entirely true. If RA was the gold standard for universities, there would be no need for other accreditations such as AACSB (Business) and ABET (Engineering and Technology). The fact that AACSB and ABET exist is because of the failure of the RA system.

AACSB and ABET are "above and beyond" accreditations that actually verify the quality of the programs within the university.

That is why Touro, Phoenix, NCU, Walden and the rest are NOT AACSB or ABET accredited.

 

I am of the opinion that RA is not the gold standard. I have more faith in other accreditations such as AACSB and ABET.

 

Re: Scott Henley

Sure he is. I define "flash in the pan" as DL schools that have the very real potential of disappearing, changing names, being bought or otherwise changing their face or character in the blink of an eye to the possible detriment of the student.

The very fact that people are having conversations on degreeinfo about TUI being sold and/or losing its accreditation is proof positive that issues like this can happen to "flash in the pan" DL schools like TUI. I'm sure we can all think of a few recent examples about "controversy" surrounding various virtual schools that involve their sale or the status of their accreditation.

It is very unlikely that we will have these conversations about reputable B&M schools that offer some DL programs.

 

"I'm sure we can all think of a few recent examples about "controversy" surrounding various virtual schools that involve their sale or the status of their accreditation."

Can you name a couple of RA Universities and colleges that are "flash in the pan"?

 

Do esoteric accreditations exist, such as ABET or AACSB, because the regional accreditors have failed or because they offer specialized accreditations that are more narrow in scope for specialized disciplines? I would think that it's the latter.

 

It might be more accurate to say that RA looks at institutions as a whole, while these programmic accreditations look soley at, well, programs.

Two different beasts.

RA looks more at -how- something is taught, and how that learning is documented (along with a lot of additional issues including school finances, facilities, etc.) while programmic accreditations often are more concerned with -what- is taught (although they do have input on the 'how' also).

It's prob worth noting that RA is a requirement to apply for most (all?) programmic accreditation.

Regards,
GME

 

Dr. Leland M. Goldblatt! welcome back! We are not worthy


hey, just kiddin' lol

 

Yes, but can they be AACSB or ABET accredited *without* being RA first?

UOP is CCNE accredited, which is one of the two (the other is NLNAC) accepted nursing accrediting agencies. That and its RA status are good enough for me. It's not all about business and techie majors, y'know.

 

Originally posted by Amigo:

"Dr. Leland M. Goldblatt! welcome back!
We are not worthy


hey, just kiddin' lol"

-----------------------------------------

Yes Amigo! Behold and kneel! Mr. Goldblatt, the omnipresent, magnificant, pontificate, excellence, Minister of Distance Learning, Defender of RA accredited degrees, Master of the E-learning universe has returned!

http://www.blogger.com/profile/2011624

 

No of course it's not all about AACSB and ABET; those are the two I'm most familiar with. Each PROFESSION has it's own accrediting body without exception.

RA is not enough for the professional associations/societies. RA is the base accreditation from which all others build upon. Although I personally don't think much of RA, I do acknowledge that we have to start somewhere.

 

I will put in a minority opinion here - my opinion only.

I feel that RA is a standard to say that the school is not a degree mill, meaning they have a curriculum - not the quality of it. They have a faculty, not determining the quality of the faculty. For example, I have been told by an instructor at UoP that there are no tentured faculty, and most are cut loose after 5 years, so they can keep costs down - so they have a faculty, but there is no measure of the quality. Bascially, I see RA that there is a school, and it is more than submitting a payment, and receiving a printed out degree.

The professional standards are those that look into the specialty - that actually look at quality of the education, faculty, etc. - not that they simply exist. They look into publications of faculty, % of faculty that are tenured / non-tenured, etc. They look at curriculum, and it must meet a certain standard, have certain components, etc.

If I go to a tier 3 school, I understand that I am going to be seen as a student from a tier 3 school (especially if I apply to a tier 1 school). Just like if I graduate from a RA school, I do not hold professionally accredited degree. It still has meaning, but it does show a difference in quality / standard.

 

This is true. I too acknowledge that if a school is RA, it is not a degree mill. However, anything beyond this would depend on additional accreditations that the school holds.

RA schools can offer degrees in engineering, business, psychology, education, architecture, etc.... But if these programs and/or schools are not accredited by the respective professional accrediting body, there is no telling what quality of education the student is getting.

I know that when AACSB or ABET put their stamp on any program, it is a quality program regardless of delivery method.

The fact that most (all?) online virtual DL schools do not have any type of professional accreditation is telling.