Unisa accreditation vs real life

I am a Canadian currently considering taking a BSc Theoretical Physics followed by Hons BSc Applied Math from Unisa.

I know they have DETC accreditation, and a few others but what I would like to know is how much this actually means in the real world. If I'm applying to grad school or a job in Canada, will they see "south africa" and immediately dismiss me, or does the fact that it is accredited prevent such forms of discrimination?



Also as a bit of a side note I notice the DETC accreditation is only valid to first professional level, I assume this means that a masters or phd from Unisa will _NOT_ be recognized in other countries?


ps: I apologize if this has mutli-posted, clicking submit seems to not work and takes me to the degreeinfo main page.

 

Hi Wilxen - Welcome to DI.

I am not that knowledgeable about programs outside the US, but I do know that UNISA and other schools in South Africa (and other countries) are very well regarded around the world. The US accreditation of these schools (or lack thereof) means very little as long as the school is an authorized degree-granting school in their own country and the program/coursework adheres to GAAP standards.

In addition to UNISA, there are plenty of other schools in Australia, UK and France that offer Doctoral degrees that are not US accredited but are considered just as good (or better in some people's minds) than most US based and accredited programs.

 

I did a quick Google search and found MANY people with UNISA on their resumes, including private industry professionals, lawyers, and I believe a professor or two. This, I believe, is a good indication of the acceptance. That said, you might be asked about it on an interview and then be stuck having to explain you earned the degree via distance. Maybe it will matter - maybe it won't. I think it would matter far less for grad/post grad degrees.

As far as the DETC...yes, scope of recognition extends to the "first professional degree" but that is typically meant to include master's degrees. MANY DETC offer grad degrees and a few are now experimenting with post-grad.

UNISA is a solid school with a solid reputaion, but it may not be right for everyone.

Pug

 

You seem to have several different issues.

Regarding UNISA's recognition and quality assurance, South Africa has primary responsibility for that. The quasi-governmental statutory body responsible for higher education in ZA is the Council on Higher Education (CHE).

http://www.che.ac.za/

They in turn operate the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) that oversees and accredits recognized South African degree-granting institutions.

http://www.che.ac.za/heqc/heqc.php

As one would expect, UNISA appears on their list of public higher education institutions in South Africa.

http://www.che.ac.za/links/links.php?cat=12

As to whether Canadian employers and graduate schools would recognize a UNISA degree, I'm confident that the great majority would, but I don't know that for a fact. (You could inquire.) The distance learning modality might be a bigger issue than the nationality, particularly in a physics degree where some lab experiences will probably be expected (even for a theoretical physics degree).

I don't know about "other countries". What they accept is up to them.

But DETC is recognized by the US Dept. of Education as an accreditor of bachelors and masters degrees, as well as "first professional degrees" which include things like MDs, DPharms and JDs. (Unfortunately, the great majority of those kind of degrees are used in regulated professions where DETC accreditation is largely meaningless and specialized accreditation (AMA, ABA etc.) is what licensing laws demand.

In the last month or so, DETC's scope has been expanded to include "professional doctorates" (as opposed to "academic doctorates"), but nobody seems to be sure what that includes and excludes. Ed.Ds are apparently in, but Ph.D.s are out. That will have to shake out.

Keep in mind that just because the Dept. of Education has recognized some DETC doctorates, doesn't mean that all employers will accept them for every purpose. That's up to the employers. My own feeling is that DETC schools have a lot of catching-up to do in terms of academic and professional reputation.

But... that's kind of irrelevant to UNISA, since UNISA has local South African approval for its doctorates and some (regional at least) reputation of its own. (Frankly, I don't know why UNISA sought DETC accreditation.) As to whether particular UNISA degrees would satisfy particular Canadian professional licensing laws, I haven't a clue. You would need to inquire with the licensing bodies.

 

Interestingly, this senior US Air Force scientist received both her masters and doctoral degrees in chemistry from UNISA. At the time she received her degrees, UNISA was a distance-learning only institution.

I don't understand that either, though I wonder if UNISA entertained thoughts of pursuing US student aid eligibility at some point.