I've seen several references to GAAP schools, particularly when speaking of non-US schools. What does it mean? Obviously it has nothing to do with GAAP as in the business world, i.e. Generally Acceptable Accounting Procedures. ------------------ David F
It is a concept that I heard mentioned informally at the national registrars' conference a few years ago -- Generally Accepted Accreditation Principles -- which I decided to adapt and adopt for the current edition of Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning. What goes into GAAP is in no way official; mine is a set of items that it seems clear the great majority of registrars would agree with. Others may well make additions or subtractions. Mine, described in some detail in the book, are that a GAAP school must meet at least one of these criteria: 1. Accredited by a accreditor recognized by CHEA (chea.org) and/or the US Dept of Education. 2. Listed in the Commonwealth Universities Yearbook. 3. Listed in UNESCO's Handbook of Universities. 4. Listed appropriately in PIER, the Project in International Education Research, a joint venture of the registrars and the American Council on Education. 5. Listed by the Australian Qualifications Framework. In retrospect (and in the next edition), we might make changes, especially with item 3, as we have learned more about UNESCO standards. John Bear www.degree.net
Not to mention that this form of recognition was the least acceptable of the "foreign" GAAP categories in your recent study, and not insignificantly so. Rich Douglas
