RA vs NA OUTSIDE the USA

Hi All:

Greetings from Canada! I am a long time resident of this board and check in daily. I have two chapters left to write on my field study to complete my Educational Specialist degree from Northwestern State University. I loved the program and feel ready to move forward with my Ed.D program.

Until recently, I had my search narrowed down to three universities:

1) Liberty University

2) Northcentral University

3) Northeastern University

I am now considering a 4th university, Aspen University, for the following reasons:

a) The tuition for an Ed.D, taking into account 9 transfer credits from my Ed.S, would be 7800.00 total.

b) By all reports they have a challenging program that ends with a significant piece of academic work.

c) I live in Canada where 99.9 percent of the population know nothing about RA vs NA. A university is a university is a university...accreditation does not matter. The only exception to this is the same the world over (IMHO), Ivy League degrees (and degrees from Oxford and Cambridge), are seen as a much higher level than any other school. Two of the senior leadership team in our school district have degrees from Online schools. One is NCU and the other is Aspen. Me having a Liberty University degree, or a degree from Northwestern State for that matter, versus a degree from Northcentral or Aspen, means very little in the world I plan on inhabiting for the rest of my professional career.

d) I FULLY REALIZE that I would never get a tenure track university professorship with a degree from Aspen (or many other schools for that matter) and this is OK with me. I want to finish a doctoral program, at an affordable rate, and bring closure to a research project that I have been working on for years and would like to see complete.

OK, as always, I am actively seeking out your thoughts on this discourse and your opinion is valued. Happy summer everyone!

Ian

 

You are in similar situation as me. I guess other than USA, not many countries bother about RA or NA. For me as long as it is accreditated it is ok. I am taking Ed.D from Aspen currently. You may want to give them a call first and clear all doubts before you start as it is a long program, better to get everything in place.

 

I'm a Jr. high teacher in California and I am considering an EdD from Aspen as well. In your case, if administrators are able to advance with a degree from Aspen, why would you consider paying more? I am currently doing research into how a DETC degree will be viewed at my school by the powers that be. If it will take me where I want to go, I might go for it.

PS. I married a lovely lady from Calgary and we head up there almost every year to see family. I love Canada (and obviously Canadians too!)

 

The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials has a "fact sheet" on "Information for Canadian Students Planning to Study Abroad". It notes that

The CICIC recommends the following for Canadians interested in study at non-Canadian schools:

In the US, DETC-accredited degrees have significantly lower acceptance (at least for some purposes) than RA degrees. This is likely to be true in Canada as well. It might be worthwhile to fully evaluate the potential limitations of a DETC degree before investing.

 

This is just hear-say, but....

Re: Canada and DETC Accreditation - Need Advice about Online Education and Going Back to School Online - Prospective and Current Online Students - eLearners.com Community: Online Education and Distance Learning Discussion Forums & Blogs

Just skimming the internet I can't find anything good, which is a shame if it's true. I love the DETC and would love to help it gain wider acceptance.

 

Graduates of nationally accredited schools going to regionally accredited gradschool - Online degree forum


According to this thread some Canada schools take DETC credit. This would indicate to me that it is likely acceptable to use a DETC degree on your resume in Canada.

Again, I'm sorry it's just hear-say, but it's the best I can find right now.

 

The whole NA/RA thing is quite unique to the US and I think the most important aspect that would be considered would be "is the accrediting body recognized by the Dept of Education or its equivalent in the country of origin?" IE is it GAAP?
Either would pass and I can't imagine any further limitations unless you were looking for tenure at an ivy league college that sought similar credentials.

 

One would think, but I don't think that's a safe assumption. I'm not saying for sure that it isn't, but given that there are quite a few smaller accreditors recognized by the DoEd, I'm not at all sure that it's wise to blindly suggest that DoEd recognition is the most important aspect.

I suspect that there's some credential evaluation going on, just as we are seeing a rise in US RA schools requiring third-party educational credential evaluations even from schools that meet GAAP criteria. I'm guessing that at least part of the rise in third-party evaluations is a result of the various questionable schools that, on paper, had GAAP recognition issued by corrupt government offcials and similar circumstances.

 

I think that the US is unique in its approach to higher education with individual private accreditors. Most nations have universities mandated by government in some form or other.

In Australia, the question of accreditation would come down to whether the degree was recognised by the US Govt. I note that one very high profile state run institution from here has DETC accreditation in the US so DETC is more likely not to raise eyebrows.

I would think that, if the degree is recognised by the USDOE, then the degree will be recognised as valid in the Brit Cwth. This does not mean that the degree will meet licensing criteria for professional use. An RA degree or a degree from any country also may not meet local licensing requirements.

A law degree from an ABA approved US university, for example, may enable the holder to pursue a higher degree in law at a university here, but it would not meet the local bar requirements for practice. These are two entirely separate things. The local professional body may require additional courses and training to meet their professional requirements. The principal issue for the university would be the validity of the degree, but it does not stop there.

The degree may be valid, but the university will have its own preferences and prejudices. All valid degrees technically have the same standing here, however, individual faculty prejudice may preclude admission for higher studies. This usually means the place for the higher degree is given to another candidate who is considered to rank higher in the pecking order. The reason officially given will usually relate to some other criteria, not the degree itself. There won't be, however, any stigma attached to the fact that the degree was a distance learning one. These are well accepted here.

If these barriers arise here, then perhaps they do in Canada? Non technical degrees that do not require licensing or professional admission may be less likely to encounter barriers. Teaching, law,or nursing are probably best pursued locally, however, business degrees or liberal arts degrees are perhaps more likely to be accepted by academia, government, and business. "horses for courses" perhaps?

 

Even among the Commonwealth nations, recognition for the various professional degrees differ. I think Engineering and Accounting are easier to be recognized across borders of the Commonwealth but not Law and Medicine.

 

The questions is, what do you need the EdD for? I taught at the CEGEP and community college in Canada for several years and found that each Province has its own criteria when it comes to validation of foreign credentials. If you live in Ontario, I would contact WES as this is recognized by most of the government institutions and see if the Aspen degree would cut it to be equivalent to a Canadian degree.

If WES says that it would be equivalent to a doctorate degree in Canada, then you can safely do it without any risk of not being recognized. The EdD from Aspen might be good enough to get a salary increase as a secondary teacher as well.

My experience with DETC degrees is limited in Canada, my only experience is with some accounting courses that I did as part of a CMA program. They were recognized by CMA Ontario.

University teaching is another ball game, for this is not as simple as a WES equivalency report. The prestige of the institution is much more important than the type of accreditation and I'm sure Aspen would not cut it even for an Interview.