Could the "Big Three" attain accreditation today?

There has recently been what I think is somewhat valid criticism of the "Big Three" on this board. These schools were all accredited during the early 1970's, when educational instutions were in somewhat of a state of flux. I'm just wondering if people here feel that these schools, or schools with a similar operating principle, could gain any kind of legitimate accreditation today.

And yes, I know that the answers are not mutually exclusive. I, apparently, am an idiot (no, I'm just ignorant) and could not figure out how to post a poll with multiple alternatives. Don't know that it would make much of a difference, though.

 

(Pssssst... Western Governor's University.)

 

Don't RA schools have to “maintain” accreditation?

I think Excelsior and COSC would not have any problems but, I’m not sure how TESC justifies to its RA accrediting body the FEMA credits.

 

I am almost certain a school has to maintain its accreditation. Isn't there schools we hear about that get threatened to lose it when they are doing something wrong?

I know professional accreditation is maintained (have expiration dates, so unless they want an expired accreditation they have to reapply for it I guess).

Best Regards,
Bill

PS: IF it were a one time deal.. I would have to say yes, all three assessment schools would be RA if they were to apply for it. No matter how easy, their programs seem to be, they are not. It's not like you pay your enrollment fee, send a resume, and WHAMMO! You have a BS in your subject of choice. As, a matter of fact, with the exception of a military correspondence course I took, the work involved in my Associates from Excelsior was exclusively in a traditional, butt in seat, classroom environment (just in a million different schools).

 

Jones International is preparing for a reaccreditation "comprehensive evaluation" visit in Sept by NCA.

Hahahahaha.

 

cmt writes:

> Don't RA schools have to “maintain” accreditation?

Yes. "Colleges and universities in the Middle States region normally are evaluated every five years, but Commission staff members also monitor each institution to determine if special circumstances require more frequent evaluations. The most comprehensive evaluation occurs approximately every 10 years after an institution is initially accredited."
-- http://www.msache.org/ques6.html

Excelsior College was initially accredited (under another name) in 1977. In 1997, they tightened up their requirements considerably (GRE credit was changed from a flat award of 30 credits to a sliding scale from 3 to 30 credits, and the pass mark for other exams was raised). The timing (2×10 years after 1977) suggests that this was due to pressure from their accrediting body (Middle States). Does anyone know for sure?

Nonetheless, it may be much easier to get one's accreditation renewed than to get it in the first place. The accrediting body may be too embarrassed to say "We shouldn't have accredited you in the first place"; and since accredited colleges are represented in the accrediting body, there may also be a fear of tit-for-tat.

 

cmt writes:

> I’m not sure how TESC justifies to its RA accrediting body the
> FEMA credits.

TESC and Frederick Community College are accredited by the same accreditor (Middle States).

A large number of other schools probably accept the FEMA as transfer credits from Frederick; but I guess their accreditors can't blame them for a policy of accepting transfer credits from RA schools.

 

The Big 3 and Western Governors University were all established by state governments (although Excelsior has now been privatized). Has there been any school established by a state government that applied for RA and never got it?

 

wfready writes:

> It's not like you pay your enrollment fee, send a resume, and
> WHAMMO! You have a BS in your subject of choice. As, a
> matter of fact, with the exception of a military correspondence
> course I took, the work involved in my Associates from Excelsior
> was exclusively in a traditional, butt in seat, classroom
> environment (just in a million different schools).

The first sentence is true, but I'm afraid the last sentence doesn't prove it. To assess how rigorous a school's requirements are, we have to consider the easiest path to a degree, not the hardest path. Otherwise Trinity College and University would be a very rigorous school.

 

DETC

Look at the bright side

There will always be DETC accreditation for the big three!

(ok... just a little joke,..ok)

 

Re: DETC

The Big 3 would not qualify for DETC accreditation.

 

WGU is different, I believe. You could not accumulate 120 hours from various schools, transfer them all to WGU, and get a degree. I believe that you would still have to go through at least some of their assesment process.

SAC's "Principles of Accreditation" states:

"The institution awards degrees only to those students who have earned at least 25 percent of the credit hours required for the degree through instruction offered by that institution."

Principles of Accreditation

 

Schools definitely must maintain accreditation. And it is not easy. The reviews are very thorough.

However, the Big Three have special exemptions for some criteria, such as the residency requirement above.

As for the FEMA credits, that's more a problem with ACE. They have an ACE recommendation, so I'm sure many, many schools would accept them.

 

Do they?

I couldn't find any reference>

 

"National Emergency Training Center (EMI)" is listed as an ACE-Reviewed Training Course Provider: http://www.acenet.edu/calec/corporate/participating_orgs.cfm#N

 

By my reading, I don't think you can transfer any credits per se. You can use previous coursework (and, I believe, standardized tests) as documentation of competency in the individual "domains," however.

Assessment of prior learning is assessment of prior learning. Their mechanism is simply different-- perhaps less flexible, but still an assessment of prior learning.

 

> By my reading, I don't think you can transfer any credits per se.

"Students who have completed an associate of arts or associate of science degree from a regionally or DETC-accredited college or university will have all lower-division general education requirements cleared. [...] Transfer applicants who have not earned an associate’s degree may also seek domain clearances through transcript evaluation of previously completed college work."
-- http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/union/transfer.html

Sure sounds like transferring in credits to me.

 

Apparently, I was wrong about the ACE evaluation of the FEMA courses.

For more information, see this thread:

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9485

 

I have to weigh in that they the Big 3 would receive RA accreditation if they started today. My opinion is that in the time of their origins schools were much more traditional and consequently the accreditation evaluators were also more traditional and would have been less likely to approve nontraditional degree formats if the degrees were not up to RA standards.

Nonetheless, there had to be pioneers and the Big 3 certainly were there for undergraduate education and Nova was there in the graduate education realm. Nova, in its early days going back to its beginning in 1964 it struggled with accreditation but persevered and has become a very fine institution.

John

 

If the big 3 could not obtain RA today, they certainly would not have it today!