Is screwed spelled with a "C" or a "K"? and other questions

Thanks for the advice. If I can get the credits transferred from AMU/APU it would definitely allow me to expedite one of the possible paths to a career change I have been working towards.

 

No problem...however APUS/AMU will recieve their RA soon I believe.

 

From the information I have the next site visit is scheduled for February 2006. I am not sure how much of a time lag there will be between this visit and full RA accreditation if the evaluation is successful. I am working on an AA waiting for the pending RA accreditation before starting the BA. Approaching the 60% completion point by the end October. I would have used CLEPs but the only test centres seem to be in Western Canada which entails an expensive flight for each exam.

In the meantime, if I finish the AA before AMU/APU receives RA status I would like to be able to continue my education at an RA school. The reasons are similar to yours - the remove any potential drawback in the minds of certain potential employers about NA (DETC) accredited institutions. I hope AMU/APU earn full RA status in 2006.

 

Just FYI, everyone: Southwestern College of Winfield Kansas, which is regionally-accredited, most definitely accepts NA credits. But what isn't quite so clear, perhaps, is whether said credits must be in the form of a completed associates degree (such as any of the associates degrees from the DETC-accredited Ashworth College or Andrew Jackson Unversity, just to name two); or whether it will accept those and "loose" credits that have not yet been packaged as a finished degree... such as those that friendorfoe is offering to Southwestern.

When I called Southwestern... oh... I think it was either in early 2005 or late 2004... they did not hesitate to tell me that they accepted associates degrees from Ashworth and other DETC-accredited (NA) institutions. But I didn't think to ask about "loose" credits. Some RA colleges/universities will accept finished NA degrees, but not "loose" NA coursework. So when friendorfoe first told me that Southwestern initially told him that they (Southwestern) would not take his DETC-accredited (NA) "loose" coursework, I just assumed that Southwestern would take an NA degree in transfer, but not loose NA courses.

But friendorfoe's experience clearly shows that Southwestern will take any kind of NA-accredited courseowrk. If someone at Southwestern told friendorfoe that it wouldn't, it simply means, I believe, that s/he was mistaken... or maybe just didn't understand the question. And, actually, as I'm about to explain, I think it's quite likely the latter.

When I called, the woman I spoke with was fairly high up in the Southwestern registrar's office hierarchy. When I asked her if Southwestern would accept an associates from Ashworth, I could hear her flipping through pages while saying, under her voice, "Ashworth... Ashworth..." until she finally said, and I quote: "Oh... here it is. Ashworth College. Accredited by DETC. Yes. It's accredited by DETC which is an agency approved by the US Department of Education... so, yes, we'll accept an associates degree from there in transfer into any of our bachelors programs."

If I had thought to ask her if Southwestern would accept Ashworth credits if they were just "loose" (i.e., not packaged as a finished associates degree), I would have. I strongly -- and I mean strongly -- suspect that they would be... and friendorfoe's experience would seem to confirm that.

The trick, when you're on the phone with people in the registrar's offices of RA institutions is to talk to someone fairly high up and not just a front-line clerk type person. And, thereafter, it's important to establish with the person you're talking to that they truly undersand the difference between RA and NA; and that NA is approved by the same US Department of Education (USDE) and its Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as is RA.

And, in my opinion, this is the kicker: Insist that they look-up the NA institution, by name, in their little book/directory of institutions that are USDE- and/or CHEA-approved. Some of them go by what's in that book, even if it contradicts what they may say in an RA versus NA discussion. This is because, I believe -- and as I've always said -- people use the phrase "regionally accredited" as if the word "regionally" weren't there; as if all accreditation were regionaly accreditation; and as if no word other than "regional" could possibly be substituted. This, I believe, is either a failure of terminology, or just plain harmless ignorance.

I believe that a person in a registrar's office who mistakenly thinks that all accrediation is regional (simply because s/he didn't know there was any other kind); and who doesn't realize that national accreditation is also USDE- and/or CHEA-approved, will tell you, in one breath, that the institution will not accept DETC-accredited coursework; but then if you make him/her take a moment to actually look-up the DETC-accredited institution, s/he will suddenly say, "Oh, wait... it's listed here in my USDE/CHEA directory of accredited institutions... so, yes, we'll take it," not even realizing that she just contradicted herself.

So I don't think it's an issue of submitting one's transcript and getting a different answer than one got on the phone. Rather, I think it's an issue of not even trying to talk about RA vs NA with most people in most RA registrar's offices. I think, instead, it's an issue of just cutting to the chase and getting the registrar's office person to stop talking in the abstract and just take a minute to pull the directory down off the shelf and look-up the NA institution.

Or so thinks me.

 

DesElms as usual you provide insightful information. I will finish up my AA, I am only 8 courses from completion, before deciding whether to transfer the credits to Southwestern College.

 

Application for enrollment went in today.

 

Friendorfoe,
Congratulations & Good luck.
Let us know how it's working out!
Pilot

 

Application was accepted...I enrolled in the first class, just ordered my books and I must say, this has been the easiest enrollment process I've had so far.

It seems my advisor placed me in the current class, thus I am 2 days behind already....

I'll start a separate thread shortly with all details for those interested.

BTW...did I ever mention how friendly and helpful the faculty at this school has been with me?

 

Congratulations!

It is good to hear success stories about RA schools accepting NA transfer credits / degrees.

Looking forward to your new thread regarding your experiences with Southwestern College.