What Does It Mean for a School to Be USDLA Certified? Are all schools properly accredited and also have USDLA certification? I didn't see a link to their certified schools list. As I understand it, USDLA certification is an optional “stamp of approval,” for DL programs at schools. More important than certification is accreditation.
We've talked about USDLA, just not lately. It's a real organization. They used to offer accreditation, but they phased that out several years ago, and I don't recall there being anything seemingly un-wonderful about their accreditation when they did offer it -- the only objection seemed to be that they were recognized by ED or CHEA.
I believe some mills and less-than-wonderfuls used to tout their "affiliate" status with USDLA, which involved little more than sending in a check with the application. That likely sucked in some people who were on the fence about enrolling.
OK so . . . when you put this all together, is it somehow beneficial to the student if their school is certified by USDLA?
Well, it suggests independent verification of competence in designing and delivering online programs. When you think about how many universities use online program managers, that suggests that this competence is more rare than we might like to think. Besides, considering some have said here that that's all DEAC should do, rather than accredit institutionally, well, here's the solution.
It's a well-meaning, legit org. However, membership, open to all, has sometimes been misrepresented as more than it is, by various substandard or no-standard schools. It was never an accreditor, although it had a subsidiary or affiliate, DLAB (Distance Learning Accreditation Board?) which did accredit. I believe USDLA's first certification program was the ill-fated Clayton College of Natural Health, which imploded shortly thereafter. IIRC litigation resulted in recovery of about a million dollars for former Clayton students. I'm not aware of any further disasters like this. I guess they've continued the program and the newest is Bethune-Cook University, an HBCU. Mills sometimes become members and fly the USDLA flag. That doesn't mean they're any good or that USDLA is bad. Over the years, I've probably posted this same blurb about five or six times on 2-3 different fora. J.
USDLA certification is a quality check, not accreditation and USDLA are careful to point this out. You can read more about it here: https://www.usdla.org/certification/ and here: What Does It Mean for a School to Be USDLA Certified? – Best Colleges Online What I probably should have said is - "first certification of a degree-granting school." J.
