DETC Accrediting Commission Meeting

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Vincey37, Jun 4, 2007.

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  1. Vinipink

    Vinipink Accounting Monster

    When I was looking to finish the required credits to be able to sit in Florida for the CPA, I looked into DETC Universities which were not many schools with accounting programs, that was about 6 years ago.

    I looked at California National University for Professional Studies, I did not know about the Fla requirements back then, but I started to research. The CNU downside was that costed as much as RA MBA, the cost plus knowing that I would have a hard time getting this degree thru the Accounting Board made me select a RA for my accounting needs. But Florida however will allow people with an unacredited degree but are several steps that will need to follow:

    From the Florida Board of Accountancy

    Accreditation
    The Board accepts degrees from schools accredited by the following associations : Middle States Association, New England Association, North Central Association, Northwest Association, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Association of Independent Schools and Colleges who have been approved by the Florida State Board of Independent Colleges and Universities, and Canadian Schools who have been approved by their provincial educational bodies. If you have graduated from a school or college which is not accredited by the above mentioned means, then you must use the provisions of F.A.C. 61H1-27.001 (5) (see below).

    Applicants Who Have Graduated from Non-Accredited Schools (61H1-27.001) (5)
    Applicants who have graduated from a non-accredited school may still qualify to sit for the CPA examination. The candidate must take 15 semester hours of graduate classes. With at least nine hours of graduate level accounting courses to include three semester hours of graduate tax. THESE HOURS MUST BE TAKEN AFTER ADMISSION TO GRADUATE SCHOOL. If the courses are taken before admission to a graduate program, the classes will not be accepted, even if the school includes them as part of the graduate program. These courses cannot duplicate other courses which the applicant has taken and they cannot be used to accredit the non-accredited degree and satisfy the educational requirements. The applicant must complete the graduate school courses to validate the non-accredited degree. The applicant must also meet all other requirements for endorsement or transfer of credit. An evaluation of foreign transcripts must be completed by an evaluation service which has been approved by the Board (see Board Approval Evaluation Services).
     
  2. David Boyd

    David Boyd New Member

    It’s unlikely that a state board would accept credits from Washington. (But I’ve been wrong before as Vincey37 has apparently demonstrated.)

    Here’s what they are currently saying

    “It is believed that this Graduate Tax Program meets and exceeds all standard continuing education requirements. Washington School of Law believes that its program may NOT be acceptable for the fifth year education requirement for CPA licensure.”

    State CPE requirements generally have a much lower standard than initial licensure.
     
  3. Constitution

    Constitution New Member

    DETC graduates can take the CPA exam in a number of states.

    The following site lists the CPA education requirements for all states:

    http://www.nasba.org/nasbaweb/NASBAWeb.nsf/wpecusm?openform

    I haven’t counted, but from clicking around begining at the upper leftmost part of the U.S., I've noticed that:

    Massachusetts will accept NA degrees.
    Maine says "college or university acceptable to the board"
    New Hampshire's language is "a recognized university or college that is accredited"

    NY State does not even accept RA degrees outright. A program must be either registered with the NYS Education Department or be AACSB accredited. Otherwise "your transcript(s) will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis to determine whether you meet the NYS education requirements."

    The bottom line is that every state has its own rules. DETC is acceptable to a given percentage and even RA is not automatically acceptable to some.
     
  4. Vincey37

    Vincey37 New Member

    Yes, a lot of states use the "acceptable to the board" or "accredited" language. New York uses something similar to the former, and Pennsylvania the latter. But when you actually speak with representatives on the phone, as I have for both those states, you'll find they are looking for RA qualifications.

    It's even worse than it seems in some cases. Pennsylvania, despite explicitly stating they recognize degrees approved by the "Department of Education" WILL NOT accept DETC qualifications.

    As to the percentage of states which accept NA degrees, I'd put it at no more than 10%. Someone feel free to prove me wrong.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 14, 2007
  5. Constitution

    Constitution New Member

    You are claiming that published standards by state boards of accountancy are innacurate and that your "phone conversations" reflect the real deal. Very interesting.
     
  6. Vincey37

    Vincey37 New Member

    Yes, I spoke with the Pennsylvania coordinator at NASBA in mid 2005, when I was deciding between Aspen, CCU, TESC, and COSC (went with TESC).

    After hearing NA would absolutely not be acceptable, I even contacted Michael Lambert at DETC, who, to the credit of the organization, was very helpful in attempting to get to the bottom of this. Unfortunately it did not go anywhere. Feel free to call NASBA yourself (although if my experience is any indication the coordinator might not return your call for a good week).
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 15, 2007
  7. BryanOats

    BryanOats New Member

  8. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I reported this on a board previously:

    A couple of years ago, right when DETC was starting its pilot accreditation of doctoral programs, a colleague dropped by and mentioned that UMT was starting a Ph.D. program. Oh, no, I cautioned, they couldn't be. After all, a Ph.D. was outside DETC's accreditation authority. So I checked with UMT and, sure enough, they were starting one. I mentioned that it was outside their DETC accreditation. They said it was okay since the Ph.D. was accredited by the Project Management Institute. (I checked, and this was true.) But PMI isn't a recognized accreditor, I cautioned. UMT's VP assured me (wrongly) that it was. Nonsense.

    I posted this exchange, then e-mailed Michael Lambert of DETC, letting him know about the proposed Ph.D. program by UMT. He was taken aback, saying he'd get back to me. Well, UMT denied it to Lambert, who sent me a snippy e-mail accusing me of posting falsely. But I hadn't--in fact, PMI listed UMT on their (PMI's) website as being approved to award the Ph.D. Lambert was taking the weak and political way out.

    So, I'm not surprised that UMT has entered the fray with a (DETC-compliant) DBA. I hope they do well with it.
     
  9. Myoptimism

    Myoptimism New Member

    Hi,
    When one actually looks at the published standards (and reads the fine print, usually in a different part of the code, defining "accredited"), RA is what most state boards are referring to when they say "accredited school". Still, there are some loopholes that NA accounting graduates can take, and they vary from state to state. Some of the more common are...
    earning a graduate degree (MAcc or, sometimes MBA with sufficient ACCT credits) from an AACSB accredited school.
    proving that one (or sometimes more) RA schools will accept the NA schools credits (full acceptance, not just as electives).

    Also, the language in many state's codes allow an NA graduate to make an argument that the school and accreditation is comparable to that which the state accepts. To me, this is probably the approach that has the least success, but it might be possible.

    Tony
     

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