Legislation in NJ to outlaw DETC accreditation

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by c.novick, Feb 13, 2009.

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  1. c.novick

    c.novick New Member

  2. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Hey Craig,

    Thanks for posting this. I scanned this for a few minutes, and I am groggy from taking Nyquil for my cold, but where is the part about outlawing DETC? It appears the gist of this bill is to control employees seeking reimbursment or promotions based on UA degrees. See Synopsis:

    SYNOPSIS
    Prohibits public employers from reimbursing tuition or awarding promotions
    or compensation based on degrees or certifications obtained from unaccredited institutions.

    Further:


    44 STATEMENT
    45
    46 This bill prohibits public employers from reimbursing tuition
    47 costs or fees or awarding promotions or compensation based on
    48 degrees or certifications obtained from an institution that is not a
    A3140 CASAGRANDE, O'SCANLON
    4
    duly authorized institution of higher 1 education. A duly authorized
    2 institution of higher education means an in-State institution licensed
    3 by the Commission on Higher Education or an out-of-State
    4 institution licensed by the appropriate state agency and regionally
    5 accredited or seeking accreditation by the appropriate accrediting
    6 body recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Education or the
    7 United States Department of Education.

    A cursory review seems to conclude that the statement is saying they want a regionally accredited degree, or one that is properly "recognized", RA or NA.


    Am I missing something here? If I am, let me know and I will email to the appropriate folks ASAP.

    Thanks,


    Abner
     
  3. c.novick

    c.novick New Member

    Hi Abner!

    I received a "heads up" from one of the DETC schools I instruct for.

    They received a letter from Mike Lambert (DETC) advising that the NJ legislature is considering 3 new Bills that will make it illegal for people to use a degree from any institution that is not regionally accredited, regardless of where the college is located.

    I am not an expert, but I read the posted Bills that I found to say RA, but also an out of State institution seeking appropriate accreditation recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Education or the
    United States Department of Education. So, I'm with you.

    Now Mr. Lambert may know more, but I don't see where NA is completely knocked out of the box.

    Thanks for your review.

    Craig
     
  4. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Big Planet, Small Minds

    What a shocker -- legislation that's ambiguous and poorly written. By saying "regionally accredited or seeking accreditation by the appropriate accrediting body" one might interpret that as being that if an institution is already accredited by DETC they're out of luck, but if they're seeking it they're okay. That's pretty silly. Unless there's more to this bill, then there's also that place that Americans often forget about called The Rest Of The World: with this legislation places like Oxford and Cambridge would be treated like non-entities.

    -=Steve=-
     
  5. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member


    Well, thanks once again for posting that news here. I will also contact Mr. Lambert to see what he says. Attempting to outlaw DETC or other recognized national accreditors would be idiotic on the part of NJ, and would lead down the same road of the Texas fiasco.

    Thanks once again for sharing.

    Abner
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 13, 2009
  6. c.novick

    c.novick New Member


    Thanks for the assistance Abner!

    I live in NJ. So on my end, I already sent Assm. CasaGrande an email tonight and will try to contact her tomorrow, if possible.

    I'll keep the Board posted.
     
  7. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    And what's the "Council on Postsecondary Education" identified as a source of recognition of accrediting agencies? New Jersey doesn't seem to have any body of that name. Kentucky does, but they probably don't mean that one; I have to think the author meant to identify the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation, and not only misnamed it but missed its dissolving in 1993, superseded by CORPA from 1994 to 1997 and by CHEA from 1996 to present.
     
  8. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Exactly what I thought.

    Abner
     
  9. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    Under current law in the case of an
    47 institution located outside of New Jersey, a duly authorized
    48 institution is one that is licensed by the appropriate state agency and

    1.regionally accredited or seeking accr 1 editation by the appropriate
    2. accrediting body recognized by the Council on Postsecondary
    3. Education or the United States Department of Education.

    I think this is clear that DETC degree is fine.
    DETC is recognized by CHEA and USDE.
     

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