California Southern University (CalSouthern)

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by OnlineDegree2014, Aug 16, 2016.

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  1. OnlineDegree2014

    OnlineDegree2014 New Member

    Should I be worried?

    I'm currently pursuing a DBA @ California Southern University. (Online Education | Online Education Degree - California Southern University)

    Search Institutional Accreditation System

    They are Regionally Accredited (RA) by Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Senior College and University Commission; and an ACBSP "Candidate" California Southern University - Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs

    What worries me is that they do not provide a 1098-T; according to the IRS "Who must file. You must file Form 1098-T if you are an
    eligible educational institution.
    An eligible educational
    institution that is a governmental unit, or an agency or
    instrumentality of a governmental unit, is subject to the
    reporting requirements of Form 1098-T."

    Eligible educational institution. An eligible educational
    institution is a college, university, vocational school, or other
    postsecondary educational institution that is described in
    section 481 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as in effect
    on August 5, 1997, and that is eligible to participate in the
    Department of Education's student aid programs.
    This
    includes most accredited public, nonprofit, and private
    postsecondary institutions.

    California Southern University's excuse is (CalSouthern's Position on FAFSA - California Southern University) "our founder Dr. Donald Hecht has chosen, as a matter of policy, not to participate in federal financial aid programs, and the university has no intention to do so in the future."

    Also, should this worry me?
    Distance Education Accrediting Commission Accredited 01/16/2010 - Resigned 11/01/2015
     
  2. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    No...not a big deal. Once the school became regionally accredited, it dropped its other accreditation.
     
  3. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    They don't provide a 1098 because they don't participate in federal financial aid. So what? What exactly are you worried about here?
     
  4. OnlineDegree2014

    OnlineDegree2014 New Member

    "They don't provide a 1098 because they don't participate in federal financial aid." oh it was my understanding that an eligible educational institution would be able to not participate in financial aid programs yet still be "eligible" it just seems on the surface they are not; my worry comes from the fact that I would like to attend an "eligible" educational institution; I thought to ask in a board about accreditation in case anyone had any insight on a school choosing not to participate. It seems they are in the minority...
     
  5. DxD=D^2

    DxD=D^2 Member

    It sounds like it's a concern for tax purposes. When you pay tuition costs, you might be able to get a break on your taxes, depending upon your situation.
     
  6. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Dropping NA upon receiving RA isn't unheard of, and you shouldn't read too much into it. American Military/Public University either resigned DETC accreditation or let it lapse once they got RA, and Liberty University resigned TRACS accreditation once they were confident that they weren't going to lose RA.
     
  7. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    IF you qualify for a deduction (up for $4k) based upon tuition and other related educational expenses you would only need to substantiate that you paid for qualified expenses. The 1098 is certainly the most common form for that. But it isn't the only one.

    Not getting a 1098 doesn't render your expenses useless for tax purposes. It just means you don't get a specific form which, by the way, is issued to prevent you from claiming expenses paid by USDOE funds as a personal expenditure.

    The 1098 breaks out what you paid and what was paid on your behalf by financial aid. So if a total of $10k was paid to the school but $8k of that came from Title IV funds then you can only claim the $2k that you, personally, paid. If there are no financial aid funds in play then the amount you paid is just as deductible (depending upon your situation) as they would be if the school issued a 1098.
     
  8. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    They are "eligible" in that they are regionally, and formerly nationally, accredited. Their not participating in federal financial aid is because they opted not to much like a few other for-profit schools such as Patten and ACE. But they are still accredited. This isn't just an excuse they are offering because the Feds yanked their eligibility. Those types of decisions are public.

    If anything their refusal to participate in federal financial aid is likely to help them avoid the sort of controversy that plagues many for-profit schools.
     
  9. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I also learned that Global University recently resigned DEAC accreditation in favor of the RA they already had on hand.
     
  10. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I can understand letting it lapse, why go through another self-study and every other PITA, but I don't see the point in resigning.
     
  11. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Just a guess here, Bruce. I think resignation is the correct way to cancel DEAC accreditation (and the annual fee that goes with it) before the end of the accreditation period - up to 5 years or more. The fee saved is "only" a few thousand bucks a year, but - hey, little savings add up, right? If DEAC accreditation is simply "allowed to lapse" at the end of the period, I assume the school would be on the hook for both NA costs and RA costs till then. Why pay for what you no longer need?

    http://www.deac.org/UploadedDocuments/2016-Handbook/2016-DEAC-Accreditation-Fees.pdf

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 17, 2016
  12. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Thanks, I didn't know there was a yearly fee.

    If I were in charge of a school known for DL programs that had DEAC and then RA, I'd keep the DEAC, not only as insurance against some unforeseen problem with the regional accreditor, but also just as another indicator that the distance learning programs are of good quality.
     
  13. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I think that's quite sensible - but not all schools do it that way, obviously. WGU was dual-accredited, RA and DETC (now DEAC) for some time. Then they dropped their NA. California Miramar U. was DETC, then dual-NA, DETC and ACICS; finally they dropped the DETC/DEAC and stayed with ACICS. There was yet another heated RA vs. NA discussion when WGU dropped the hammer.

    http://www.degreeinfo.com/accreditation-discussions-ra-detc-state-approval-unaccredited-schools/44158-two-schools-lapse-accreditation.html

    J.

    PS. I believe WGU stated they would continue to enrol qualified NA grads, after they (WGU) dropped DETC.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 18, 2016
  14. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I think they'd like a do-over for that one, if they could. Not such a great decision, in retrospect.
     
  15. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Yeah, that was definitely a Ronald Wayne maneuver there.
     
  16. OnlineDegree2014

    OnlineDegree2014 New Member

    Thought I should update you all regarding the "eligible educational institution" discussion above... I had prior student loans from my MBA at another school; now that I am a California Southern University student, Nelnet won't give me an "In-school deferral" since CSU is not an "eligible educational institution"

    Just wanted to warn those of you who need these in-school deferrals; I will be able to manage without it...

    I tried everything, letters from the registrar and everything, CSU was extremely helpful throughout the process, quick response time and lengthy letters explaining their regional accreditation etc but they need to be "eligible to provide financial aid" which they are not...
     
  17. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Does that mean someone who does a program through the American College of Education (RA but no Title IV) not only can't use federal financial aid, but can't defer repaying the loans they've received? That's heavy.
     

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