Interview with Leah Matthews, XD/CEO of DEAC

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by SteveFoerster, Jul 28, 2022.

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  1. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    None close, but if this were the end of 2020 one might've been able to get in on Ashworth's graduate program death throes deal. They were dumping all of their grad programs back then and were offering the MBA program for under $2000 or so. Didn't last. Quantic was offering a free MBA, but that ended.
     
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  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yeah - Ashworth had a fire-sale on the MBA at the end - $1,999. We had a thread on the end of grad programs there:
    https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/ashworth-ditch-graduate-programs.57715/

    IIRC Quantic had a free offering of the MBA before they were Quantic - they were Smart.ly and not yet accredited. IIRC you had to qualify - they picked those who, in their opinion, were most likely to succeed (or wrote brilliant admissions essays at least.) They still give quite generous discounts, that depend on one's circumstances. But I THINK you might need something like all the following to get a free degree, these days:

    (1) You live in one of the 5 least-developed nations in the world.
    (2) You have at least 8 children
    (3) Your income is less than $600 a year

    Well --- yeah, I'm lying, obviously, but something pretty strict, anyway.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2022
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  3. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    Is part (or all) of the reason these schools are moving to weekly-format classes financial aid eligibility?
     
  4. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I don't know... a lot of DEAC accredited schools don't even participate in Title IV, so why would they? Pressure on DEAC from NACIQI?
     
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  5. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    They admitted that the grad programs just didn't have good enough enrollment numbers compared to their undergrad programs to justify keeping them, although I've had the suspicion that this was a decision made by the Penn Foster side more than the Ashworth side, perhaps for alignment reasons. In any case, when they made the cuts students went ballistic on their forums. The collective concern was along the lines of "Well, what do I do once I'm done with my Bachelor's now?!? I can't afford what other schools charge!!!"

    I always felt like keeping at least one grad program would've been helpful for students who were already in the system and looking to progress, maybe one MBA with several short specializations to cover their top undergrad field offerings, but, no dice.

    LOL. Quantic posted a blog about the change last year:

    https://quantic.edu/blog/2021/05/19/is-quantic-mba-free-information-on-the-new-program

    I liked what they were doing with the free program. It was a great help to people who needed it and also worked as a marketing tool. I also like the way they're handling their admission process and their Global Student Conference setup. The people behind it clearly have a grasp on what makes an MBA valuable and they're doing a good job of adding it to their program.
     
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  6. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    I know that required financial aid academic progress timetables are easier to track when a student is working on a set start and end date. Some DEAC schools like Huntington University of Health Sciences and Apollos University (fed/state Finaid doesn't appear to be an available option with Apollos now) addressed that matter in this way: instead of having mandated weekly attendance with work submission deadlines, each course has a time limit of a certain number of weeks at which point your progress is assessed.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2022
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  7. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    Potentially also other sources of financial aid, like veteran's, state vocational rehabilitation, or employer tuition reimbursement.
     
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  8. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Sorry for the late reply, still getting caught up on old threads.

    I see DEAC as a victim of the success of DL in general. It started out as the National Home Study Council, I remember as a kid seeing their ads for home study courses in locksmithing, small engine repair, etc.

    Once DL became a thing, they stepped in with a new name (DETC) and accredited degree-granting schools that offered programs 100% by distance, which no RA school would do.

    As Rich noted earlier, that attitude with the RA’s has been gone for 20+ years.
     
  9. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    And if I remember correctly there were frequently ads on matchbooks. I always loved education and learning and as a young kid I found it extremely intriguing all the classes one could choose from.
     
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