have NA master's...want RA master's

If you get a discount tuition at NCU, I would look into it. I am enjoyin it so far and the RA PhD I arn will help to pyramid over my dubious first Master's

 

Re: have Dubious NA master's...want RA master's

You seem to be the all-knowing. What are your background and experiences that make you the authority?

 

Re: Re: have Dubious NA master's...want RA master's

He is a troll who just showed up. Someone needs to ban him before he makes Senior Member.

 

Re: have Dubious NA master's...want RA master's

There is a general consensus that regional accreditation is the gold standard. However, a significant number of posters have indicated that they have obtained degrees from DETC accredited schools resulting in job promotions and/or admission into RA distance online graduate schools. So although there is little question that it is preferable to obtain an RA degree we cannot "throw the baby out with the bathwater" because DETC degrees do have value for a number of individuals and cannot be totally discounted as a viable means of graduates realizing their career and educational goals. In addition, it is conceivable that the new DETC doctorates MAY enhance the image of DETC schools.

 

DETC vs Alternatives

I don't see that consensus on this forum. Several posters here are adamant that NA (eg DETC) is as good as and even superior to RA. That's just not so - and its unfair to mislead people who are exploring DL - especially DETC - that NA is anywhere near RA in quality or reputation.

It's undeniably true that some DETC degrees lead to promotions and even to admission into graduate school. However, this anecdotal evidence is self-reported and not tested against other personal strategies. What would their promotion rate and graduate school eligibility rate be if they took an RA DL ? Probably better. What are the lifetime earnings of a DETC graduate compared to a traditional B&M graduate or an RA DL graduate ? Probably the traditional graduate quickly outpaces the DETC graduate by repeated promotions a DETC grad may never see past his initial bump. This is partly due to the lower quality of DETC schools, the self-selecting low quality of DETC students, and the (rational) bias among employers against DETC.

In short, I think there's an honorable and necessary place for DL and even DETC - but it should't be sold as an equivalant alternative to B&M residential schooling in an RA environment.

Well, it's conceivable, but highly unlikely in my view. More probably, all DL doctorates will suffer a decline in prestige and employability as DETC schools start offering doctorates.

 

Re: DETC vs Alternatives

Kalos: I don't see that consensus on this forum. Several posters here are adamant that NA (eg DETC) is as good as and even superior to RA. That's just not so - and its unfair to mislead people who are exploring DL - especially DETC - that NA is anywhere near RA in quality or reputation.

SIMON: Yes there are several posters who are very adamant regarding the value of national/DETC degrees. However, the vast majority of posters on this forum are aware of the superiority of regionally accredited degrees. If there is any doubt about this let's hold an informal poll and review the results.

KALOS:It's undeniably true that some DETC degrees lead to promotions and even to admission into graduate school.

SIMON: So far, so good.

KALOS:However, this anecdotal evidence is self-reported and not tested against other personal strategies.

SIMON: Anecdotal? So far you have been relying on your opinions, beliefs and perceptions and generalizations, not hard core fact supported by substantive evidence. Is this not anecdotal?

KALOS: What would their promotion rate and graduate school eligibility rate be if they took an RA DL ? Probably better.

SIMON: Please stay focused. This is not a matter of what the promotion and graduate school results would had been had these individuals completed an RA degree. It is irrelevant to THIS discussion. I made a specific statement that a number of individuals with DETC degrees on this forum have indicated they obtained job promotions and admission to graduate schools and this has absolutely nothing to do with hypothetical comparisons with RA degrees!

KALOS: What are the lifetime earnings of a DETC graduate compared to a traditional B&M graduate or an RA DL graduate ? Probably the traditional graduate quickly outpaces the DETC graduate by repeated promotions a DETC grad may never see past his initial bump. This is partly due to the lower quality of DETC schools, the self-selecting low quality of DETC students, and the (rational) bias among employers against DETC.

SIMON: These hypothetical questions may have merit but once again are not relevant relating to the points I raised regarding the value of DETC degrees for a number of posters.

KALOS:In short, I think there's an honorable and necessary place for DL and even DETC - but it should't be sold as an equivalant alternative to B&M residential schooling in an RA environment.

SIMON: Once again, you are being tangential and not staying focused on the issues I broached. In fact, nothing I stated touched on whether DETC degrees were being "sold" as equivalent with RA degrees.

KALOS: Well, it's conceivable, but highly unlikely in my view. More probably, all DL doctorates will suffer a decline in prestige and employability as DETC schools start offering doctorates.

SIMON: Maybe, but as I noted, you, I or anyone else can speculate endlessly but we will still have to wait until the data is in and we have an opportunity to review the outcomes.

 

Jamie, I've looked at AMU site. I think it's a good choice.

 

KALOS,

The Fact is your mis-leading .......

A Degree's worth regardless of its accreditions is equal to its voluntary acceptance by Businesses, professionals, and academic communities.

Does an NA DETC degree have its limations ? Yes, transfer limations, teaching and professional jobs, etc..

IS NA DETC degree accepted ? Yes, many businesses pay tution reimbursement for NA degree's, The goverment via GI BIll pays for NA degrees's.. You rarely ever see job posting differentiate amogest NA/RA

The fact is a NA degree will open doors for you just as well as an RA degree...

 

I wonder how many employers really know the difference between NA and RA. A professional is worth because of his or her experience and resume rather than technicalities.

Rather than NA vs RA, employers tend to be bias against online degrees in general and more from pure online schools.

In the real world, a degree from NCU or Aspen wouldn't really make much of a difference in the work place.

As for further study, NA degrees have limitations but one can always negotiate graduate school admission.

I respect the personal opinion of KALOS but very few people in the work place have knowledge of the difference between NA and RA degrees.

 

I agree with all of your points but the last. RA is the quintessential standard that is universally regarded as the most credible and valued form of accreditation in the USA. As noted, NA degrees have merit and can be useful for employment and for advanced educational purposes but generally are NOT perceived "as well as" RA degrees for opening "doors" in the areas of employment and advanced education in terms of acceptability and credibility.

 

Here's a personnel example of not knowing the difference between NA/RA in the private sector

I mention to my senior mgr I was persueing a degree from Excelsior. He ask if they where an accredit school. I repleid yes there regionaly accredit and he replied by saying thats not good you should find a nationaly accredit school...

This mgr is responable for over 60 people.. when it comes to hiring, promotions etc he makes the final decision...

what makes you think this isn't the norm outside the world of education ??

 

RFVALVE

Really?, Can you provide data to support this? So you are telling me that all the human resources carry books to determine if a school is DETC or RA and actually do this for every single resume they get. This seems more naive to me.

SIMON: Support for what? Reread my statement carefully because you are misinterpreting it entirely! I never said or implied that ALL human resource personnel "carry books to determine if a school is DETC or RA" but was clarifying the fact that not ALL such personnel are so naive as to not know the distinctions. No more, no less.

RFVALVE: I'm not writting a research paper on the matter give me a break. This is based on my experience with online graduates from RA schools looking for work here in Canada.

SIMON: I am giving you all the breaks you desire. However YOU made a generalization and presented it as fact. In addition you are speaking about your experiences in Canada which does not necessarily apply to the US.

RVALVE: Many comment that employers automatically will be turn down when they know that the degree was earned online from an online school. In Canada, very few would actually know the difference between NA and RA and will be bias against degrees from online schools regardless of type of accreditation.

SIMON: That may be true for Canada but not for the USA.

RFVALVE: OK, not always but one can always try to talk to the admissions officer and see the options. In Canada most schools would negotiate admission based on independent status performance.

SIMON: Of course! That is a given and may be the case in Canada BUT that is a far cry from your initial statement that one can "ALWAYS negotiate graduate admissions".

RFVALVE: This is based on experience, but it would be as easy as preparing a study and sending resumes with the same experience with both RA and NA degrees that match a job requirement and see how many would be called and if RA is preferred against NA.

SIMON: It would be an interesting study.

RVALVE:I work in IT and have never been asked about the source of my degree but always have been asked technical questions about the job. If questions were answered properly, I normally would get an offer, if not, I wouldn't regardless of the RA or NA or Canadian or any accreditation of the degree.

SIMON: However you are making global assertations based on your experiences in IT but are failing to realize that in a number of other professions such as Psychology, business (such as an NA MBA), academia, etc, one would not get away with an NA degree in lieu of one from a regionally accredited school, specifically in the USA.

 

Because you are citing your anecdotal experiences as a generalized fact (your quote: "The fact is a NA degree will open doors for you just as well as an RA degree") which is just not true! There are situations when one can use an NA degree on par with one from an RA institution but to state this as a definitive fact is not accurate.

 

Business? So let me see, an employer is looking for a sales manager with proven sales record and gets a resume from a person with lots of experience in the same industry of the prospect employer and proven sales record but with an MBA from Aspen. On the other hand, the employer gets a resume from candidate with a MBA from NCU with a previous job as a telemarketer. Who is going to get the job?


My wife made it to be an account manager of a fortune 500 in the US with a high school diploma. Once I suggested her an online MBA and she told me that few of the executives at her firm have an MBA as industry experience was preferred.

I think tha we are overating the value RA over NA. I agree that I would want to go for a RA degree instead as you might want to keep your options open but saying that one will never get a chance in business because of a NA degree is absurd.

 

I'll drop the "fact" but I'm sticking by my statement that an NA degree will open doors just as well as an RA degree will ...

 

I would add, an online NA degree will open doors as well as an online RA degree from an online school.

There is a bias against online schools (RA or NA), the type of accreditation would not really make much of a difference as the school itself. My take is that the acceptability of a degree from Aspen, CCU or any other NA school would be about the same as one from a pure online school as Jones international or NCU. This is in the work environment and not in academia where RA degrees from online schools have an advantage.

 

ok I'm Senior Telecom Tech and have worked for Verizon for past 9 years. I have total of 67 sh credits from various sources.. some NA some RA.. Penn Foster, UMUC & Execelsior

Most of what I say on these messages boreds is my opininions based off my personnel experinces ..

Simon can you please share your educational back round and your line of work as this would help me understand your view point..