Teaching with an NA Degree

I can’t explain why, but I learn more via DL from DETC schools. I’ve attended a whole bunch (NA & RA), so I’m speaking from a decent amount of broad personal experience.

 

Has it ever occurred that many admission advisors and/or people at the hiring gate of educational institutions are referring RA as a general term for requiring a degree to come from an "accredited institution" and don't know or even understand DETC accreditation. I have found this in many cases.

 

I have heard different admission advisors admit that on this forum, DD, Degreeboard and elearners. As the years go by, DETC will become more familiar to the school advisors, and thus admissions policies will become reflective of the familiarity = more NA transfer credit. This is happening, but DETC needs to step up their marketing efforts as well.

Abner

 

Results from my doctoral dissertation indicate this might be true. Employers expect "accreditation," but don't know what they're asking for. This favors degrees from DETC-accredited schools, but also favors unaccredited schools touting fake (unrecognized) accreditation.

The good new is, with a little explanation about the legitimacy of DETC--its US Dept. of Ed. and CHEA recognition, for example--the acceptability of degrees from DETC-accredited schools went up. That seems to indicate more PR about DETC is needed.

Another (unfortunate) indication was employers tended to equate state approval with accreditation--until they found out that state approval wasn't considered the same by universities. Then the acceptability of degrees from unaccredited, state-approved schools fell significantly. A little understanding of these matters goes a long way. Holders of degrees from DETC-accredited schools might keep that in mind.

 

If you check out the DETC website they have been steadily increasing their marketability within higher education and in private sector corporations. DETC just recently launched a Corporate Marketing Website and also, at the bottom of their website, they have a section called "Straight Talk About DETC and Distance Learning."

 

Excellent indeed! They are headed in the right direction.

Abner

 

Harrison Middleton University (NA)

Sorry for jumping in like this but in the state of Arizona, a graduate of an NA (at least Harrison Middleton University) school can teach at a public school K thru 12 and also at the local community college (PCC). I don't know about the University of Arizona or the other two state universities (ASU & NAU). I known one cannot teach at the University of Phoenix with a NA degree. I just finished my M.A. last November 2007 from Harrison Middleton University (NA) with no regrets. In fact I have 7 months and 11 days left of VA Educational befits. I’m using them to pursue a second bachelor’s degree (B.A.E.d.) from them, because I feel it will go better with my M.A.E.d. instead of my criminal justice degree. I was able to transfer 90 credits in the program. Harrison Middleton University (NA) also has two doctoral degree programs (Doctor of Education and Doctor of Arts).

Thanks

Mike (USAF Ret.)
NCO Academy Air University (RA)
A.A.S. Community College of the Air Force (RA)
B.S. University of Phoenix (RA)
B.A. Harrison Middleton University (NA) (In progress)
M.A. Harrison Middleton University (NA)

 

What does "NA" mean? Is it referring to all non-RA institutional accreditors? Or to some subset of them? Or what?

I don't think that DETC is more credible and better recognized than the American Bar Association, which serves as the institutional accreditor for a few stand-alone law schools including the University of California's Hastings College of Law. I don't think that it's more credible than the ATS which accredits many stand-alone theological seminaries.

I'd even question whether DETC is better recognized than ACICS, which accredits more schools, places that actually have a physical presence in their communities (even if it's only rented space in an office building). Some of the ACCSCT schools are well known too, like the California Culinary Academy.

So it's often a school-by-school and subject-by-subject thing.

Or perhaps trying to move the discussion away from its DETC-centric focus. Or perhaps making some constructive criticisms of DETC.

My own belief is that DETC would be well advised to push its graduate programs, particularly those that have doctoral aspirations, to take a more active part in the intellectual lives of their disciplines. Create some research units. Publish something. Show up at the conferences. If a DETC school could create some intellectual interest, if it could put itself in the position where everyone is discussing its work, then most people wouldn't care whether it's RA or not.

Nobody worries about Rockefeller University not being RA. But Rockefeller University is light-years away from anything that DETC could imagine at this point.

If DETC (or ACICS or whoever, it's the same argument) wants its degrees and credits to be widely recognized for their academic credibility, then some critical mass of its schools need to be recognized for their academic credibility. There needs to be a sense that the accreditor's schools aren't just a bunch of obscure proprietary schools churning out degrees in high-demand subjects. There needs to be some visible scholarship as well.

 

I agree, and that scholarship is going to need to come from the DETC alumni. I publish articles every now and then, and I’ve already contacted Aspen and have permission to use them in my byline to associate them with professional and scholarly works. I think more people are going to need to do this, to your very point.

DEL

 

Welcome. And thanks for your input.

Abner

 

That's hard to do on these boards. How many graduates and students of DETC-accredited schools treat any discussion of such matters as heresy , necessitating the use of pitchforks and stake-burning?

Is it possible to be supportive of DETC and yet still (a) criticize it or (b) reconize the shortcomings of its accreditation? I like to think so.

 

So having a BA or MA from Harrison Middleton will allow one to teach in a private or public school?

 

Teacher certification is a function of state law/regulations so I'm guessing that there is no single correct answer. The best thing to do is go to the state dept. of education website where you live/work and check the requirements for certification. If it's less than clear then an email or phone call will clarify. Personally, I'd want to see something in writing before I spent a bundle on a DETC degree. You'd hate to go through all that work only to discover that it won't work for you.

 

Maybe a private school... very, very doubtful a public school, while I'm not an expert by any means on each state's requirements, however I would think most public school systems would not touch it. I know here in South Carolina you would be lucky if they kept a straight face if you asked the State Board of Education. Their moto is: "RA or the highway Bub"!

Just check with the state you would like to teach in. Thus you will know up front what you will be facing.
Good luck,
Gavin

 

Assuming you mean K-12, the State Board of Education in your state will be able to answer the question (if it is not answered already on their website) and the answer to the question will usually be no. K-12 education has powerful unions and teacher credentialing at that level can be very important. However, there may be exceptions depending on your other background preparation and education, especially for teaching at private schools. Emergency credentialing does exist. Ask the school at which you want to teach.

If you mean teaching at the community college level, you will have to check with each school relative to what their teaching needs with respect to your background. It all depends.