Degree from program in abeyance?

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by bigposse, Sep 30, 2019.

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  1. bigposse

    bigposse New Member

    So if a degree is completed from a program that is placed in abeyance, is this degree considered as from an accredited institution (assuming the institution passes candidacy and achieves institutional accreditation)?
     
  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I believe it depends 100% on the time. Usually, if you complete your degree BEFORE the school officially achieves accreditation (not candidacy) - I believe it won't be so considered - under any set of circumstances I'm aware of. If on or after the date of accreditation - it is of course, covered.

    That's the way I see it. Let's wait - oh, maybe 5-15 minutes - for a second opinion.
     
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I'm not sure what a "program placed in abeyance" means.

    If a degree awarded by a school that is not accredited at the time of the award, it is a degree from an unaccredited school. However, this distinction gets lost if the school goes on to become accredited later. The working assumption seems to be that if the school got accredited, it was functioning as well as an accredited school at the time of the award.

    I'm not so sure this can be said of some of the uh, er, "interesting" schools that later (much later) received DEAC accreditation. But it probably works for those graduates, too.
     
  4. bigposse

    bigposse New Member

    So if a program is placed in "abeyance", it is in temporary suspension. A teach out usually occurs for any students in it, when placed in suspension. I didn't know if it mattered if the degree is obtained from that program, since it isn't a matter of programmatic accreditation, but IS one of institutional accreditation.

    To your point, do employers in academia and elsewhere only look at whether or not the institution is accredited, not when (relative to degree conferral)? I have no idea how this works in the public and in academia. And it honestly doesn't even seem to matter many places.....
     
  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I repeat, if the degree is awarded during a time when the school does not have accreditation, the degree is from an unaccredited school. Technically.

    In reality, it depends on where you go and what you're doing. Some employers might look to see if a school is listed as accredited in some source they rely upon. Other employers may not look at all. (This is the reason diploma mills exist.) Will employers try to match the date your degree was awarded with the accreditation status of the school at the time of the award? I doubt it.

    My PhD research showed that HR managers don't know and don't care about accreditation or the legitimacy of the degree claim. I hold the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification and I can assure you that this subject (credential verification) is NOT a part of the HR profession's body of knowledge.
     
  6. bigposse

    bigposse New Member

    Interesting. So you could graduate, technically, from a program that is in candidacy, and your degree still be considered accredited (since no one seems to check)??
     
  7. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Wow. Rich, you up for saying it all one more time? Here's my take: if the program is in candidacy then it is not accredited. So your degree is from an unaccredited school. Period. That will ALWAYS be true. Forever. You will never be able to say otherwise. But if the school eventually becomes accredited and someone checks to see if the school is accredited they will see that, yes, it is accredited. BUT if they go back a little deeper and start checking dates they will discover that while the school is accredited right now, it wasn't when you graduated. Will that matter? Maybe. Maybe not. You can say "The school that issued my degree is an accredited school." That will be a true statement but you will clearly be misleading the listener and so you are making a conscious effort to deceive them. Are you that kind of guy?
     
  8. bigposse

    bigposse New Member

    Nah. I'm not. And no, I don't want Rich to repeat himself. :) I'm just trying to clarify, because it was surprising to read within the context of certain private employers, and also academia. Points made; points clear. Gracias.
     
  9. bigposse

    bigposse New Member

    Well, FWIW, I contacted the President of the institutional accreditor of which I was speaking, and he informed me that candidacy status is considered an accredited status by usde. He is actually right by USDE. So the degree conferred would be considered accredited. Interesting, so I thought I’d share.
     
  10. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Candidacy is a weird place. But yes, degrees from schools who are a candidate for accreditation are normally treated as if they came from accredited schools.
     
  11. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I don't know who you were speaking with but this suggests that you're wrong.

    " An institution in Candidacy status is not accredited; rather it has met the Commission’s Eligibility Requirements and shows evidence that it is making progress toward meeting all the Criteria for Accreditation."

    https://www.hlcommission.org/Student-Resources/how-institutions-are-accredited.html
     
  12. bigposse

    bigposse New Member

    Interesting. This differs from what I found on the USDE and OPE websites. I appreciate the info. I've decided to avoid the whole situation anyway.
     
  13. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    A candidate for accreditation is not accredited. This is true. But degrees and credits from candidate schools tend to be accepted by accredited schools.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  14. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Rich's first doctoral research involved long interviews with a great many corporate HR executives, to learn what they knew about accreditation.

    When I am explaining Rich's findings to others, my one-word summary is, "Clueless."
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  15. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    "When I am explaining Rich's findings to others, my one-word summary is, "Clueless.""

    If I could have pushed that through the dean's office, it would have saved me a lot of trouble. But it is very, very true.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  16. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Recently, I came across a federal job opening that said that pre-accredited status counts as accredited. I'm assuming they're referring to people who earned degrees from a school that was in candidacy status at the time and later attained accreditation.
     
  17. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    I once worked in an office where a large junk & storage room was labelled "Beyance." When a client asked about something, one could reply, "It's in a beyance."
     
    Johann and SteveFoerster like this.
  18. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    If the boss had labelled the room "Beyoncé" instead, maybe that would have got some attention...
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.

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