Accreditation for unisa (southAfrica)

Darn you Kizmet! Now you have me thinking about the UNISA doctoral programs because of the comments you made in that thread I titled : Talking about degree for enjoyment/growth - ROI not being considered" Here is one of your quotes:

"Ithink that cyber and bazonkers have both made good points".

"There are some people who would be happy to read a structured set of books just for the enjoyment and the learning experience. There are free online courses offeredby a number of reputable organizations as well. But some people like a more structured experience with feedback, a bit of discussion and maybe even a deadline or two to keep you going. I fall into that category. I have always recommended UNISA for that purpose. It's very inexpensive and if you're in no particular hurry than the administrative delays in enrolling really won't matter much. If you're talking about a research-based grad degree the good news is that it's essentially self-paced. If you goof off for a semester there's no real consequences except for your micro-tuition. I think it's a great idea to earn a degree just out of curiosity/interest, regardless of the ROI".

Abner :smile:

 

Abner,

I know this is an old post, but I am just trying to learn more about UNISA. Hence, I have some questions:

Q: When you mentioned the "conclusion" about UNISA's degree equivalence, who concluded this? Solely people on this DI or is this actually viewed by some governmental standard?

Q: What is GAAP requirements? I did a search and found that GAAP stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, but I'm not sure how this ties into the subject.

Q: Also, I'm having difficulty understanding the tuition cost. I found on their page (Unisa Online - Tuition and study material fees) what looks to be a tuition breakdown. I believe tuition, per module, is 1100 South African Rand, which equates to roughly $102.40 USD. Am I correct?

Q: Right now I am finishing my master's degree in psychology. Hypothetically speaking, if I were to pursue my PhD in Psychology from UNISA, would the degree be viewed well enough to teach? I know that I need a minimum of 18 units in the subject matter to teach undergraduate psychology courses (which my master's would allow me to do), but would a PhD from UNISA really allow someone to be more marketable than say someone with a PhD within the US? Hopefully anyone can add some commentary to this question.

Thanks again for your previous contribution. Hopefully my questions will add some additional insight for others, too.

 

I applied there several years ago (about 5 now) so I have few answers.

1. I know of one person who is a Nursing professor who pursued her D.Litt et Phil at UNISA so that she could keep her tenure track position. The school said it simply need to be equivalent to a US PhD. If you look at WES' online evaluation tool (https://www.wes.org/preliminary/idp.asp) you will see the UNISA Doctoral degrees appear as options, therefore WES will review for equivalence. So will other NACES firms and they will undoubtdly state it is equivalent to a Doctorate from a US Regionally Accredited Institution.

2. GAAP in this case has been bastardized to mean "Generally Accepted Accrediting Principles". I think someone on this board made that up but it makes sense. The idea is that does the foreign country have a similar pattern and systematic process to that of the US, Canada, Europe, etc, for recognizing schools as being legitimate. Some countries have absolutely no oversight or a thick wad of cash can get you "accredited"

3. UNISA is REALLY cheap. When I ran the numbers a single year in their DPA program was about US$1500.

 

Now, let me say this. Your mileage may vary as to department. I paid $1800.00 this year, so remember, not all are the same. Not sure why.