Another Win for DEAC

Looks like ACBSP is now accepting DEAC accredited schools as applicants . See California Intercontinental University.

I wonder if this new level of recognition is a result of the lack of the Dept of Ed. distinction between regional and national (institutional) accreditation?
What do you all think?

 

I think it had to come - economic reasons. I'm sure AACSB has been eating much of ACBSP's lunch for a long time in the market of schools served by the "Accreditors-formerly-known-as Regional." Something that undoubtedly helped pay the bills was ACBSP's willingness to accredit overseas schools as long as they had "sufficient" degree-granting authority in their own country. "Sufficient" always meant legal, but sometimes, not necessarily mainstream.

It's a natural decision - and a wise one, I think. Opens up a market they will doubtless serve very well. I'd be absolutely astonished, though, to see ACCSB start accrediting any DEAC or similarly-accredited schools. They wouldn't ..... would they?

 

Absolutely. Well-said.

 

Good point Johann. I agree that NA schools present a new market for ACBSP. But my question goes more towards equivalency. In other words, is ACBSP now acknowledging NA schools can be equivalent to RA schools in terms of meeting its specific standards, and as such, can now expand its market by serving DEAC schools (to your point).

 

I think that's answered by the fact they're doing it. I don't think ACBSP would be taking applications from those schools, if they didn't think that their programs had a reasonably good chance of meeting ACBSP standards. It woulds be pointless, otherwise.

 

ACBSP also accredits at least one unaccredited school, Horizons University.

https://acbsp.org/members/?id=18776055

 

For US schools ACBSP has, in the past, required RA. For overseas schools, the standard is "sufficient degree-granting authority in its own country." They are sole arbiters of what is "sufficient." They have accredited programs at Swiss distance schools that are 100% legal, but have only a Cantonal License and no Swiss Federation recognition.

Horizons is "legal," completely. It has Ministry permission to grant degrees, but the degrees are not State-recognized. Quite a few schools ACBSP has accredited programs for, overseas, have legal, but non-mainstream degree-granting authority. "Sufficent" is in the eye of the beholder, I guess - in this case ACBSP. Well, as long as the programs meet their standards -- and I'm sure they do. It's not a cakewalk to attain ACBSP programmatic accreditation.

 

Programmatic accreditation for NA really could change the math. How much will it change the math? Too soon to say.
But years ago the notion that your degree from a DETC accredited school could also be ABET accredited was preposterous.

I do see this potentially causing a showdown with inconsistent state standards that were written by people who didn't know what the words they were using meant. If, for example, a state requires RA but says that a CPA candidate needs a degree from a school that is ACBSP or AACSB, for example, this could throw a wrench in the works. Practically speaking, I don't think it will be a major hurdle. I also haven't seen any states that use ACBSP as a requirement for any sort of licensing. But I imagine it could still happen, possibly to nursing first. We're still dealing with such small numbers of degrees that the likelihood of it becoming a huge issue is low.

Who knows? Maybe this sort of thing will eventually force WES to revisit their assessments.

 

Maybe someday. When there are DEAC-accredited Medical Schools, perhaps. It'll be a while.... don't hold your breath.

 

In my home state of Texas, teacher licensure can now be obtained by students who graduate from a university who's accreditation is formally recognized by the Texas Higher Education Board, which includes DEAC and other NA agencies. North American University in Houston has a teacher prep program and the school is nationally accredited. I don't see why other states wouldn't accept Texas teacher license if someone moves to another state and seeks licensure there.
Things are changing. Slowly, but they are changing.
It would seem that at some point WES, et al, will need to revisit their evaluations.

 

Like I said - gonna be a while. When you see DEAC Medical Schools - maybe. There have been DEAC Accredited Law Schools for a long time - did you see WES change? Well, then...

 

Thanatopractice.

 

Ummm - That's better known as Mortuary Science, isn't it? Or do you mean unintended deaths? A possibility, for sure. But what I meant is - even IF such schools ever happened (and they likely won't) WES would not change its tune.

Not a plug for DEAC Medical schools. They're good folks at DEAC and do a fine job -- but those schools are, as we know, off limits. And AFAIK, DEAC has never said they were unhappy with that.

 

It seems ACBSP is filling an area of need that AACSB will never even consider moving into.

 

Possibly because they need to, to maintain a requisite-size market. AACSB is perceived differently and they have much more of a lock on the schools "formerly known as RA."

 

I remember Nursing programs used to be unheard of with DEAC (DETC) schools, but that eventually changed. DEAC used to accredit The University of St. Augustine, a school based largely around Doctor of Physical Therapy programs and they eventually moved into Nursing and other therapy modalities.

Most DEAC schools are small and not holding much funding so it would be a challenge for a DEAC school to run a medical school successfully in the United States. I thought foreign medical schools might try for DEAC accreditation, and maybe some have at some point in the past, but foreign schools that are licensed to run (unaccredited or otherwise) in their home countries generally already have some advantages that I don't think having DEAC accreditation would make any real difference, but I could be overlooking something.

 

If foreign medical schools that market to U.S. students could by the means of being accredited by a U.S. institutional accreditor access U.S. federal student loans, they'd seek that.