Ashworth College... HELP PLEASE. accredited?

Discussion in 'Education, Teaching and related degrees' started by Cierra m, Feb 23, 2019.

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  1. Cierra m

    Cierra m New Member

    last week I enrolled in Ashworth College, thinking I could get my associates in early childhood education. I currently work at a daycare center in Washington state. I am wondering if this program is accredited, I know it’s not regionally accredited and it is nationally accredited. I am wondering if the Washington Department of Early Learning will accept a degree from this school? As of August 2019, I have to be enrolled in ECE in order to keep my position at my center. I was reading online reviews about Ashworth and people were saying that they’re not a very accredited school and that their degrees were worth nothing. Please help answer my question! If I continue and get through my degree will it be accepted by a) the DEL if I choose to be a center director one day or b) public schools in Washington if I choose to persue teaching. Thanks!
     
  2. Michigan68

    Michigan68 Active Member

    Simply ask the Washington department if the school just needs to be accredited and/or have certain program accreditations. Many times if a employer has a scholarship program, they list the schools that are acceptable.

    You have time. Don’t make a uneducated decision.

    If Ashworth is acceptable, then great. That’s where I received my Associates.
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Michigan is correct when he urges you to make an educated decision. Do some homework. For example, some public school systems require RA degrees. That may not be true where you live. It's easy enough to check. The good news is that the degree you're looking for is not uncommon and should you find that an RA degree is preferred I'm sure you'll have many choices. My first suggestion in that regard is for you to check out your local state university or community college. It's quite possible that they have a suitable program.
     
  4. dlbb

    dlbb Active Member

    If you are this early in, you are best off finding a regionally accredited school. Look to Kizmet's advice with respect to local state universities and community colleges. You likely will find a better choice that is cheaper and regionally accredited closer to home.

    Here is one WA community college with that program:
    https://www.wvc.edu/academics/ece/index.html
    I imagine there are many others in WA state.

    If it is 5 days, you can get a full refund from Ashworth:
    https://www.ashworthcollege.edu/admissions/tuition/refund-policy/

    It is possible an NA program may suitable for your needs. You would need to check as described above, but those credits will not transfer over to a RA college or university, if you decide to further your education later (such as becoming a teacher). So in my opinion it would seem foolish to waste your time on NA when you are this early on and do not have too much invested in it, but the choice is yours. The only reason they are NA is because they cannot become RA.
     
  5. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    In the future- any program you're considering can be checked for accreditation here: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home

    I pulled it for you- the school has the following accreditation:

    Distance Education Accrediting Commission
    Accredited since (01/15/2000) Next Review Date (12/31/2021)

    Tossing in- the Washington Department of Early Learning appears to have a page outlining the education rules for the zillion types of career titles (really, it seems a little much) https://ececareers.del.wa.gov/what-is-early-learning/careers

    I can't make heads or tails of what they consider an associate degree that would be acceptable. I see no wording or indication in the licensing either- really, it's very strange. The only thing I can tell you is that their database of programs are all regionally accredited, but they don't say you have to use those schools- it's more like a helpful tool. Honestly, I have no idea.

    On Monday, call the WDEL and specifically ask "what kind of accreditation does my associate degree have to have to qualify me for ___" and write down what they say. Don't tell them where you are now, it's not important. Come back and report what they tell you and I might be able to offer more.
     
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  6. dlbb

    dlbb Active Member

    You really should expend your efforts RA. You were on the right track there with that question. I hope you can find an RA school. The DEAC credits will not transfer if you decide to go get another degree, even if they are accepted for the purpose you seek. That school should be only a last resort if you cannot find anything RA and cannot take time off work to attend in person, since the credits from the classes would not have value otherwise.

    Spend some time searching the local community colleges and schools in WA. Some may have some or all of the classes online.
     
  7. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    That is totally false. Credits from DEAC programs transfer to many, many schools, many of which are RA schools, some that may even surprise the average detractor that doesn't actually know any better about the situation but is going entirely off rumors. DEAC schools are not a black mark or a career death wish. Plenty of them provide a perfectly fine education.

    No matter whether you choose RA or NA, you need to do your research because even an RA degree that was earned under the lack of proper programmatic accreditation can put you in a situation where your degree won't be accepted by some employers in some areas, that's the part no one ever mentions.

    The real problem here is people enrolling into things without having done their research first. That makes no sense to me. Personally, I value my money and time far too much to do that, but that's me.
     
  8. JBjunior

    JBjunior Active Member

    Overall you are correct. There are many RA schools that will accept NA credits/degrees, Liberty comes to mind. With that said, all things being equal I would never attend an NA school and can't think of any advantage of doing so. There are plenty of RA schools available that are cheap enough, for most programs.
     
  9. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    I can think of a few. With regard to Ashworth, it's highly unlikely one would find a cheaper RA program. Many people will point to the concept of RA over NA, but in reality most of these RA schools people are attending are almost as anonymous if not more than Ashworth in the eyes of the general employer.

    Then there is speed. If you're a mid-career or later professional, the last thing you really want to do is spend 8-16 week class structures over the course of years to earn a degree in a field you probably already know a lot about. Being self-paced eliminates that problem entirely since you could test out of a big chunk of the program, and if you're good with essays you could finish a program in a fraction of the time it would take at other schools.

    What gets me about a lot of RA schools is that some of them have the nerve to charge more than Harvard. My take is, if I'm going to spend that then I might as well go to the best school for the money, but many people spend that and go to schools the average person has never heard of outside of these forums. Makes no sense to me, but hey, it's their money. I say all of that holding both RA and NA degrees.
     
  10. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    This doesn't help the OP since none of these options are associate's or certificate programs in early childhood studies, but competency-based programs at RA schools are self-paced. They let you transfer in CLEP, DSST, and ACE-approved courses. You can also test out of a degree at your own pace at Excelsior, TESU, and COSC. Walden (self-paced TempoLearning) and COSC offer bachelor degree programs in this field of study.
     
  11. JBjunior

    JBjunior Active Member

    I live in WA so I went over some of this. The website doesn't appear to align with this "breakdown" of things coming down the line in August https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/FoundationalQualityStandardsAwarenessGuide.pdf. OP kind of talks about it a little in her post that she wants the associates degree if she chooses to be a center director one day. For a teacher, of varying levels in ECE, there are alternative ways to reach what is required based on that PDF. I didn't find anything in the law that required an RA program but there is a lot of language that indicates they are going to be digging deep to make sure it meets their requirements.
     
  12. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    True. Here is the thing I think we all take for granted at times: we've had the luxury of being at this forum for years where we could soak-in that kind of information and learn what to do. You posted that information without difficulty because you know the process already. The average person however, is in the same position as the OP, not knowing what they're doing exactly. They show up hoping someone can help them make sense of it all. We quickly post answers because we know the ropes, but people outside the know like the OP will have to be shown or they are highly unlikely to come to find out on their own.

    The thing about a program like Ashworth's is that the self-paced concept is structured already whereas if you go the CLEP/DSST/ACE route you're going about it without a pre-determined A-to-Z structure unless you copy someone who has posted their approach at some point in the past.

    Now, if I had a choice and I was just starting out, would Ashworth be high on my list? No, and that's not because I have any issues with the school, but just because I know if I spend a little more I can get hooked up with a more recognizable program. I hate to say that, but names can sometimes matter. In ECE, it probably won't matter much, the school systems are generally only going to care that the degree meets their qualification requirements, but in other cases it can matter the higher up the ladder one wishes to go.
     
  13. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    There is a learning curve with the Big 3, but the competency-based programs at WGU, Capella, Walden, JFK, Brandman, University of Wisconsin, Northern Arizona University, etc. are structured, self-paced programs that charge by term instead of by credit hour.
     
  14. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    If I was starting out all over again, I would pick a competency-based program. Before that, I'd get my feet wet with a program like Straighterline. Unfortunately, back then, no such programs existed yet.
     
  15. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Ashworth College is nationally accredited. This means that whether or not it is accepted depends on regulators in a particular state. In your case, Washington Department of Early Learning. Do ask them directly.

    What I do know is Ashworth is recognised in it's home state, Georgia, and some other states. Yes, we did ask Georgia's authorities directly. Based on that, I tried to help my friend to get and use the college to get recognition in Canada. We were ultimately successful, but AC's non-RA status caused a year of delays and made us go to court to get the result. Oh yes, and now Ontario's regulator changed the rules (likely as a direct result of what we did) - NA schools are not eligible. In retrospect, I should have just directed my friend to an RA school. Greater ease and affordability of Ashworth was not worth additional hassle afterwards.
     
  16. dlbb

    dlbb Active Member

    Exactly. There are just so many good reasons not to do anything but RA. People may think they know better, are saving money, are sticking it to the man, but they ultimately only hurt themselves. Pay the extra money and go RA. The nice thing about money is, you can always get more. Once you have those NA or DEAC credits, you are stuck sometimes, and even a lawsuit may not be able to help you.
     
  17. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    To make sure we're being fair, we should tell all people to ask the authorities of the area they wish to practice their major regardless of whether they received their degree from an NA school or RA school. I cannot stress enough the misconception that as long as it's RA it's all good. Over the years, there have been plenty of horror stories where a person graduated from an RA school, thought they were good to go in their field, only to find out the program didn't meet state requirements for a number of reasons (lacked adequate training hours, lacked programmatic accreditation, lacked a practicum, etc.).

    I've not heard of it ever being necessary for a school to be recognized at the state level outside of its own state. To my knowledge, past state lines the thing that matters is legitimate accreditation, and then from there a particular state may or may not specify a requirement for a certain accreditation type.

    To be fair, your friend's situation was unique enough that this would be irrelevant to the average person attending Ashworth (American citizen). Even some of the programs that in the past would've been closed off because of being NA have had that barrier knocked down. Take for instance Ashworth's Nursing, fitness, pharmacy tech and veterinary programs. The school did a good job of breaking down those barriers and now their graduates can practice without issue.

    Personally, I would never expect any degree to easily translate internationally without some scrutiny for the simple fact that different countries have different positions on these matters.

    Many times, a qualified professional who wishes to practice in another state or country has to pass the certifications there before they can do it anyway, because as stated, different places have different positions on these matters.

    That said, I would love to have heard the regulators arguments for why they are against the entirety of NA schools. The reasoning can be nothing but overreaching generalizations, but I still would've loved to hear it.

    No one has ever hurt themselves by obtaining a legitimate college degree. The only way a person can hurt themselves is by not researching before doing so and running into surprises at the end. It's also not simply about paying extra money as there are many NA programs that are more expensive than RA programs, it's just that Ashworth isn't one of them. No one is ever stuck with their credits, because, as I've pointed out, there are many schools who accept them, many are fantastic schools to boot. That used to be a real serious issue, but at this point there are so many schools that accept NA credits that it's only a minor inconvenience when one says 'no'.

    I get that your position is RA or nothing and that's totally fine. But it just concerns me that after all these years and the number of things that have changed that people are still posting scare stories about NA schools with fears that are mostly outdated now.
     
  18. dlbb

    dlbb Active Member

    Well intentioned perhaps but seriously misguided misinformation here. Perhaps it benefits you in your life and career, and for many people, it will be just fine. But it prevents serious roadblocks. You want to go get a four year degree? Opps, have to go find a school with low standards that will accept it. Cannot go to a local university. Want to go to a reputable master's program? Yikes, good luck. Try retaking the degree, unless you can maybe find some low standards school or (worse yet) have to go get an NA master's. Again, depending on individual needs, it may not matter, but most people don't know what the future will hold, so it is not worth it. Pretty much the only time I would encourage it is if you are a teacher and getting a master's just for a pay bump and know you will be a lifelong teacher, which is most of them. Particularly if you are doing anything more serious or academic, STEM, etc., you want to steer far away from NA/DEAC. Some people may pop up and say they are fine, but people also like to pretend vaccines causes Autism. Unless one of the above applies to you, you are only seriously limiting your future. Do you want to be forced to convert that NA / DEAC at some (let's be honest) what is likely a somewhat undesirable school, rather than the nice school you want to go to? It really is unnerving how people continue to propagate this information. Many of the proponents of these places will go on and on about them and have an excuse for every deficiency, and no matter what you say, they will never accept the validity of any of your arguments. Many went to these places and want to feel better about the choices they made. For some, it may not matter at all realistically, depending on what they want to do, so a lesser quality education (typically the case with NA) has not hindered them significantly with what they wish to do in life.
     
  19. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    Funny you say that (without any specifics, btw), then go on to say...

    Talk about misguided misinformation. Where do you get this stuff from? I can find you plenty of schools with high enough standards that accept NA credits.

    Says who? That is unbelievably inaccurate. I'll even throw in the anecdote that my local university accepted me with no issues.

    You're typing to a holder of a very reputable Master's degree. Didn't need luck, just a transcript and the proper GPA.

    An NA master's is a death sentence. In fact, I hear in some places you have to register as a sex offender. Don't do it people! <<<insert sarcasm here>>>

    LOL. That equation is funny. It's also completely ridiculous, having incongruent magnitudes and all...

    Yeah, I better give back my grad degree from the very excellent RA I earned it from after getting in based on my NA degree. Boy, was I limited by getting into that great school!

    What's unnerving is that people who take this hardline stance against NA schools usually fall into one of two categories:

    1. People who went to one NA school, had a bad experience, and have concluded based on that one experience that ALL NA schools are of the devil.

    2. People who have never taken a single course from an NA school and have no idea what they're talking about, and are just parroting the popular narrative.

    But hey, I only hold several degrees from both NA and RA schools, have worked for some, have audited courses for many, known many others who've done well transferring NA credits to well-respected schools and gained top-level employment and so on... so what the hell could I possibly know on this subject?
     
  20. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    Um, Max, bubaleh . . . Which ones? You can make generic statements about holding "several degrees from both NA and RA schools," but unless you actually name the schools, your statement is meaningless. You are anonymous, despite naming yourself after a Don Adams TV character. (Even if you were to name the schools, your statements could not be verified because of your anonymity. This being the Internet, I am not asking that you reveal your identity, merely noting that being anonymous has its limitations.)

    But the biggest example of why you are wrong and dlbb is right: You are defending yourself right here, right now. And if you didn't pursue one or more of your credentials from an NA school, you would not feel the need to do so. Yes, you may have accomplished your goals, but you feel compelled to engage in a constant apologia about your NA degrees.

    Yes, I'm in the "RA or the highway" crowd. But I never had to defend my degrees because they are unaccredited or even NA. And you will always have to defend yours, as you are doing right in this thread. And people like me will still laugh at you because you are defensive enough to feel compelled to do so.

    Okay, now, ready?

    BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!
     

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