Ashworth College

I am currently enrolled in the accounting degree program through Ashworth College (part of PCDI). It was offered to me through my job and I realize it is DETC accredited and not RA. Has anyone here taken any classes through Ashworth and if so, I'd be interested in hearing of your experience with them. If, down the line, I choose to go for a bachelors are there any RA schools that will accept trasfer credits from Ashworth? Does anyone know of any RA schools that offer an accounting degree? I'm new to DL and would appreciate all advice and opinions. Thanks

 

IMHO, the bad news - you are going down a dead end road
the good news - you may be making good time.

Go to either Baker's home page or http://www.degree.net and look for R/A schools in business.

If you are planning on practicing accounting in the professional arena you will need an accredited degree and if you are planning to practice as a CPA you will need a masters degree.

My suggestion - get a R/A degree in business (accounting, finance, economics) and the look for a school that will award you the masters. There a any number that will do this by DL. Good Luck.

 

I wish I could help you with the Ashworth "experience", however there are alternatives to the completion of your accounting degree.

Several schools offer Bachelors degrees in Accounting:

Athabasca University (Canada) offers a Bachelor of Commerce, requiring 120 credits, no residency and a cost of US$170/ credit hour.

Caldwell College (NJ) offers a BS in Accounting. It requires 122 credits to graduate, at a cost of $357/credit hour. No residency.

City University (WA) Offers a BS in Accounting and requires 180 credits to complete and a cost of $182/credit. No residency.

Davenport University (MI) offers a Bachelors in Accountancy at a 184.5 qtr. hours and costs $184/credit (45 credits must be earned through the school). No residency.

Lakeland College (WI) offers a Bachelors in Accounting, requiring 128 credits, at a cost of $195/ credit (36 credit must be earned through the school). No residency.

Mountain State University (WV) offers BS in Accounting, requiring 129 credits at a cost of $170/credit. There are restritions: must be at least 25 years old, 40 tranferable credits and at least 2 years of work experience (33 credits must be earned through the school).

Strayer University (VA) offers a 180 (qtr. hr.) credit, BS in Accounting, at a cost of $210 / credit.

Excelsior College & Thomas Edison State College Both offer Bachelors in Accounting through portfolio development. No residency.

Upper Iowa University (IA) offers a BS in Accounting. 120 credits required for degree completion (30 credits must be earned through the school) and costs are $216/ credit hour. No residency.

 

Sad

"Ashworth" is accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Yet a degree in accounting from this school is looked upon negatively? Hmmmm

Maybe those promoting the U.K. accrediting system have a point?

 

Bachelors Degrees in Accounting

A minor correction:

Caldwell College actually requires a small residency. Their Web site states, “External Degree students are required to be on campus only for the External Degree Saturday at the beginning of each semester.”

Because of the residency requirement, Caldwell College is not listed on the Distance Learning Business Degrees Web site among the almost 200 other Bachelor degree programs in Business. However, the site does list, and provide links to, 17 other distance learning programs (with no residency requirements) that have a specific major in Accounting.

 

Re: Sad

Or maybe the issue regarding the DETC accrediting degree-awarding schools is a relatively new one (in its current robustness), and that these issues are still needing to be worked on? And maybe reasonably intelligent people can recognize a situation slightly more complicated than yes/no, in/out? And that maybe it is the vast majority of new, distance learning schools have arisen in the U.S. in large part because of our system's flexibility and many facets? And maybe there is so much left to the grey area called "judgment" and/or "opinion" when it comes to the acceptability of a university degree, even when the issuing school meets some minimum standard?

Or does a degree from Open University get you all the same opportunities as one from Oxford? I'm sure Leeds and Cambridge are exactly the same when it comes to which doors are opened because of their respective degrees. And, of course, there is absolutely no questions about a degree earned externally by examination at the University of London.

Open, Oxford, Cambridge, and London all offer recognized degrees. But I doubt seriously they offer an education at the same level, nor degrees that provide the same levels of opportunity. Well, it's the same here.

 

Hey Rich

A "reasonably intelligent" person could still be mislead to a DETC's value in comparison to RA degrees. The Associations of Colleges and Schools are accredited (I do believe) by the same organizations that have accredited DETC. Both are "GAAP" realistically I could see how a person might just put one and one together and believe "NA" schools are just as valid as "RA" ones.

Open University received its Royal Charter in 1969. I admit openly that their degrees may not be as prestigious as Oxfords, Cambridge or Londons BUT their degrees are just as valid and recognized by other UK educational institutions for graduate degree entry. I can apply for an executive position in the U.K. with an OU degree and know it is a valid qualification that I can use.

However U.S. (and International) DETC "NA" schools cannot make the same claim even though they are just as accredited as RA schools.

 

Since Ashworth offers only AA degrees why not check out your local community college for an accounting AA. Then if you elect to pursue a BS then most or all your AA credits will be accepted at a RA 4-year school.
Incidently I once read somewhere that the difference between vocational schools and universities is "training" vs "thinking".

 

Thank you everyone for all your info and opinions. As I mentioned before, I'm enrolled in Ashworth through my employment. They offered it and are paying for it. I don't acctually work in the accounting field, but knowing something about it will benefit me in the future when I transfer to another department.

Once I started the course I became interested in checking out my options as far as getting a bachelors was concerned. I will finish the courses at Ashworth because my employer wants me to and is paying for it, but the idea of starting all over if I choose to go for the bachelors isn't very appealing.

Thanks again for all the information. I will be looking into some of the colleges mentioned.

Susan

 

And

A free Associates Degree from an accredited school is a good thing to have on your resume anyway.

 

slow!

A free DETC-accredited degree is OK with me. My opinion is that Ashworth is deadly SLOW in responding to student. And I don't know if they ever receive student’s correspondence.

 

Re: slow!

So far I haven't had TOO much of a problem. I've taken all my tests online and get the results the next day. I do have a problem though with thier "customer service". I once sent an email regarding a question about something I should have received and the reply was that I needed to CALL. What can they tell me on the phone that they couldn't tell me in an email? I called, never got to talk to a real person, left a message and was never called back. I've called for a couple of other things as well, sit on hold forever then get a recording asking me to leave a message and they never call back.

What are/did you you take?

Susan

 

It's not free if you consider the opportunity cost.

 

That is sad

Gert is right and what makes it really sad is that Ashworth is a fully ACCREDITED! college.

 

Re: That is sad

And I assume that the accounting courses that Susan is receiving are competent. That's what DETC accreditation is saying. I'm sure that they are as valuable as any other corporate training. (Wouldn't the opportunity cost argument apply even more dramatically to in-house non-credit training opportunities and customized "corporate universities"?)

Life is a matter of commitments to something concrete. Doing so always excludes alternatives. I value education highly and am having trouble seeing an employer's attempt to provide his/her employees with quality courses as harming those employees.

More abstractly, why must members of every accrediting association accept the standards set by every other accrediting association? Wouldn't that make the whole concept of accreditation standards meaningless? If you are still going to exclude WAUC and ACI, somebody is going to have to draw a line somewhere.

If the universities would no longer be permitted to set that standard for themselves, who would do it for them? The government, right?

 

Why haven't you just made a good argument for closing public libraries?

 

Well, spending time in a public library isn't free either (because there's an opportunity cost). But that doesn't mean that the library should be closed -- provided that people are willing to accept the opportunity cost and go to the library.

I'm not trying to make any point -- it's just Econ 101 after all.

 

Re: Re: slow!

The test results taken online come back next day. That's all I like about Ashworth. But emails and phone calls-- Never get back to students.

 

Hi skirch,

Have you ever try Education Direct (formerly Harcourt Learning Direct)’s accounting program. It is similar to Ashworth College’s accounting program, however, all Education Direct accounting courses (I assumed) are reviewed and recommended by ACE for college transfer credits. After completing its Specialized Associate Degree, you can transfer all its credits to any college or university (RA) that accepts ACE recommended credits (including the big three). You then complete the last two year of your 4 year degree. However, Education Direct courses are very hard.
http://www.educationdirect.com/programs/accounting/certification.html

Bao

 

Re: Re: Ashworth College

Howard, I think that it's a bit misleading to say that you'll need a master's degree in order to practice as a CPA. While it is true that someone who starts out on a focused path is best served by obtaining a graduate degree in the process of fulfilling the 150 s.h. credit requirement for the CPA, it is also the case that many people won't fit into this scenario. For instance, someone with a degree in an unrelated field could take the necessary undergraduate accounting and business courses to meet board rules, and in the process surpass 150 credits total. Someone may also consider just taking undergraduate courses that interest them if a graduate program either isn't feasible or isn't attractive. I don't recall seeing a state board that requires graduate work of any sort in order to sit for the CPA exams. Obviously there are benefits to obtaining a graduate degree, just as there are in many fields, but it's not quite accurate to say that it's needed; while it's generally desirable and practical, it's not necessary as far as I'm aware. Please correct me if I'm wrong.