DETC degree acceptance for FL graduate schools

Florida Regionally Accredited, Public and Private Universities
Graduate Admissions Policy: Undergraduate Degree Requirements

The following was an attempt to compile information about acceptance of DETC undergraduate degrees for admission to Florida public and private colleges. When available, a snippet of the online policy and a link to the policy was provided. An email was sent for clarification when needed, such as when there was no online policy that I could find or the policy was vague ("an accredited undergraduate degree is required").

I didn't go to any universities (such as Webster University) that are based in other states but have remote campuses in Florida.

Eighteen of twenty-one schools responded to the first or second inquiry, which I think is pretty good, so I am giving the results now. As someone suggested, the follow-up inquiry for non-responders included information about the DETC, in case the school was unfamiliar with it.

Here are some statistics:

1) Sites Polled: 21

2) Sites Responding: 18

3) Sites refusing DETC degrees in general: 17

4) Of the sites counted in 3), the number offering a chance for provisional enrollment: 4
(The wording was generally encouraging for DETC degree holders.)

5) Of the sites counted in 3), the number offering a chance for appeal: 5
(The wording was generally discouraging for DETC degree holders.)

6) Sites accepting DETC unequivocally: 1 (still a bit vague: "I think we can work with you.")

7) Number of responders admitting never having heard of DETC and asking for clarification: 3.

Note: Nova was counted in 3) and 4) since at least one academic department allowed the possibility of acceptance through some process, while another flatly rejected non-RA degrees.

Note: one school reported that core courses for the undergraduate major must be repeated; I took that to be closer to a flat refusal than a provisional acceptance and was only counted under 3) above).

(Due to the length restrictions of postings, the site details follow in another post.)

 

Details of enrollment criteria

Barry University
To be considered for full acceptance to a degree program, a graduate applicant must:
Submit proof of a bachelor's degree from an institution which is regionally accredited or internationally recognized.

Florida Atlantic University
A student seeking admission into a graduate program of the University must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent from a regionally accredited institution or, for international students, an institution recognized in its own country as preparing students for further study at the graduate level.

Florida Institute of Technology
Admission to graduate study is granted to highly qualified applicants. Successful applicants for the master's degree will have received a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution, or its equivalent internationally, in a program that provides suitable preparation in the applicant's chosen field.

Florida International University
>A student seeking admission into a graduate program of the University must have a bachelor's degree or equivalent from a regionally accredited institution or, in the case of foreign students, an institution recognized as an institution of higher learning.

Florida State University
1) Have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university....The applicant must hold, or be a candidate for, a baccalaureate degree from an institution accredited by one of the appropriate regional accrediting agencies. A student who has graduated from a recognized, although nonaccredited, institution may apply for study as a provisional graduate student.

Nova Southeastern University
Note: admissions policies are set individually in each department; I checked only two:

Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences
http://scis.nova.edu/
http://scis.nova.edu/Common/Catalogs/add_mcs.html
An earned bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution with an appropriate major.

>Wayne Huizenga Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship
http://www.sbe.nova.edu/interface/finaid_window.cfm (and hit Admissions button)
>...Applicants with undergraduate degrees from regionally accredited universities will be considered for admission with evidence of at least a 2.5 GPA, or score of at least 450 on the GMAT or at least 1000 on the GRE. Applicants not meeting the standards above, from non-regionally accredited universities, or from international locations are encouraged to contact the Office of Enrollment Services....

Troy State University
To qualify for unconditional admission to a Master's Degree program, applicants must meet the following requirements:
1) Hold a master's higher degree from a regionally accredited university. No test score required.
OR
2) Holds a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited university with a minimum overall undergraduate grade point average of 2.5 (4.0 scale) or a 3.0 grade point average on the last 30 semester hours.

University of Central Florida
All applicants for graduate admission must submit official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (or General Management Admission Test [GMAT] for selected programs). Applicants must also submit one official transcript showing a bachelor's degree earned at a regionally accredited institution.


University of South Florida
In order to be considered for admission, a first time graduate student or a student transferring from a graduate program at another university must:
Have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent from a regionally accredited university…Applicants who do not meet these minimum criteria may request that their applications be considered as exceptions under the 10% exception policy....
http://admissions.grad.usf.edu/admtypes.html

University of Tampa
Students with degrees from non-regionally accredited schools will not be accepted directly into the MBA program but may request permission from the MBA director…to take foundation courses as conditional students provided that the GMAT requirement has been met. Upon completion of the foundation courses with an average GPA of 3.0 or higher, a student may be admitted to the MBA program as a full-degree-seeking student.

<continued next post>

 

University of West Florida
…Applicants must meet any departmental requirements and the following criteria:
A) have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. Applicants must hold, or be candidates for baccalaureate degrees from regionally accredited institutions....Students who have graduated from recognized, although nonaccredited, institutions may apply for study as graduate students. See the subsection on Conditional Admission;

Jacksonville University
MAT program
A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. A graduate of a nonaccredited institution may be admitted after successfully completing prerequisite undergraduate course requirements as determined by the M.A.T. Advisory Committee.
Clarification by email:
> Your degree must come from a regionally accredited university.

Lynn University
All applicants for the Master's degree must posses a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and should have a minimum B average (3.0 GPA) in upper division course work.
Clarification by email: (still a bit vague; didn't give a policy)
>Thanks for your quick reply. You can send in your transcript for review. I think we will be able to work with you.

St. Thomas University
No clear policy found online. Clarification by email:
>St. Thomas University requires that students have a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution. Unfortunately, many DETC-accredited programs are not regionally accredited. Consequently, it is very probable that you will not be accepted. You can apply at your own risk and if your academic credentials and your testing are at a very high level, the program coordinator could make appeal your case to the Dean of Graduate Studies. However, that is a very exceptional occurrence. I hope I have been helpful.


Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida Gulf Coast University
No stated policy online (other than general Board of Regents requirements).
Clarification via email:
>Thank you for your interest in Florida Gulf Coast University. We do require an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution. We accept MSA, NASC, NCA, NEASC-CIHE, NEASC-CTCI, SACS-CC, WASC-Jr., and WASC-Sr. Anyone who has a degree from any other accrediting body would be considered as a special exception. You will need to contact the advisor for your program of interest to see about getting special consideration....

University of Miami
No clear policy online; clarification by email:
>I am sorry to tell you that DETC (Distance Education and Training Council) is not one of the Accrediting Bodies that the University of Miami recognizes.

University of Florida
Direct admission to the Graduate School is dependent upon presentation of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
Clarification of “accredited” by email:

>(We) recognize the regional accreditation agencies listed below:
<list of agencies deleted>
We do not accept transfer credit from DETC programs unless they are recognized by one of the agencies listed above.


Stetson University
Note: it appears that only the Business and Law departments offer graduate degrees.
All applicants must possess a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university….Clarification of “accredited” by email:
>As of this moment, no student has been admitted to our graduate programs with a bachelor's degree from an institution that is not regionally accredited. This is not the case of many DETC institutions. If you are interested in doing one of our programs, I would consult the program coordinator specifically for his/her position. Admitting a student without a regional accreditation would require an appeal to the Dean of Graduate Studies which should be initiated by the program coordinator based on excellent file.


---The following have outstanding emails asking for clarification of their policy; either the online policy was vague or absent---

Rollins College: no clear policy online, awaiting response.

Embry-Riddle University
Clarification of “accredited” TBD via email

Florida A&M University
Applicants applying for admission to a degree program must: Hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher education.
-Clarification of “accredited” TBD via email


I don't know whether to consider Argosy a Florida University, but here is their policy: A baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited educational institution, an appropriately certified international educational institution, or select institutions accredited by recognized independent national or professional bodies.

 

Not very encouraging for DETC degree holders, but very interesting. Thanks Bill.


Bruce

 

Bravo

This is wonderful legwork. It strongly supports the assertion that, for academic purposes, degrees awarded by DETC-accredited schools have severe limitations. I'm disappointed in the posters who say the participants on this board have an anti-DETC bias. There is a difference between what you want to be and what is; the facts are the facts. I believe most of us want DETC accreditation to be successful and recognized. But that doesn't make it so, and it is folly to turn a blind eye to the facts.

Rich Douglas

 

Guys.... Great Information

John

 

Thanks. I agree that bashing the DETC serves no purpose and I too hope it will succeed.

I've probably over-reacted to the over-promotion of DETC programs to new visitors, because as this research shows, even some college registrars have had difficulty grasping what the DETC is.

One thing that I meant to mention was there was not even one explicit mention of "DETC" in any online policy. All the provisional and appeal policies that I reported were for non-RA; i.e., unaccredited and other-accredited were lumped together. One did mention "national accreditation" explicitly.

 

Bill,

How would you LUMP the friendly folks at ACI (Beebe, AK)--unaccredited or other-accredited ?

 

Russell:

Of course I realize that your post is a joke--but sadly it is very nearly not. It would seem that, based on Bill's compelling research, DETC hardly has much of a leg up on even ACI!

That is sad, and really puts the ball in the government's court. At some level DOE and CHEA recognition should bind all such recognized bodies to, at least to some degree, recognize each other--or really, beyond financial aid programs, what is national accreditation--I mean here the government's recognition of such--worth?

Is national accreditation worth the trouble or should such schools seek RA or nothing at all? Bill's figures seem to suggest that DETC et al accreditation is categorically non accreditation in the eyes of most schools.

Craig

 

Well, not exactly.

With the exception of AMU, most DETC-accredited schools seem to have overlooked the huge potential for a "niche market" among current or prospective employees of Uncle Sam. Degrees from DETC-accredited institutions are (officially, at least) as valid in qualifying for employment, promotion, et cetera as ones from RA institutions. With roughly 1.7 million civilian employees-- excluding the Postal Service-- that's no small feat.

Compare that to the number of people who could potentially benefit from an ACI-like "accreditor," and it's a HUGE leg up.

It's not RA.. but it sure isn't ACI.

 

This is weird

I said this in another post. But it is odd that DETC is recognized by the same bodies that recognize RA associations and have given DETC the same accreditation rights they have to RA associations, yet DETC schools are not recognized (For a large part) for transfer credits or post-graduate entry.

Very strange system.

 

Accreditation in the U.S. isn't exactly a "system." It is more like an evolving organism. While it lacks the benefits of a systems design approach, it benefits from flexibility.

DETC didn't get into accrediting degree-granting institutions in a big way until recently. Their legacy is one of consumer protection; quality assurance of degree programs came later. But now that they're doing it (as are some other national accreditors), issues about degree acceptability, credit transfer, and the like must be addressed. This isn't "strange." It just is. Eventually these things will work out. In the meantime, it's good to have robust discussions about the relative merits and pitfalls of taking one's degree from a nationally accredited school. Constructive conversations--as opposed to trifling criticisms--can actually add to the process.

 

I don't really like that idea.

As things stand, universities can freely group together in associations that agree to accept each other's credits and degrees. To further that purpose, they are free to define the standards necessary for admission to their associations.

The important point here is that it is the universites themselves that are defining what constitutes valid university credit, and by implication what a university degree should be. Who else is better qualified to make those decisions than universities?

If there are schools that would like to try something different, then alternative associations are possible that choose to employ alternate sets of standards.

If the government stepped in and decided that all universities must accept credit from all government recognized accreditors, then you would have removed the power to define educational standards from the universities and handed it to the state.

Whatever standards an association of universities decided to require would be moot if the government required them to accept somebody else's alternative set of standards as well.

 

Dennis: You make a very good point about the value of national accreditation in terms of its portability to government employment.

Bill: If the regional accreditors really were associations of universities in which the universities themselves set all standards, I would agree with you. But I am not sure that is the case (nor am I sure it is not--you may well be correct). Still there is a sense in which our country has turned over its authority over higher education to private corporations, not free associations of universities. I am not at all certain that all members of the regionals sit happy in their not very free free choice. There is no real alternative to the regionals (as Bill's DETC research clearly suggests). Schools can't exactly just start up new government recognized associations. I know for an absolute fact that several schools in the southeast are very unhappy with the Southern Association--especially over DL issues. I think the US constitution puts authority clearly with the states, and I am not at all certain that is not where it might best be administrated. I looked with real interest at the NY experiment. Does any one know what happened with NY state accreditation?

Rich: I do very much appreciate the flexibility inherent in the American system, however quaint it may be. Would this flexibility be destroyed if the mafia like potential of the regionals were to be weakened a little in favor of state accreditation? I am really asking--not a rhetorical question. Might individual state control reult in even greater diversity, flexibility, and local responsiveness?


Craig