DETC Success Stories

I am going to a DETC accredited college. I was recently accepted into a RA college that said they would only accept a bachelors degree from a RA school for entrance into a masters program. I had to go to the Dean of the College and present my case. My acceptance is contingent upon my degree being conferred. I attend Columbia Southern University. The college is pursuing regional accreditation, but I can't get any good information as to when this is supposed to go through.

Ann.

 

Ann is a long-time email 'pal' who has supplied me with useful information (and strong opinions). Welcome to DegreeInfo.

 

So, if I understand you correctly, you're going to be accepted based upon having a degree from Columbia Southern in its current state, not after it (someday, perhaps) becomes regionally accredited?

If so, I have two reactions. First, congratulations. Second, thank you for (once again) demonstrating that so much of what we talk about is subject to individual situations and negotiations. It's a distinction sometimes lost on folks: that we can make general statements about the lessened utility of degrees from nationally accredited schools, while at the same time see, read, and hear about many success stories where such degrees weren't a problem at all. Both are true.

Again, congratulations. And welcome.

 

I think the world in general tends to pre-judge people's ability based on their educational background--and the perceived quality of it based on institutional reputation--without considering that those choices typically occur as a matter of specific circumstance, and don't directly confirm or discredit a persons level of skill.

I love to see people challenging the negative side of the model and giving it a good 'ol spanking.

 

I have two DETC degrees and a diploma. My AAS and Diploma from CIE got me into TV Broadcasting. That was back when DETC was the National Home Study Council. My LL.M. from Taft Law School was probably a factor in a substantial raise and "promotion" into my current position.

 

Howdy, friend! Also congratulations, and much deserved.

 

Thank you, I am happy to be posting here again.

The message I'd like to send is that, though Academe distrusts online RA degrees and tends to completely disregard DETC degrees, the working world doesn't see things that way at all. More and more, the traditional University is becoming simply irrelevant through being too expensive and red tape bound. It is entirely possible to spend $120,000 for a B.A. in English Literature from a fairly ordinary school. That's just nuts.

You can rarely be SURE that a degree got you the job or the raise or the promotion but I would never hesitate to recommend a DETC program unless perhaps the degree is not acceptable for a required professional license and there is no work around for that. Engineering, nursing, education, like that.

 

As i reached this thread about DETC degree I have no idea that people really get good result after finishing this degree and enjoying good career life.

 

I think there is a time and place for everything and as it relates to a DETC or RA accredited institution, each scenario and how one is seeking to utilize the education within his or her field is significantly important in making that decision. As a holder of both a RA and DETC accredited degree I can only stress that in my opinion, a RA institution would typically be what I would recommend to anyone simply inquiring about enrolling into a distance learning program as there are some reasonably priced RA schools out there now and with much competition within the distance learning arena. Certainly more now than back in the early 2000's when I continued my education via distance learning.

In either case, I recommend doing research within one's field and identify from HR and just as so, what educational background are you finding those above within the organization have within the company or field of work you are pursuing as this I think will at least give you some direction in making that decision.

All the best

 

Does this means DETC. Degrees would be accepted internationally like in Nigeria? Thanks for ur reply.

 

I certainly cannot speak for another country, much less Nigeria or even institutions or businesses within the US as each has their own criteria as to what they feel is acceptable regarding a degree granting institution.

If you are concerned with a school or employer accepting a DETC degree then I would suggest you inquire first with them or do some additional research before enrolling.

 

I'm glad to see THIS thread! I must have missed it in my travels around this forum!

 

New Job

I have a DETC bachelor's degree and 2 months after graduating I have gotten the best job that I have ever had in my life. Great starting pay (way more money than I have EVER made), and super benefits. I know the bachelor's degree helped a lot.arty:

 

Congrats on the new job!

 

People will have their opinions…. I received both undergraduate and graduate degrees from a NA school. University of Management and Technology. I have a Master of Science degree in Management and, have not had a problem receiving calls from employers for HR, project manager, analyst, program management and general management positions. It has been difficult for me to see the merit in the argument of those who speak ill of NA schools. I’ve had plenty of interaction, professional and personal, with people who’ve graduated from RA schools. I’ve been surprised at their lack of post-secondary level acumen. Any education at its core, will manifest itself by what the student puts into it, and how they apply it in the field. Having the degree will get you an interview, but unless one can articulate the concepts of their specialty, and if hired, apply it to the firm to increase bottom line and add value, they will go back to the drawing board RA, or NA degree..

 

With an NA degree, it's important to take into consideration the field of employment.

Dr. Douglass once a long time ago posted a table. I don't remember it exactly but it was something like this:

The utility of NA degree:

Academic world - more misses than hits
Military - more hits than misses
Law enforcement - more hits than misses
Teaching - more misses than hits - many school districts require an RA degree.
IT - More hits than misses
Healthcare - More misses than hits?
etc etc etc.

 

I remember that. #1 is still the same. #4 is still the same. #6 has changed a lot as DEAC schools have achieved programmatic accreditation in Nursing and other health fields.

 

There are two groups that, primarily, look at accreditation.

The first is college registrars. They HAVE to look at accreditation and they have rules, often, that they need to go by. My NA MSM met some of the foundational coursework for my RA/AACSB MBA. Had I an RA MSM, the same amount would have transferred. They are restricted in how many non-AACSB credits they bring into an AACSB accredited program. My point is that they are used to looking not just to see if something is accredited but by whom and if the dates match up. You're going to get the most vigorous review here. Even then, I'd wager that the registrar is expert in what they need to do for their university but probably not in the accreditation landscape overall.

The second is regulators. If some body is awarding a license based on your education and there are specific accreditation standards surrounding that thing, you can bet regulators are looking. However, this scrutiny often stops completely once the license is issued. So even in this space, it creates a blindspot. That's why principals with decades long careers manage to get away with time bombs on their resumes as long as they do. They had the license so regulators stopped scrutinizing because they no longer had an opportunity. The pay bump that comes with higher pay for a doctorate is handled at the district level. Teaching certificates are handled at the state level. Another example would be a licensed attorney who gets an LLM from a standalone law school with ABA accreditation (only). that LLM is technically unaccredited since ABA only accredits JDs. But I doubt any law firm would scrutinize a degree to this extent and I would doubt far fewer would consider it some sort of ethical breech for an attorney to have such a degree.

Beyond that, most employers really don't have time or inclination to care. It was with this premise that caused me to take issue with some of Rich Douglas's research. He asked HR people what their view of accrediting bodies was by offering them a list and asking, basically, how legit they assumed they were just off of those names. Not surprisingly, Distance Education Training Council wasn't nearly as popular as Higher Learning Commission. IIRC, Rich also found that a few other more ambiguously named national accreditors also scored higher than DETC.

While I think this is a good exercise in how well received names can be, I don't think it demonstrates any particular bias toward DETC/DEAC accredited programs for employers. I realize I am but one HR dude in a sea of diverse HR ideas. However, I've never seen a hiring manager dig into an education to any real level. Not to ask "Is that school accredited?" not to ask about class rank. None of that. The exception would be when hiring co-ops (interns). Even then, emphasis is typically placed on specific coursework rather than accreditation.

Most hiring managers and HR people simply don't know enough about accreditation to open that door.

Anecdotally (like everything else I've said here) whenever someone wants to check out a school they think is sketchy, I've not had anyone point out the accreditation page for me. Usually they will look to the Wikipedia entry. I recall one payroll manager nearly refusing to hire a fully qualified payroll clerk because she had a degree from Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (it has a business school within) because her poor reading of the Wikipedia entry led her to believe that this wasn't "real" Cornell and the applicant was misrepresenting herself. She, of course, could have gone to the CALS website which, of course, is part of the larger Cornell website, but Wikipedia said...

This is incredibly common for hiring managers and, sadly, HR professionals as well. I once attended a SHRM presentation on the evils of for-profit schools (it had a better working title) offered by a colleague who had a degree from Walden. I couldn't help myself. Midway through, I raised my hand and asked if his own degree from a for-profit school colored his view. Did he have a bad experience there? He was puzzled. He didn't have a degree from a for-profit school, he said. When I pointed out that Walden was for-profit he waved it off. Walden might technically be for-profit, you see, but he was talking about diploma mills that weren't legitimately accredited like Walden. Like, the University of Phoenix, for example.

Even after the presentation, no amount of review with this guy would convince him that UPhoenix was, in fact, regionally accredited just like Walden. And, in fact, accredited by the same body as Walden. Not even showing him the respective accreditation pages of both schools.

Accreditation is supposed to make vetting schools easier. And, to a certain extent, it does. And I know for a fact that there are hiring managers out there who toss any resume with a for-profit or an NA or a foreign degree listed. I've seen many of those same managers break their own core value, however, when faced with a candidate they liked.

The issue is far greyer than we'd like to admit on these boards. The hiring landscape is very diverse and made up of many individuals with accreditation knowledge typically running from zero knowledge to "I hear RA is the best but I don't know how to recognize a regional accreditor." There is just a lot of nuance that doesn't fit neatly into a table. I don't think certain things are meant to be reduced to that simple of a level, especially in trying to capture a trend that transcends all industries, all levels of seniority, all skillsets and even differences in regional culture.

 

Good points.

Also, DEAC accredited universities achieve ABET accreditation for their BSc.Eng Tech degree. Maybe there are more I know only one its Grantham University.
Having ABET accreditation works better with regulators. In the state of New Mexico ABET-accredited, Eng Tech degree is approved for Professional Licensure application ( FE exam, PE Exam and approved experience required).

 

I still can recall the explosion of hurting butts across the net over that one like it was yesterday. Engineers who had spent many blog posts over many years trashing Grantham (while never having attended Grantham mind you) because it was nationally accredited, finding out that they'd achieved the gold standard. It was a glorious, wild laughter-inducing moment in time.