Hello, I've just hit upon an article that seems to say that Excelsior college is not accredited but only its classes. What could this possibly mean? Here is the quote: Excelsior College has been around for 30 years (under its old name, Regents College) and is still not accredited, but its classes are. and here is the link: http://www.myprimetime.com/work/jobs_hiring/content/wgedu_net/index2.shtml
It means simply (as occurs frequently concerning distance education) that the author does not know what he or she is writing about. This from Excelsior College’s accreditation information page. http://www.regents.edu/aboutec_accreditation.htm Excelsior College is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-662-5606. The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The associate and baccalaureate degree programs in nursing at Excelsior College are accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC), 61 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, 800-669-1656. The NLNAC is a specialized accrediting agency for nursing recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. The baccalaureate degree programs in electronics engineering technology and nuclear engineering technology are accredited by the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202, 410-347-7700. TAC of ABET is a specialized accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Moreover, the author also errs in stating, “However, as a new institution, WGU is still awaiting accreditation. The good news for students is that accreditation is retroactive, so that if the university receives it, all WGU graduates will possess accredited degrees.” This issue has generated a fair amount of discussion (see the thread on Northcentral University) but it appears that regional accreditors do not subscribe to the concept of grandfathering. They do not consider a degree accredited (as having been issued by an accredited institution) if it was granted prior to full accreditation. At least the site includes a link to purchase Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning. Gus Sainz
Excelsior is also accredited by the New York State Board of Regents. The Board of Regents is the only state approving agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an accrediting agency. If the Board of Regents approves your school, it's accredited. I always wondered why California never made a similar move. I guess they just don't care enough about the quality of private, post-secondary education there. Rich Douglas, a native Californian
Here's the MSA/CHE New York directory, which verifies Excelsior's accreditation as "comprehensive" (under its old name, Regents College): http://www.msache.org/dirny.html Peace, ------------------ Tom Head www.tomhead.net
