Hidden Gems of the DL World

I've always been interested in this program:

Master's in Ecumenical Studies from Ukrainian Catholic University
If done full-time with the maximum number of courses/semester it works out to $3,000 from what I can see on the site.

I just can't justify the time/expense spent doing it when there wouldn't be much practical use for it. I mean it would be very interesting personally, but it wouldn't likely lead to anything other than that. (Also, my grandparents on my mom's side are Catholic and also from the Ukraine area )

 

Is there a GAAP web site that explains what standards schools must meet?

 

GAAP comes into play most when schools apply to offer Title IV (Financial Aid).

 

Here's some info on Generally Accepted Accreditation Principles, taken from Bears' Guide 15th Edition and slightly updated/adapted:

First, it's important to understand there's no body that defines GAAP; by its definition, GAAP is describing what registrars of US-based schools generally agree are acceptable criteria for recognizing a degree or credits from another school.

To offer recognized accreditation under GAAP, an accrediting agency (or the school itself) must meet at least one of the following four criteria:

-- For schools based in the US, the school must be accredited by an accrediting agency recognized either by the US Department of Education, or by CHEA.

-- For schols in Great Britain and the British Commonwealth, it is membership in the Association of Commonwealth Uinversities and a listing in the Commonwealth Universities Yearbook.

-- For schools in Australia, it is recognition by the Australian Qualifications Network.

-- For schools in other countries, it is an appropriate description in the World Education Series, published by PIER [Projects in International Education Research, a joint venture of AACRAO, NAFSA (the Association of International Educators) with the participation of the College Board, or a listing in the Countries Series, published by NOOSR, the Australian National Office for Overseas Skills Recognition.

-- In older descriptions of GAAP, the UNESCO/International Handbook of Universities was included in GAAP; a school listed in the Handbook was considered accredited. However, after a number of blatantly fraudulent schools managed to essentially buy their way into the UNESCO handbook by paying off officials in various third-world countries to get the "official recognition" required for listing, registrars got wise, and now a school not otherwise meeting GAAP, but in the UNESCO handbook is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Keep in mind also that GAAP is simply a description of commonly accepted policy, and not a guarantee of acceptance of a given school or degree. Registrars at some schools may choose to apply a different criteria at that school. But on the whole, if you go with a reasonably recognized school in a foreign country, particularly one with a large bricks-and-mortar program that's widely used by residents of that country, you'll likely be fine.

It is also not at all a correct statement that GAAP comes into play mostly when a school wants to offer financial aid; the GAAP criteria have been discussed at the AACRAO conferences (which is where the term was first used) and are generally the major determining factor as to whether credits or degrees are recognized (accepted/transferred) by regionally accredited schools.

 

IUBL Ukraine.

Accredited by Ukrainian ministry of Education to award degrees up to PhD.

Has inexpensive MBA and IT degrees 100% on line, learning in Ukrainian, Russian, English.

1 year of study is 1050 Euro.

Interational University of Business and Law

Interational University of Business and Law

 

Sofia University - Bulgaria

Master's and Doctoral (PhD) Studies in Philosophy

 

I think that the hidden gems must include the degrees that might be earned in the various Scandinavian universities. These are not advertised or even widely discussed. They are not "DL" degrees. They are degree programs at reputable universities that just might, if approached correctly, be earned at a distance. Fees are low or non-existent. Think Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, etc. A weekend of homework could pay off in a big way.

College and University Home Pages

 

For those of you who read and write Spanish: there's a short program (certificate/diploma) offered at the University of Salamanca (Spain)in Cultures and Languages of Iran and India. Last year the cost was 650 Euros. I'm enrolling in this program for this year. Of course, this program is for people that have a personal interest in these topics, as it doesn't lead to a master's degree or much less, to any kind of certification. However, it could help some people that want to have a job where this knowledge could be useful (as in my case, I'm a librarian)

I have to add that this university offers quite a few distance learning programs.

 

link? please?

 

Most of the courses from UNISA, but you need to have extreme patience navigating the admission process.

 

Madurai Kamaraj University of India

They have a large selection of degrees for very cheap and an American office in Maryland with testing centers throughout the USA (testing is done at local university testing offices). Their degrees follow the annual exam system.

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http://www.mkudeusa.org/Courses.html

 

There is a lot of Universities here in China that we would consider dirt cheap, and are accredited by the education bureau. However, I think an important factor is also actual value to yourself and perceived value to others who are informed about the source of your degree. As such I wouldn't recommend most, if any, schools here. In fact the local population studies abroad instead whenever possible.

 

DL from China? Would love to know more about this given that China is an emerging power. But do they have English degree courses?

 

oops, sorry. Here's the link: Experto en lenguas y culturas de India e Irán | Universidad de Salamanca

 

Yea, in China many Grad level programs are taught in English. DL is still very new and basic here though, with local citizens apparently not respecting it very much at all. My wife took a degree completion program at one of the local Uni's here in GZ, it was all Dl except for proctored exams she had to take on campus.

Here is a link to as different type of Online program (I don't know any details) It seems to be fairly new, and the information given on the site is majorly lacking. I am sure I dug around the website earlier and found a better page talking about it, but anyways here is what I found this time:
http://www.sysu.edu.cn/en/schools and departments/schoolofonlineeducation.htm

This is a massive local university with several campuses etc., and I think is generally regarded the number 2 Uni in the province. How does the online program really work though? No idea.

 

Lol................

 

I have tried Sweden and the courses are great. Fees only start in Autumn 2011. For Netherlands and Finland, I can't find much resources on them. At least they don't seem to have a centralized system like what Sweden has.