David, Why Cal state approval - Consumer Protection agency in CA is not applying for recognition by US DOE and CHEA? NY State is recognized Nationall accreditor isn't it time that CA State approval got higher level of recognition? Are there any developements? Thanks Learner
Interesting; California is a very powerful State They have the $$ to do it. In addition, they have good talent in the Bureau.
The BPPVE is a stripped-down version of the CPPVE, which itself wasn't getting the job done. What it does regarding institutional approval doesn't come close to accreditation. It used to when it approved a handful of programs. (Not schools, but individual programs.) Now it approves hundreds of schools with diminished resources. Their own representative is on record regarding their inability to do much more than keep tabs on approved schools. The only state with USDoE approval as an accreditor is New York. Now it is not available to other states. That renders this question rather moot.
My understanding is that the US Dept. of Education no longer recognizes state approval systems. More broadly, I think that the BPPVE is conceived as a consumer protection mechanism that's primarily intended to manage California's thousands of non-degree-granting vocational schools. I don't know that the agency wants to become an academic accreditor, since there are already many of those out there that are already doing a good job.
I had no idea that this was that bad. I rest my case. I guess the states leave this to the RA, NA, PA accrediting agencies. Now that USDLA is jumping on this wagon it appears that US will not suffer a shortage of recognized acccreditors in the near future.
I have literature regarding the USDLA accreditation program (called "DLAB"). It is an continuance of GATE. There is no indication at this time that the USDLA will strive to become recognzed by either CHEA or the USDoE. Perhaps they will sometime in the future (after doing accreditation for awhile). Besides showing they can do the actual accrediting process itself, the USDLA will have to demonstrate why they're needed in an already-crowded field.
Moot as well for the fact that New York is not attempting to usurp the status of other accreditors. Or not that I know of.
This really somewhat outside of my expertise but it is my understanding that the Federal Department of Education will not longer consider recognizing state agencies as accrediting bodies. In the past when the subject of state accreditation was raised, WASC has lobbied the California state legislature to maintain the status quo.
Well, really, why SHOULD a state get into the accreditation business? Accreditation by non governmental entities doesn't raise due process problems that a governmental accreditation system might. Even if it did, why subject the taxpayers to the liability? Finally, accreditation evaluation by other schools is probably (?) more effective than similar evaluations by public servants. Set a thief to catch a thief, right?