Setting UA University Standards

I would like to invite comments on the following question:

What standards might one use to determine whether or not an UA university or college delivers quality services?

 

Here is a basic sketch of a few of my ideas on this question:

1. Sound fiscal practices.

The IHE has a yearly external audit which confirms that industry standards are engaged in.

2. Sound management practices.

(a) The organization has a plan of operations, which is available to the public for review.
(b) Administration, faculty, staff and students work together to improve the quality of services.
(c) All staff are regularly reviewed.


3. Instruction.

(a) Surveys indicate that no less than 80 percent of all students served are satisfied with instruction.

4. Quality of Faculty

(a) No less than 80 percent of all faculty hold the highest degree from an accredited university; or, if less than 80 percent
(b) The terminal qualifying work of all instructors is publicly available for review;
(c) All faculty are professionally engaged, defined as one or more of the following: (1) S/he is a member of professional organizations and attends yearly conferences of that organization; (2) S/he presents papers at professional conferences; (3) S/he publishes articles and/or books in peer reviewed journals.

5. Quality of Entering Students

(a) No more than 50 percent life experiences is counted to determine either matriculation or graduation;
(b) Entrance into a particular academic level is conditioned upon having received the preceding level (e.g. one must hold a B.A. to enter a M.A. program) from a state approved or accredited IHE.

6. Quality of Graduating Students

(a) All students must present a summative work at the appropriate level (i.e. thesis, dissertation) that meets established academic norms (writing standards, analysis, contribution to the field, etc.).

7. Overall Quality

Overall quality may be gauged by the success of an IHE’s graduates, as determined by professional achievement, publication, or individual satisfaction.

In addition, the IHE has established affiliations with recognized non-governmental organizations.

 

Is UA stands for un accredited?

If this is the case.

Who will validate the compliance to the 80% of deferent areas that you identified?

1. audit by whom?

2. Who will confirm that the plan is sound?

3. etc

"What standards might one use to determine whether or not an UA university or college delivers quality services?"

Have it comply to standards and undergo review by one of the 6 RA or NA privet non governmental agencies.

If they become candidate then there is most likely quality service.

 

Standards?

I think the ODA has excellent standards for some of these schools.

Lets' take Pacific Western for example. Why, if this school is trying hard to regain acceptance in the business or academic community, does it not go the the ODA and make an effort for approval? Small task I would assume.

It can remain unaccredited, or eventually become accredited with AACSB but to be in compliance with the ODA would certainally help its reputation, especially at this point in time.

I would say the same for a few other unaccredited schools.

RXI

 

An excellent question! The widely accepted standard is accreditation. The big advantage of accreditation is that it is the widely accepted standard. Employers accept it and other schools, even in other countries, accept it. It is so accepted and assumed that when someone says they have a degree, it is generally assumed that they mena accredited. This is why the new procedure agreed to with the ODA is so important. An unaccredited degree holder must declare their degree to be unaccredited otherwise an unaccredited degree could be used to deceive.

When someone says that their school is unaccredited it will be assumed by many that it is a diploma mill and they will probably be correct.

 

I generally like what you've come up with. This part sounds fine as long as you are referring to undergraduate degrees. If you want to adhere to the standards of accreditation bodies, life experience is not typically counted toward graduate and doctoral degrees.

 

I think the term life experience is to broad.

How about Professional learning Experience or academic level professional development.
Or Vocational Education development plan - that may took 10 or 20 years.

Many years of learning that can be evaluataed as equivalent to academic credit or substitute some labs on graduate level.

Hey the student may even teach the professor a thing or two.

I had an instructor who was teaching me a system that I knw and had the honor to develop.

It was wile I was taking Graduate certificate classes in Florida tech.

Work related education
Etc.

 

Wouldn't all of these things be accomplished by persuing accreditaion? More to the point, aren't you simply suggesting another form of accreditaion? An "unaccredited accreditaion"? I just don't see the need.

 

I agree with Robb.

What sense is there in creating what in effect are a new set of accreditation standards, if they are supposed to be applied to schools that have already declined to submit to accreditation?

The community would also need to know who would be enforcing these new standards. People would have to have some reason to trust the findings.

If all we are going to be doing is replacing the existing accreditors with new accreditors, then I don't really see the point.

 

Morgan,

Please tell us, specifically by number and alpha letter, which of the following standards YOU AGREE could be used by or applied to your UAs:

1. Program must demonstrate that it has standards for ......... (quality services to students? curriculum and instruction? administrative/financial efficiencies? etc.) which if ..... present (or offered) ... are sufficiently rigorous to ensure that the ....... is reliable .......

2. (Works continuosly to) maximize the quality of the education or training provided by (or through) the institution or program

3. The (validated, existing) ......... standards effectively address the quality of the institution or program in the following areas:

(a) Success with respect to student achievement in relation to the institution’s (or program's) mission, including as appropriate, consideration of course completion, State licensing examination, and job placement rates.

(b) Curricula.

(c) Faculty.

(d) Facilities, equipment, and supplies (....... as necessary).

(e) Fiscal and administrative capacity as appropriate to the specified scale of operations.

(f) Student support services.

(g) Recruiting and admissions practices, academic calendars, catalogs, publications, grading, and advertising.

(h) Measures of program length and the objectives of the degrees or credentials offered.

(i) Record of student complaints received by, or available to ........

(j) Record of compliance with the institution's (or program) responsibilities under Title IV of the Act, based on the most recent student loan default rate data provided by the (USDoE) Secretary, the results of financial or compliance audits, program reviews, and any other information ......

K. Required to have a clear definition of quality and clear expectations that the institutions or programs ........ have processes to determine whether quality standards are being met.

L. Demonstrate accountability. ........ required to have standards that call for institutions and programs to provide consistent, reliable information about academic quality and student achievement to foster continuing public confidence and investment.

M. Encourage purposeful change and needed improvement. ........ required to encourage planning for purposeful change and scrutiny for needed improvement through ongoing self-examination in institutions and programs.

N. Employ appropriate and fair procedures in decision-making. ........ required to maintain appropriate and fair organizational policies and procedures that include effective checks and balances.

O. Continually reassess ............ (instructional? administrative? financial? documentation?) practices. ............ required to undertake self-scrutiny of their .......... activities.

Morgan do you find that you agree with many or most (or even all) of the above?

If so, congratulations! You agree with some (though not necessarily all) of the USDoE and CHEA accreditation standards, some if not all, clearly applicable also to DL learning and DL programs. See here.

If so, Morgan, why re-invent the wheel?

Why seek a separate set of atsndards for unaccredited entities? Why waste your time, money and energies?

Then again, maybe, it is not a question of which specific, currently existing and legitimate (CHEA/USDoE-recognized accrediting) standards you agree or disgree with but an issue of you wanting more liberal, more lax and less rigidly-enforced standards applicable only to the UAs.

LOL.

If so, then you are correct: you need to develop a DIFFERENT set of lax standards for your unaccredited entities.

I hope not but if you do, then have a go at it ..... and good luck!

Thanks.

p.s: Above listed standards are not intended to represent or meant to convey a complete list of all USDoE or CHEA RA or NA accreditation requirements. All errors and omissions, emphasis or additions are mine. Credit to: USDoE and CHEA websites).