Usdla?

just fyi for those who have no idea about GATE and the USDLA: source: web.archive.org/web/200441206185510/www.edugate.org/usdla.htm

Steven Shapiro
Jones International, Ltd.
303.784.8271
[email protected]

John G. Flores
United States Distance Learning Association
800.275.5162
[email protected]

JONES INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS GLOBAL ACCREDITING BODY TO THE UNITED STATES DISTANCE LEARNING ASSOCIATION

DENVER, Colo. (August 12, 2003)–Jones International™, Ltd. announced today that it is donating the Global Alliance for Transnational Education® (GATE®) to the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). GATE is a Jones International subsidiary founded in 1995 by Glenn R. Jones to address issues relating to quality assurance in transnational education.

“The USDLA is the source on distance education,” said Jones. “With the explosive growth of distance—and more specifically, online—education, the need for oversight has accelerated. We are transferring the ownership of GATE to the USDLA because it is a quality organization that has demonstrated the commitment and has the infrastructure to forward GATE’s mission.”

When GATE was formed, there were no organizations of its kind addressing the unique issues related to cross-border education, such as standards for its consistency. Annual GATE conferences brought together an international alliance of business, higher education and government leaders to share best practices for furthering the globalization of all education.

Today, the GATE accreditation process and principles for transnational education have become measures of quality assurance for institutions of higher education operating across national borders. Quality assurance, networking and multinational organizations worldwide have adopted GATE's mission of promoting access to quality education around the globe.

GATE has granted accreditation to such educational institutions as Monash University in Melbourne, Australia; Tomsk Polytechnic University in Tomsk, Russia; and Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey, Mexico. Once GATE has become part of the USDLA, Jones International University® (JIU™)—the first fully online, accredited university, with students in 70 countries—will be seeking GATE accreditation, which Glenn Jones calls a “sterling” credential. (JIU received its U.S. accreditation in 1999 from the Higher Learning Commission, a member of the North Central Association.)

About GATE®
Founded in 1995, Global Alliance for Transnational Education®, Ltd. is an alliance of businesses, educators, quality-assurance agencies, governments, and intergovernmental organizations that nurtures and sustains communication among education and training leaders worldwide. The organization’s objectives are to develop and promulgate principles of good practice and accrediting quality transnational education programs; explore issues facing educational institutions in a global marketplace...

 

I was looking at the USDLA site today. They are not referring to their approval process as "accreditation" but rather "certification". But is it really worth the bother if it is not recognized by any businesses or government bodies?

 

No, it isn't. If anything, it's a bit misleading for students who don't know any better.

I have the same problem with schools which say they are "members" of an accrediting organization, without actually being accredited by them.

 

Maybe you missed this:

http://www.usdla.org/html/resources/accreditation.htm

 

I'm not sure what the USDLA's function is or what good it really does. Apparently it holds periodic conferences for DL administrators and stuff. Unfortunately, the fact that it seems unconcerned with all the mills that infest its member's list and continues to blithely post that list on its website, tells me that the USDLA is totally out of touch with DL as it's actually experienced by the public.

The educators seem unaware that whenever a prospective student (or even worse, their employer) logs onto the internet in search of a DL program, the majority of what comes up are mills. In a very real sense, most of distance learning is little more than the newest internet version of wire-fraud. If the USDLA was truly competent and on top of its game, then it would be addressing this most serious of problems and trying to find solutions, not aiding and abetting the perpetrators.

I'm a little troubled by the fact that they claim to be an accreditor. And unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the list of schools or programs that they've accredited on their website. My guess is that there might not be any.

Just to add to the confusion, not only do they offer to accredit schools/programs, they also certify them. The two processes don't seem to be the same thing, but there's no clear explanation of how they differ, let alone what either process is telling the interested public about the schools and programs in question.

I get the impression that certification is a narrow endorsement of DL design and effectiveness and isn't a broad and general endorsement of the certified school's academic credibility. The fact that Clayton College of Natural Health is apparently boasting USDLA certification doesn't fill me with confidence.

All in all, my personal impression is that the USDLA is clueless and may be doing more harm than good to the cause of distance learning.

 

I certainly agree with you Bruce. I can't believe that the USDLA would allow for mills to even be considered for membership. It leaves a bad taste. Out of curiosity, I looked over the NCDLA, which is a charter member with the USDLA. The NCDLA is so so so so so much better than the USDLA itself. I read some of the meeting minutes from the NCDLA and they had concerns with the USDLA last year with the outdated website information.

I have actually sent a list to Dr. Flores with the names of the member schools that are known to be "substandard" "millish" and "mills". It is ashame when an organization does things for the "money" and not to do the right thing. I was thinking about sending Blackboard and the legit schools emails to bring this issue to the front burner. There are many NC public universities and schools associated with the USDLA. I don't like to see names like Lacrosse, Barron, Madison, etc. on the membership list.

 

The updated USDLA webpage does not have a box on the right hand side anymore with a link to the DLAB but has replaced it with the Certification box. However, I did look under the RESOURCE drop down box and saw the DLAB. ????? And you're right, there is no information on the difference betweeen the two. Very misleading.