New College Accreditation

[ebrizzie]

I think you should buy Penn Foster.

Their courses are accredited by ACE but they are not yet regionally accreditted to give degrees.

Who knows, maybe Penn Foster is on track to be the big 4th.

Eric (JR)

[HawkGuy]

I looked into Penn Foster. They actually are accredited to give A.S. degrees by DETC. They're an AZ school, which I didn't know either.

Any other suggestions as far as school names? Anyone?

[kass19]

I actually was kind of frustrated at the out of control expense of colleges these days and the fact that people can easily study on their own. I looked into starting a college and came across a few threads which is actually how I discovered Excelsior college and the whole testing out of classes idea. I have been to several different colleges so I have a few ideas myself. However here is a website of a school that one woman founded although I think they lost their steam but it is an interesting concept. It Is All About Central University The woman's plan is to eventually be a low cost tution school but to attract students initially it is a no tuition school. They only charge grading fees per assignment.

[BrandeX]

Interesting find. I see they are also in the initial stage of self-review for applying towards DETC accreditation.

[cookderosa]

Ok, so I had this fun idea of starting a new college similar to the Big 3, with no residency, accepting CLEPS and DANTES tests for the whole degree, FEMA straight from the source, etc.. but with less fees than EC and TESC. You know, all the goods but less of the bads haha.

While doing my research, I was looking at the DETC Accreditation Handbook and their requirements. One requirement is that the school seeking accreditation must have at least 2 years continuous operations.

My question is: why would anyone sign up at an unaccredited school?

Any and all feedback would be appreciated!!

EDIT- what they heck? LOL sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, my mistake!

Really? (what kind of college?)

Anyway, well, people sign up for unaccredited schools all the time because it meets a need. Take something I know about- culinary. If you have a few big name chefs on the teaching staff, that IS what you are there for- no one gives a crap about the accreditation. (certainly not other chefs) Consider cosmetology, or other trade occupations....college used to be a different option. It used to be either/or. It's only more recently- like within the past 25 years or so, that trade occupations and apprenticeships have been "professionalizing" their fields by tacking on or tracking into degrees and certificates. It's about acquiring the skills not the credits. If Ace of Cakes opened up a "cakeology" degree out of the back room, there would be a waiting list. These people act with informed consent - no harm no foul. I have seen plenty of NON-CREDIT professional development/continuing ed programs that cost more than my bachelor's degree. So, people do pay for information that they want- with or without RA/NA being attached.

Also, religious colleges are notoriously unaccredited. Religious people rarely care. I hope that doesn't sound offensive, because I don't mean it as a negative- rather as a fact. People who are deeply committed to their religion as a world view, want a college education that jives with and advances their beliefs. Man's accreditation standards are pretty far down on the list of what matters. This may be less true with mainstream, large, denominations. Significantly true with some denominations.

Then, there are those who are uninformed. There are always people who will sign up for something without doing their homework. That doesn't mean they are being scammed....because unaccredited schools are not necessarily scams- nor are they illegal. But, this group might think they are getting one thing while they are actually getting something else. Like in the issue of RA vs NA, if you don't understand the difference you might be in trouble...but for others, it's irrelevant. Really, no difference.

Then there is the group that wants a quick degree. Assuming the unaccredited school is equal to a diploma mill, these people know full well what they are buying and are doing so with the intent of representing themselves as degree holders.

Clearly, if someone wanted a degree in liberal arts, transfer credit, etc., they would not attend an unaccredited college. Even if/when the school gains accreditation, a graduate's credits are not retroactive. I know this because I spent a great deal of effort trying to get my 1990 credits counted as RA (the college's current accreditation) despite their NA accreditation during my dates of attendance. No retro-activity- no exceptions.