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+--- Thread: When even schools don't know the difference between NA and RA (/Thread-When-even-schools-don-t-know-the-difference-between-NA-and-RA)
When even schools don't know the difference between NA and RA - jsd - 09-05-2018
Rowan University, a REGIONALLY accredited school in New Jersey, touts their "national" accreditation on their academics page: https://www.rowan.edu/home/academics
I opened a support ticket on their site a couple of weeks ago politely telling them this might make them look bad to savvy students, and their reply was a confusing one that indicated that they didn't understand the distinction and prefer to leave the phrasing as is.
Oh well.
RE: When even schools don't know the difference between NA and RA - allvia - 09-05-2018
And it's a public NJ State school - that's just sad.
You should send it to the President of the school. He must be aware that they are a RA school and what the difference is (https://www.geteducated.com/regional-vs-national-accreditation-which-is-better-for-online-colleges) Iit doesnt even list who they are accredited by, very poor informational miss for state school site. I don't even see an email listed for him: https://www.rowan.edu/home/about/contact-us
RE: When even schools don't know the difference between NA and RA - Old Guy - 09-06-2018
Picking nits - regional accreditation is national accreditation. All the authorizing legislation is federal and the legislation and likely the practice do not provide for tiers of accreditation.
Yes I know the difference but national accreditation would be considered the highest form of accreditation in the real world.
RE: When even schools don't know the difference between NA and RA - jsd - 09-06-2018
Regional accreditation is recognized nationally/federally, but they're certainly not the same thing. As far as federal recognition it's true that there's no tiered system, but within academia "in practice," there certainly exists a hierarchy. And I'd agree that often times outside of academia ("in the real world") people won't know the difference so could assume national is the highest form, but for anyone that knows the difference they would not consider national the highest form.
RE: When even schools don't know the difference between NA and RA - cookderosa - 09-06-2018
You're right - because there is no real reason to know unless you work for the registrar.
Another example, my dh works for an RA university. They have tuition reimbursement and their dean sent out a list of suggested master's programs that the instructors without master's degrees should consider. While they previously hired teachers with only a bachelor's degree, this policy was changing, and all teachers needed a masters by whenever 2020 or something. On that list were numerous NA schools. The kicker here is that you need an RA masters - NA won't cut it. So, I crafted an email for my husband to send to his boss and the dean confessed he had no idea about the different types of accreditation or what would / wouldn't work for his faculty. Nothing else was sent out- no correction or anything.
(09-06-2018, 11:46 AM)Old Guy Wrote: Picking nits - regional accreditation is national accreditation. All the authorizing legislation is federal and the legislation and likely the practice do not provide for tiers of accreditation.
Yes I know the difference but national accreditation would be considered the highest form of accreditation in the real world.
Sorry, I disagree. Regional is regional all day. National can mean ANYTHING and is undefined. Regional accreditation is specific and well defined.
To be RA does not mean you have NA.
RE: When even schools don't know the difference between NA and RA - dfrecore - 09-06-2018
(09-06-2018, 11:46 AM)Old Guy Wrote: Picking nits - regional accreditation is national accreditation. All the authorizing legislation is federal and the legislation and likely the practice do not provide for tiers of accreditation.
Yes I know the difference but national accreditation would be considered the highest form of accreditation in the real world.
It's not really nitpicking to tell someone to use the correct language on their website. They have the best accreditation there is, yet they are saying they don't. That's just dumb!
It's like if I put my AA on my resume instead of my BA. That would be silly, and shortchanging myself.
RE: When even schools don't know the difference between NA and RA - sanantone - 10-29-2018
I missed this thread. Since probably most college students don't understand accreditation, it's important that the school use the correct terminology. I just came across an important industry certification the other day that requires a degree from a regionally accredited school.
RE: When even schools don't know the difference between NA and RA - hsfamfun - 10-29-2018
My son is attending a nationally accredited certificate program in our town. However, when we were speaking with admissions, I was told that they are accredited and was told his credits should transfer anywhere. I asked what kind of accreditation it was and who was the accrediting agency and she looked at me like I had 2 heads and said "I don't know, I can find out." They are nationally accredited by ABHES for their programs in Personal Training and Massage. I told the admissions counselor that she should not be telling people that they can transfer the credits anywhere because not every college accepts National accreditation. She had no idea about their accreditation, just that they had it. This program is fine for us and will help him achieve Certifications as a PFT, but I am glad that I knew what to ask! (Thanks to Jennifer Cook Derosa!)
RE: When even schools don't know the difference between NA and RA - cookderosa - 10-29-2018
(10-29-2018, 07:26 AM)hsfamfun Wrote: My son is attending a nationally accredited certificate program in our town. However, when we were speaking with admissions, I was told that they are accredited and was told his credits should transfer anywhere. I asked what kind of accreditation it was and who was the accrediting agency and she looked at me like I had 2 heads and said "I don't know, I can find out." They are nationally accredited by ABHES for their programs in Personal Training and Massage. I told the admissions counselor that she should not be telling people that they can transfer the credits anywhere because not every college accepts National accreditation. She had no idea about their accreditation, just that they had it. This program is fine for us and will help him achieve Certifications as a PFT, but I am glad that I knew what to ask! (Thanks to Jennifer Cook Derosa!)
Accreditation is only a big deal when it is- like when you need it for a license or when you hope to transfer credits or get financial aid, and even then sometimes you need one or the other. If your son were in the military and trying to use his GI Bill, they would totally cover RA and NA equally- they don't care, as long as either/or RA/NA. If he were trying to become a cosmetologist, finding an RA diploma is almost impossible (yet NA is almost always required) so it's just a funny topic because again, it's only a big deal when it is.
My own AOS was from the best culinary school in the country at the time, and it wasn't RA. I didn't know that because it was "accredited" and I received federal financial aid- nothing was wrong until 15 years later when I wanted a bachelor's degree and couldn't figure out why my credits wouldn't transfer *EVEN TO UoP* only then did I learn about accreditation- and my JOB was for a college where I started a degree program from scratch- accreditation was part of my job (though it wasn't RA accreditation that I dealt with, it was our industry accreditor and the US Department of Labor) so I know we talk about this like people should know, but people don't know.