Virginia University of Lynchburg Accreditation on Warning

[michaeladsmith2]

As long as the US Department of Education has given its stamp of approval and authority to TRACS to accredit schools and provide Federal Aid to millions of students, that's ALL THAT MATTERS.

I agree with most of your post.

Of course there are millions of students in total who use federal student aid, but TRACS students are a small part. The largest TRACS school today might be Pensacola Christian University, with around 5000 students.

TRACS' DOED recognition may be all that matters to a given student. In my opinion TRACS' DOED recognition sufficiently establishes TRACS schools are academically credible. But students are still reasonably allowed to say distinctions between NA and RA matter to them (e.g., if they aspire to a competitive position teaching in RA), that doctrinal distinctives of TRACS matter to them (pro or con), etc.

Very interesting points. Thank you for the feedback. I actually don't take any stock or consideration between the RA & NA distinction. A host of NA schools are very reputable and often have much better competitiveness than RA schools. Devry, WGU, Capella, Walden, Purdue Global, and many others hold very high distinctions and networking opportunities with their Alumni. 

For me, we are living in a global education market now. Gone are the days when employers put stock in the name on a piece of paper. They want to know if the potential candidate fits the company's culture, qualifications, and possible skills & longevity. You have Harvard graduates who suck at interpersonal skills, people skills, adapting to change, multi-tasking, soft skills, phone etiquette, etc. At the same time, you may have a Walden graduate who exhibits a list of skills the company seeks, regardless of NA. 

IMHO, the only thing that should matter is whether the institution holds accreditation to issue legitimate degrees for the marketplace. Certainly, there is a conversation about the quality of the school, graduation rate, debt for students, and quality of the faculty. And I'm not suggesting Cornell is equal to VUL, but I don't diminish smaller schools or non-Ivy League schools or State Schools based on RA or NA.