Newlane University Planning Graduate Degree

[WALLACEMC11]

According to one of the co-founders, Josh Stanley, "We're hoping to launch masters degree in the near future. We actually think our model is suited more for graduate work than undergrad because of the self pace, learning and professor student interaction. We have much larger plans for degree offerings in the future. Stay tuned."

[Messdiener]

I recently attended a conference led by a Singaporean team. After the meetings, I had a chance to speak to one of the curriculum people. She was quite adamant that their experiments for undergraduate online learning had not born the fruit they were looking to achieve. Rather, she thought that, if we had to have online learning at all, it would best work with graduate students.

Having done my undergrad in person and now my graduate studies online, I can see, to a certain extent, where she is coming from. Younger undergrad students, straight out of high school may need some more hand holding, so the in-person accountability factor does work for some students. Now that I'm older, have been working for years, etc., I could appreciate studying in person, but online studies work so much better for my schedule and locale. When we get into more niche topics, often we have to go online too to find something, rather than knocking on the door of the nearest college or university.

With all of that rambling out of the way, I can see where Newlane is coming from and wish them all the best as they launch their next set of graduate degrees! If anyone has news on specific offerings, do let us know!

[sal1820]

My only problem with Newlane is its recognition.

Not only is it just nationally accredited, the real problem with Newlane is that it is even not listed in the WHED database managed in cooperation with UNESCO:

https://whed.net/home.php

This should have been a priority for Newlane, since it dictates by a large measure whether the university issuing degrees is a legitimate institution in the eyes of foreign authorities. I don't think it even costs any noticeable sum of money or sizable effort to be listed in WHED. Maybe it is that Newlane is focused on onboarding as many American students at this point as possible.

Being listed in WHED, of course, will not solve all issues, since some countries like Germany need an American university to be regionally accredited to recognize it as an authentic institution.

[wow]

I recently attended a conference led by a Singaporean team. After the meetings, I had a chance to speak to one of the curriculum people. She was quite adamant that their experiments for undergraduate online learning had not born the fruit they were looking to achieve. Rather, she thought that, if we had to have online learning at all, it would best work with graduate students. ...

The other aspect with Newlane is the format of oral examinations at the end of each class. This is incredibly suited for graduate-level courses in philosophy.

I expect their first/primary offering with be a Masters in Philosopy.

---

My only problem with Newlane is its recognition.

Not only is it just nationally accredited, the real problem with Newlane is that it is even not listed in the WHED database managed in cooperation with UNESCO:

https://whed.net/home.php

...Being listed in WHED, of course, will not solve all issues, since some countries like Germany need an American university to be regionally accredited to recognize it as an authentic institution.

I think it's worth contacting the founders/administration with this suggestion.

[eLearner]

My only problem with Newlane is its recognition.

Not only is it just nationally accredited, the real problem with Newlane is that it is even not listed in the WHED database managed in cooperation with UNESCO:

https://whed.net/home.php

This should have been a priority for Newlane, since it dictates by a large measure whether the university issuing degrees is a legitimate institution in the eyes of foreign authorities. I don't think it even costs any noticeable sum of money or sizable effort to be listed in WHED. Maybe it is that Newlane is focused on onboarding as many American students at this point as possible.

Being listed in WHED, of course, will not solve all issues, since some countries like Germany need an American university to be regionally accredited to recognize it as an authentic institution.

The RA-NA paradigm lost official recognition from the U.S. Department of Education roughly 7 years ago. The department detailed in a statement that they never favored one over the other. RA over NA came from public perception. The perception wasn't entirely wrong when comparing the overall of NA schools versus the overall of RA schools, but it was wrong as a blanket concept as there are bad RA schools and good NA schools, and vice versa.

All accredited schools including Newlane are now simply recognized as "Institutionally Accredited" and schools have been gradually moving to that terminology ever since the department's announcement.

I would say that no one cares or even knows about the WHED database other than people on boards like this, colleges/universities, and some government entities that most will never come into contact with. And even then, in the United States, being accredited is going to override any possible concerns. Even U.S. foreign credential evaluators often look past it in favor of other factors. However, I can see how this could become a problem in other countries where their evaluators may hold the WHED up as a major standard.

[sanantone]

No country or U.S. entity is forced to follow Trump's letter to help the for-profit college industry. Some post-graduate programs I'm looking at still require regional accreditation. Dictating what schools and licensing boards accept goes beyond the Department of Education's authority.

[eLearner]

The other aspect with Newlane is the format of oral examinations at the end of each class. This is incredibly suited for graduate-level courses in philosophy.

I expect their first/primary offering with be a Masters in Philosopy.

Most likely. A Master's in the Philosophy of Psychology would be verrry interesting. A Doctor of Philosophy that is just titled as "Doctor of Philosophy" would also be interesting, but they may need to be clever with the post nominals and requirements as PhD programs are not normally allowed by the DEAC.

---

Dictating what schools and licensing boards accept goes beyond the Department of Education's authority.

To be fair, it was known (or at least believed by some) for a long time that the Department didn't favor one over the other. The letter from the department was merely official confirmation. Schools are still free to accept or reject transfers from other schools just as they always have.

[sal1820]

I think it's worth contacting the founders/administration with this suggestion.

I dug up the email and message Newlane about WHED some weeks ago. But I never heard back.

---

The RA-NA paradigm lost official recognition from the U.S. Department of Education roughly 7 years ago. The department detailed in a statement that they never favored one over the other. RA over NA came from public perception. The perception wasn't entirely wrong when comparing the overall of NA schools versus the overall of RA schools, but it was wrong as a blanket concept as there are bad RA schools and good NA schools, and vice versa.

All accredited schools including Newlane are now simply recognized as "Institutionally Accredited" and schools have been gradually moving to that terminology ever since the department's announcement.

I would say that no one cares or even knows about the WHED database other than people on boards like this, colleges/universities, and some government entities that most will never come into contact with. And even then, in the United States, being accredited is going to override any possible concerns. Even U.S. foreign credential evaluators often look past it in favor of other factors. However, I can see how this could become a problem in other countries where their evaluators may hold the WHED up as a major standard.

In some countries like mine, an online degree from a foreign university is only granted validity if an institution is listed in the WHED database. So not being in the WHED database is a dealmaker. In the US you would be better off, of course and won't face similar challenges. 

Second, the NA-DA distinction is still important since in major countries famous for their education, most notably Germany. you need to have a regionally accredited degree to study there.

[eLearner]

In some countries like mine, an online degree from a foreign university is only granted validity if an institution is listed in the WHED database. So not being in the WHED database is a dealmaker. In the US you would be better off, of course and won't face similar challenges. 

Second, the NA-DA distinction is still important since in major countries famous for their education, most notably Germany. you need to have a regionally accredited degree to study there.

Right. My perspective is based on American systems and viewpoints. I'm aware of the Anabin in Germany (it's mentioned often on this board) and I am familiar with the database. I find it interesting that it excludes many regionally accredited schools. I also find it interesting that it includes some nationally accredited schools such as Patten University. Hmmm.

I have no ill will toward the database or the country, but it's fair to question how they conclude on American schools (and the schools of other countries) and what their understanding of them is from the outside.

I think it's important that we not overstate the depth of the understanding of the antiquated RA-NA paradigm. Most people in the United States never actually understood it, so I have high doubts that it's been understood internationally. On the contrary, I think most of it internationally has been viewed as a default rather than an actual understanding—they heard RA is the "gold standard" in the United Sates, so they reject anything else, not because they've made any quality judgements or even understand any nuances beyond the perception, they simply accept the perception.

[Tomas]

Anabin only includes some schools, I guess it takes some volume or procedure to actually make it to the db.
Patten - could be they were RA in the past and db was simply not updated for some reason, probably no new requests for degree recognition since the time of change.