06-10-2008, 10:16 AM
Ben Johnson Wrote:Barrington? It sure took a lot of crap from many clueless experts. I could point out endless schools that were predicted to fail at accreditation but succeeded. How many times can the experts get everything wrong before they simply become assholes?
Next - the old Kennedy-Western. I'm betting for it.
As you suggest Ben, the self-appointed "experts" seem to have a poor track record for predicting success. My only disagreement would be about them "becoming" assholes. They started out as ignorant, self-important, condescending assholes and simply proved themselves to be even bigger such than we suspected.
In the works at U of Atlanta: DBA, EdD and JD programs.
http://www.uofa.edu/forthComingPrograms....eePrograms
Their website has a nice discussion of the advantages of DETC accreditation (vs. RA):
http://www.uofa.edu/detcDistinctions.asp...reditation
Quote:
- DETC accreditation is twice as frequent: DETC does a complete, fresh review every five years, not every 7 or 10 years as most regionals do.
- DETC does an in-depth program by program individual evaluation of curricula, before any students may be enrolled, using qualified professors and teachers primarily from regionally accredited universities. Regionals are not equipped to do individual content reviews of each program a college offers.
- DETC accreditation standards are specific to the distance education environment, and they go into far more depth on the unique aspects of learning at a distance by various modes than any general set of accrediting criteria. Subject matter experts, for example, measure a distance program against more than 100 different points of measurement, ranging from outcomes to reading level to depth of examinations to examination turn around time.
- DETC has far more extensive, specific and comprehensive and prescriptive standards for marketing practice, financial assessment, refund policies, and consumer protection rules than any regional agency.
- DETCs’ national minimum tuition refund policy is a model for others. And DETC has standards that address Internet marketing tactics and affirmative consumer disclosures.
- DETC has one of the most practical, time-tested outcomes assessment procedures for institutions to follow that is felt to be far more prescriptive and specific than the generalized outcomes processes of most regional bodies.