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 BA in 4 Weeks

Unauthorized reproduction prohibited

 

Copyright   Lawrie Miller  1997 - 2004

 

 

 

 bain4weeks.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

I was thinking about pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Liberal Studies. I don't have a lot of money, but I would like to get the best education for my limited funds. I have some questions for you.

 

1) What is the difference between a degree that is nationally accredited and a degree that is regionally accredited? I know that regionally accredited degree is more acceptable than a nationally accredited degree; however, can a nationally accredited be accepted in the academic and work worlds? (I noticed that one university's advertisement on your site claims to be "nationally accredited”.)

 

2) What do you know or what is your opinion of the following website (http://www.onlinehumanities.com) for accumulating credits to earn a college degree? Some of the colleges affiliated with this website are considered degree mills by posters on the www.degree.com discussion boards, but some colleges associated with Online Humanities are regionally accredited such as Empire State College and Antioch College of New England (Graduate School). Do you think it is worth it to take courses through Online Humnities to earn a degree?



3) Do you know of any regionally accredited colleges that offer credit by examination for Graduate courses and is not too expensive?

 

 

 

 

1. By nationally accredited, it take it you mean DETC accredited. Only ads from regionally accredited institutions or the foreign equivalent thereof, DETC accredited institutions, and Cal Coast University, appear in bain4weeks.com (or should appear). If ads from other degree-granting institutions appear, it is because they have net yet been filtered out. See the note on advertisements at the bottom of the home page and in the Notices page (http://bain4weeks/notice.html).

In so far as it is of concern here, the differences between US regional accreditation, the foreign equivalent of US regional accreditation, and DETC accreditation, are as stated in the Fundamentals section of BA in 4 Weeks. The only universities and colleges featured in the text of BA in 4 Weeks are the legitimate kind which confer degrees, diplomas and certificates that enjoy the widest possible recognition, acceptance, and portability, in the U.S. and elsewhere. All schools listed whether offering college credit, full bachelor degrees or master degrees, are either, state funded, and recognized by the government of the country as an institution of higher learning, or, in the case of US institutions, they may be public or private, but they must be regionally accredited.


DETC degrees will receive significantly greater acceptance in the workplace than in academe. With respect to the acceptance of DETC academic credit and awards by regionally accredited institutions, there’re are very few among the 3,500 or so that will accept any. My sense is perhaps a handful of RA colleges and universities will recognize the legitimacy of credit and degrees on the basis of a conferring institution’s DETC accreditation. The issue then, is one of utility.


2. I looked at the website. Not a bad idea, at all. Faculty looked quite impressive. Only issue I have is that at least one of them appears to be dead. Much might be gained from the growth of such third party providers. They identify two regionally accredited schools with whom the claim some kind of articulation agreement. If there is a devil to be found, it will be in the detail of these agreements. Worth doing due diligence before committing to a course of study. There are links to the web pages of various other schools, but that does not imply affiliation to the linker or endorsement of the linker, by the “linkee”. I do agree though that linking to degree mills will do nothing to promote onlinehumanities.com’s acceptance into “polite society”. Strategic error in my view.



3. Graduate credit by examination? Depends what you mean by not too expensive. Mentioned many time here – Western Governors University (WGU) is a regionally accredited assessment institution offering graduate programs. I was among the first graduate students there and was the guinea pig in their first graduate assessment exam. Then there is the EBS MBA program of Heriot Watt University. The degree is earned by passing nine 3-hour exams. There is no coursework. I’ve offered my detailed views on the wares of both schools in this Q&A and elsewhere in the website. Try a site search.

 

 



DETC accreditation is perfectly legitimate but if you want a graduate degree that will command universal or near universal acceptance, enroll in a program offered by a US regionally accredited institution or the foreign equivalent thereof.

 

Lawrie

 

 

 

 

 

Would a clep coupled with any gre be acceptable for a fast associate degree?  An early edition of Dr. Bears book said gre's are worth 40 credits [probably a misprint] and no mention of labwork for science gre's for a BA degree.

 

 

Yes, you can do that. For the associate’s degree you would require one GRE subject exam pass above the 80th percentile and 30 semester hours for the general ed portion of the degree, to include:

. ECE English Composition (6) (3 credit hours for the WER)
. CLEP Humanities (6)
· CLEP College Mathematics (6)
· CLEP Natural Sciences (6)
· CLEP Social Sciences and History (6)

Depending upon the GRE subject exam of choice, some portion of the general ed credit requirement might be met by the GRE. In any case, a minimum 60 semester hours is required for the associate degree.

Excelsior College awards up to 30 semester hours on a sliding scale, for a suitable score in the GRE subject test. Options and details are explored and discussed in BA in 4 Weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Website © Lawrie Miller 2004

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