Job Discussion Forums

[jabberjaw]

First, I'm considering applying for an online M.A. in TESOL/Applied Linguistics program. One opinion I've heard about them is that the teaching/learning dynamic generally doesn't exist in an online format. I think this might be true, but I'd like it if someone could prove me wrong. For those of you who have completed online M.A.'s I'm wondering what you have to say about this negative attitude towards them.

Second, I've been trying to figure out if an online M.A. or an intensive M.A. program would be sufficient for working at a community college in the US. I brought it up in some other threads and in one of them someone suggested that I start another thread to discuss it, so here is that other thread. The conversation we had in one of the other threads is posted below. Please feel free to add to it.

jabberjaw
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:34 am Post subject: US Dept of Ed accredited

Gordon quoting jabberjaw:
Go to my website and check out the distance masters I have listed. NA is not the best place for distance degrees. In fact, Canada does not have a single university that offers a masters in applied linguistics/tesol that can be done entirely online. Australia is the place to go for more bang for your buck.

jabberjaw wrote: I have heard rumours of UK or Australian universities having M.A. TESOL programs that are globally accredited. What I'm wondering is if there is an Australian or British university that offers a distance learning M.A. in TESOl that is accredited by the US Department of Education. I'm guessing not but I would love if someone could prove me wrong.

Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5025
Location: Japan
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 2:29 pm Post subject:

What you should do, is take the name or names of prospective unis and then go and ask an acredittingbody if this uni is recognized. You can ask prospective employers the same thing. I don't think the US Dept of Education is an accreditting agency. The US has 6 different accreditting bodies, not 1 like in Canada or Australia.

mlomker
Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 352
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 1:12 am Post subject: Re: US Dept of Ed accredited

jabberjaw wrote:
that is accredited by the US Department of Education. I'm guessing not but I would love if someone could prove me wrong.


mlomker wrote: DOE recognizes accrediting bodies but doesn't do accreditation itself. The DOE actually recognizes an organization called DETC but they are below the regional accreditation that 'legitimate' universities in the US have. DETC schools are inexpensive but their degrees are worthless...they just aren't labeled as 'degree mills' by the DOE.

http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/


jabberjaw
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
Posts: 17
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:46 am Post subject: working at US & Canadian community colleges

Thanks for the link mlomker. I went to it and did a search for the University of New England (the one in Australia) and the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. Neither one showed up in the search. That kind of worries me as I would like to teach at a community college in the US. I'm wondering if a community college in the US would even really hire someone with an online M.A. in TESOL/Applied Linguistics. I'm also wondering what they would think of one that wasn't on the list that the US Dept of Education publishes which as the website mlomker referenced says is a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the US Secretary of Education determines to be reliable authorities as to the quality of education or training provided by the institutions of higher education and the higher education programs they accredit. Do you know of any teachers who have gone the Australian or UK distance learning route and then gone on to teach at a community college in the US or Canada? I'd hate to do all that work of getting an online M.A. only to not get a job I really wanted.

ChuckECheese
Joined: 28 Jul 2006
Posts: 70
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 5:09 am Post subject: Re: working at US & Canadian community colleges

jabberjaw wrote:
Thanks for the link mlomker. I went to it and did a search for the University of New England (the one in Australia) and the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. Neither one showed up in the search. That kind of worries me as I would like to teach at a community college in the US. I'm wondering if a community college in the US would even really hire someone with an online M.A. in TESOL/Applied Linguistics. I'm also wondering what they would think of one that wasn't on the list that the US Dept of Education publishes which as the website mlomker referenced says is a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the US Secretary of Education determines to be reliable authorities as to the quality of education or training provided by the institutions of higher education and the higher education programs they accredit. Do you know of any teachers who have gone the Australian or UK distance learning route and then gone on to teach at a community college in the US or Canada? I'd hate to do all that work of getting an online M.A. only to not get a job I really wanted.


ChuckEChesse wrote: No legitimate colleges or university in the U.S. will hire anyone with online degree. They will accept applicant with few online courses but majority of your course work would have to have been done at the university.


Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5025
Location: Japan
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 5:26 am Post subject: Re: working at US & Canadian community colleges

ChuckECheese, that is not true at all. I am not sure if you are getting distance education mixed up with an online diploma mill type school. Almost every major UK or Australian uni has a large distance education program. The US and Cdn schools do too, but to a much lesser degree. I know of many people who teach in Cdn colleges who possess distance degrees from the UK and Australia. The parchment does not have "distance" on it, it is equivalent to an on-campus degree and the workload is the same. Taiwan is the only country that does not accept distance degrees.

[Tiger Beer]

[spiral78]

My distance MA is recognized in Canada and enables me to work at Canadian universities.

Sorry, can't speak for the US.

But distance MA programs which allow the candidate to put theory into practice as you learn are not generally considered second-class in Europe or North America, so far as I know from personal experience and the feedback of friends who've done similar courses. At least, not in our field.

[Jetgirly]

The original thread was a bit too full of badly-formatted quotations, but I did read in it somewhere that "Canada and the US don't have a single university that offers online Masters in Applied Linguistics or TESOL" or something like that. My university offers online MEds in TESOL. I've been told by the academic advisors that if I went the MEd route I wouldn't be able to later go on to pursue a PhD (for that I would have to do an on-campus MA). However, I've worked with a lot of people in very good positions who have MEds rather than MAs...

http://www.educ.ucalgary.ca/gder/htdocs/programs/item.php?id=13