Job Discussion Forums

[Rice Paddy Daddy]

Merlin,

You don't know me but you make assumptions about me.

I attacked the USQ program / school and will knock it some more.

I didn't criticize you even though you do come across as a bit flakey.

It is you, and a couple of others, who are making the ad hominem arguments - not me.

I'm happy to focus my comments on USQ - not your personality.

Glad to hear that you're doing 'cutting edge' stuff at USQ.

[merlin]

OK, I agree that you are probably more than the sum of your 230 posts here and I have no right to judge you just because of their content.

So, back to the issue: can you can begin by explaining to all of us what the purpose of graduate-level education is and then why you feel USQ does a poorer job of meeting these objectives than other universities.

qualifications:
by "purpose", I mean more than just providing a piece of paper to add weight to one's application packet.
I would also like you to stick to issues unique to USQ, not the changes occuring to universities on a global scale e.g. increased use of TA's and adjunct faculty instead of Published professors to carry out some educational tasks.

[hamel]

rpd seems to be very jealous of gordon for some reason. i'm happy for gordon that he has a good job and he is obviously improving his skills and knowledge.

japanese unversities seem to have the supply/demand advantage regarding western teachers. accept yourself rpd. i'm sure you are also a good teacher.

[China Dim Drone]

"Cutting edge" stuff? Don't make me laugh! Is it primary research you are conducting?

I have a friend currently doing a 'BA' with this particular back street Aussie institution part-time, by distance, and the material and the levels are an absolute joke. I would place it at or around the level attained by A level students in the UK.

[merlin]

[guangho]

I know this thread ended a year ago but it's relevant to my concerns so I'll try to resurrect it. I would like to get an M.A. in App Ling and doing it online appeals to me (more convenient). However, if I do an online course via UNE or MacQurie (I butchered that name for sure) will it be recognized in the United States if I wish to apply for a teaching job at an American uni? How about Europe?

[PAULH]

[Jim Bigelow]

If I'm not mistaken USQ would also be just as recognized as the other universities mentioned. Correct?

[Jim Bigelow]

I took the advice of the poster who seems to despise USQ and I looked them up on Google. Just found this:

USQ was the winner of “Australia’s University of the Year 2000 – 2001” Good Universities Guides – Joint W1nner for developing the e-University
USQ was voted inaugural winner “World’s Best On and Off-Campus Teaching University” – International Council for Open and Distance Learning
USQ won the Commonwealth of Learning Award of Excellence for Institutional Achievement at the third Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning held in Dunedin, New Zealand in July 2004.
Facts And Figures
More than 25,000 students are currently studying with USQ. International student make up approximately 30 percent of the total student population. Over 100 nationalities are represented in this student population.

Accreditation And Ranking
Australian Government: USQ are accredited with, and closely monitored by, the Australian Government, which has a strong commitment to the provision of quality higher education.

CRICOS: USQ is on the Australian Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) and must comply with a National Code of Practice. The Code sets strict requirements for all CRICOS-registered providers, programs and courses.

AUQA: All Australian universities are evaluated by Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA). AUQA reports directly to the Commonwealth Government on its finding.

AVCC: USQ is partially funded by the Australian Government and is a member of the Australian Vice-Chancellor’s Committee (AVCC), to whose performance codes USQ conforms.

Member of ACU, IAU: As a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and UNESCO’s International Association of Universities (IAU), USQ degrees are recognized around the world. ACU membership comprises more than 480 universities drawn from Commonwealth countries. These institutions come together under the umbrella of the ACU to build on their historical links, shared traditions and common purposes in order to further international understanding and collaboration.

[Gordon]

You are correct, Jim. Welcome back.

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Guangho:

In addition to the 3 good schools already mentioned above, here's one more worth looking at:

http://www.open.ac.uk/ (The Open University)

The Open University is one of the few universities offering Distance Degrees

in both TESOL and Applied Linguistics -

that is also fully accredited by the USA's Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

http://www.msche.org/ (Middle States Commission on Higher Education)

Since you mentioned teaching @ the university level in the USA,

I just wanted to throw out another option to consider.

__________________


By the way, UNE and USQ are both recognized by DETC:

http://www.detc.org/degree.html (DETC)

USQ is also accredited by CHEA:

http://www.chea.org/ (CHEA)

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Here's a repost of the Distance TESOL & TEFL Degree Programs

and Certificates --- while we're on the topic:


http://www.matesol.info/ (a free guide to Graduate & MA TESOL Programs)

http://www.msche.org/ (Middle States Commission on Higher Education / USA)

http://www.chea.org/ (CHEA / Council for Higher Education Accreditation / USA)

http://www.detc.org/ (DETC / The Distance Education and Training Council / USA)

http://www.actdec.org.uk/ (Accreditation Council for TESOL Distance Courses / UK)

http://www.auqa.edu.au/ (AUQA / Australian Universities Quality Agency / Australia)

http://www.qca.org.uk/index.html (QCA / Qualifications and Curriculum Authority / UK)

http://www.accet.org/index2.cfm (ACCET / Accreditation Council for Continuing Ed / USA)

http://www.tesl.ca/ (The TESL Canada Federation Website / please refer to 'Standards')

http://www.degreeinfo.com/index.html (DegreeInfo / Distance Learning Info & Forum)

http://www.eslcafe.com/discussion/dz1/ (Dave's ESL Cafe / Teacher Training Forum)

http://www.educ.utas.edu.au/users/tle/Tesol/ (University of Tasmania / MEd TESOL)

http://www.une.edu.au/arts/LCL/index.shtml (UNE / Online MA in Applied Linguistics)

http://www.anaheim.edu/edu/index.shtml (Anaheim University / Online MS in TESOL)

http://www.uga.edu/academics/distance.html (The University of Georgia / Online MEd)

http://www.aston.ac.uk/lss/english/index.jsp (Aston U / Distance TESOL & MSc TESOL)

http://www.thedistancedelta.com/index.cfm (British Council & IH / The Distance DELTA)

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/languagestudies/ (University of Dundee / Online MA in TMLA)

http://www.teflinternational.com/m_ed_teosl.html (TEFL Int. & Burapha U / MEd TESOL)

http://www.bridgelinguatec.com/ (Bridge-Linguatec / CELTA, TEFL & Online certification)

http://www.smuc.ac.uk/lttu/actdec/index.html (St. Mary's College / Distance Dip. TESOL)

http://www.schooloftesl.com/ (School of TESL & Seattle Univ / Online TESOL certification)

http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/ed/tesol/ (Sheffield Hallam University / MA & PgDip TESOL)

http://www.intesolprague-teflcourses.com/index.htm (INTESOL Prague / Online & Hybrid)

http://www.usq.edu.au/handbook/current/opacsprog.html (USQ / MA TESOL & Appl. Ling)

http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/support/distance.htm (Macquarie U. / MA in Applied Linguistics)

http://ioewebserver.ioe.ac.uk/ioe/index.html (University of London / Distance MA in TESOL)

http://www.tesoltraining.co.uk/diploma.html (SGI / Online Trinity College Diploma in TESOL)

http://maxkade.miis.edu/call_online/index.html (Monterey Institute / Online CALL certificate)

http://www.teachenglish.co.uk/ (London Teacher Training College / Online TEFL certification)

http://www.open.ac.uk/ (The Open University UK / offers BA, MA, Certificate & PGCE Studies)

http://study.massey.ac.nz/ (Massey U - New Zealand / a variety of Distance TESOL Degrees)

http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/pub/index.shtml (Penn State World Campus / Online MEd)

http://www.surrey.ac.uk/ALRG/ (University of Surrey / MA in TESOL & MSc in ELT Management)

http://www.transworldschools.com/home.htm (TransWorld / Online CTESOL Cert & practicum)

http://www.englishtc.co.uk/ (The English Training Centre / 3 levels of Online TESOL certificate)

http://www.csu.edu.au/courses/pg/edu/gcteso/ (Charles Sturt U - Australia / Grad Cert TESOL)

http://www.americanbritish.com/ (American British Teaching Group / Distance TEFL certification)

http://www.intesolinternational.com/ (INTESOL / Online TESOL & Diploma in TESOL certification)

http://www.indiana.edu/~disted/index.html (Indiana U of Bloomington / Online MA & Certificate)

http://www.drexel.com/ (Drexel University / Online post-grad teaching degrees & TESL certificate)

http://www.le.ac.uk/se/courses/tesol_home.html (U of Leicester / MA & PhD in Linguistics & TESOL)

http://www.education.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduatestudents/ (U of Manchester / MEd & MA TESOL)

http://www.uts.edu.au/study/courses.html (Univ of Technology Sydney / Distance MA in Appl. Ling)

http://www.ef-tefl-training.com/teacherinfo/training/online/default.asp (EF Diploma in TEFL / new)

http://www.cels.bham.ac.uk/prospectus/ODL/odlteflinfo.htm (University of Birmingham / MA TEFL)

http://www.su.edu/sas/tesol/ (Shenandoah University / Distance TESOL & MA TESOL programs)

http://www.cie.ca./otherpro.htm (Canadian Institute of English / Distance BEd & MEd in TESOL)

http://www.ling.lancs.ac.uk/study/masters/index.htm (Lancaster University / Online MA in ELT)

http://www.tesol-education.com/ (Harrow Institute of Linguistics / Online TESOL certification)

http://www.rdg.ac.uk/AcaDepts/cl/slals/pgcourse.htm (The University of Reading / MA in ELT)

http://tesol1.net/ (William Brewster TESOL Institute / Onsite in Jakarta, Online & BA TESOL)

http://www.bangor.ac.uk/linguistics/ (University of Wales Bangor / MA & PhD in Linguistics)

http://www.swan.ac.uk/cals/ (University of Wales Swansea / Online BA, MA & PhD in TEFL)

http://www.english-international.com/ (English International / Distance TEFL certification)

http://www.thekennedyacademy.com/ (The Kennedy Academy / Online TEFL certification)

http://www.bostontefl.com/index.htm (Worldwide Teachers / Online CTEFL & Cert TBE)

http://www.globaledcorp.com/index.html (GEC / hybrid TEFL & teach abroad programs)

http://www.innovative-english.com/ (Teachers Latin America / Online TEFL certification)

http://www.americantesol.com/ (American TESOL Institute / Online TESOL certification)

http://www.lambert.edu/eli/eli_e.html (Lambert University / Online TESOL certification)

http://www.apu.apus.edu/index.htm (American Public University / Online BA in English)

http://distance.wsu.edu/degrees/ESLDistance.asp (WSU / Distance ESL Endorsement)

http://www.olionline.com/ (Open Learning International / Online TEFL, YL & Dipl. TEFL)

http://www.netlanguages.com/ (Net Languages - Barcelona / Online ELT certification)

http://unitedtesol.com/english/default.asp (United TESOL / hybrid TESOL certification)

http://www.traininglinkonline.co.uk/ (Training Link Online - Online TESOL certification)

http://www.global-english.com/ (Global English / distance learning TEFL certification)

http://www.uclaextension.edu/ (UCLA Extension / offers a variety of online courses)

http://www.worldportesl.com/index.htm (Worldport ESL / Online TESL certification)

http://www.robaco.net/ (Robaco UK / Online TEFL certification, Diploma & MA TEFL)

http://www.monash.edu.au/ (Monash University / Distance PGCE, Diploma & MEd)

http://www.teflcenter.com/ (The TEFL Center / 120 hour Online TEFL certification)

http://www.onlinetefl.com/ (i-to-i Online TEFL / 'The Original Online TEFL Course')

http://www.onlinelearning.net/ (OnlineLearning.net / 'teacher education online')

http://www.excelsior.edu/ (Excelsior College / Distance BA or MA in Liberal Arts)

http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/ltc/efl/ (The University of York / Distance MA in TEYL)

http://www.norwoodenglish.com/ (Norwood English / Online TEFL certification)

http://www.ontesol.com/Welcome.asp (ONTESOL / Online TESOL certification)

http://www.winfieldcollege.com/ (Winfield College / Online TEFL certification)

http://www.teflireland.com/ot.shtml (TEFL Ireland / Online TEFL certification)

http://www.eurolinkcourses.co.uk/ (Eurolink / Distance TESOL certification)

http://www.tefl-uk.com/ (TEFL-UK / 40 & 60 hour Online TEFL certification)

http://globaltesol.com/ (Global TESOL College / Online TESOL certification)

http://www.canadian-englishcenter.com/ (CEC / Online TEFL certification)

http://www.tefl-prague.com/teflonline_public.htm (Tefl Online Prague)

http://www.teachercertificate.com/ (CETC / Online TEFL certification)

http://teacher-training.net/ (ICAL Online TESL/TEFL certification)

http://teflpro.com/ (PSL TEFLpro / Distance TEFL certification)

[Jim Bigelow]

Hi Gordon,

How's it going? I've been here but a little less vocal than before!

I couldn't believe some of the nonsense being written about USQ on this thread so had to chuck my bit in!

Best wishes,

Jim

[Rice Paddy Daddy]

The University of Southern Queensland is a bad school.

The teachers are underqualified and unprepared from my experience.

The staff are unhelpful, rude and unmotivated. No sense of customer service.

The community of Toowoomba is not yet ready to play host to an international community.

I would encourage all the folks reading this who may be considering an Applied Linguistics degree to pass over on this school.

NOT a good school at all.

In my opinion, the Australian schools are 'devaluing' the post-graduate/Master degree.

Australian institutions are handing Master degrees out like candy.

Universitis in Australia should lose credibility for this - They are simply money-grabbing and lowering admissions standards as well as requirements to complete the degrees.

When I was in uni in Australia I was surrounded by Asians in my class who couldn't even speak English - really.

As well, many of these students could not write their papers in English at a level that reflects post-graduate scholarship.

Australian degrees are becoming a sham and I am calling it like I see it .

The easiest place in the world right now to get a post-grad degree is Australia.

Australia does not have enough motivated people - Their citizens are not purusing post-grad studies. So what do they do - Make it easier to get M.A. and Doctoral degrees.

It's a haven for Chinese/Japanese and Korean students pursuing an M.A. - No GRD, low TOEFL scores (Many TOEFL scores are faked, apparantly), no thesis requirements or oral defense, and lower tuition and living costs.

Or just go the on-line/distance route.

I'm so sick and tired of these guys on here telling us how great these schools and programs are - and they've never been to the schools, inside the classrooms or even talked to the instructors or staff.

Of course Gordon and Merlin are gonna say these schools are great - why would they devalue their own degree?

That wouldn't make sense, would it.

[Gordon]

RPD,
You are such a broken record mate.
I think you get what you put into your education. I don't believe you as I have had an entirely different experience. No school is perfect, but I am glad I started the degree with USQ and wouldn't change it if I could. The question is if it was so terrible, then why didn't you transfer your credits elsewhere?

I'm sure USQ wishes you had passed on the school too.

Why don't you answer your own question?