Korean Job Discussion Forums

[melissatan]

I joined the Korean discussion board b/c a friend at AU alerted me that there was someone asking about the program. It's true that I hadn't joined the forum before: the reason is that I've never had a topic on which I felt qualified to offer advice. I can assure you that I am different from the other two who responded, but when "Bun" and I were chatting in our course's informal chat last night, we did agree that we were both watching the forum here, so I guess that's "conspiracy" if you want to call it that. I joined to provide some insight into AU for potential students, and hope I can help answer questions about Anaheim U from the inside. If you want to hear me say the same in person, I will be at the residential session in Seoul next month. My name tag will bear the same name and city as what is listed on my profile here, so I'm really not very secretive.

[Wad]

The only problem with AU, however wonderful a university it might be, is that it is only nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Many employers and universities will only recognize regionally accredited universities.

[m10z10n]

How about the fees - online Vs on-campus? Is it the same?

[Bailsibub]

Looks like this university will knock your SOCKS off!

[tesol1]

As a graduate of Anaheim University, I log on from time to time to read of other students' experiences. Not sure if (some of) you will find my post skeptical as well but I'd be happy to share my experience if there are things you'd like to know about AU. I, along with other AU students will be at the Korea TESOL conference this year so if any of you are around, maybe we'll all get a chance to meet...

[tesolmaniac]

You can see videos of Anaheim University MA TESOL students talking about the program here: http://www.anaheim.edu/content/view/46/95/

[Old Gil]

If it's not regionally accredited, I'd be skeptical.

[tesolmaniac]

CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation), which is the organization authorized by the United States Department of Education to accredit the accreditors, accredits both regional and national accrediting bodies. National accreditation is equal to regional accreditation in every measurable way. In some states, the regional accreditor, such as WASC, which governs California, Hawaii, Guam, etc. is not authorized by their own bylaws and standards to accredit online institutions or universities with more students online than on-campus. In states like California, national accreditation is the optimal accreditation to have for universities primarily offering online degree programs. In Arizona, however, the North Central Association, which is a regional accreditor, allows the most flexibility in online education of all the accreditors. This is why you will find many universities that offer online programs based in the North Central region, such as the University of Phoenix. In fact the national accreditation standards for distance education graduate degree programs are said to be more stringent than that of the regional accreditors that do accredit online institutions such as the North Central Association. Both the national accreditors and the regional accreditors' bylaws and standards allow for regionally accredited schools to accept transfer credits and degrees from nationally accredited schools and vice-versa. Another important factor to take into consideration is that an overwhelming number - far exceeding the majority - of regionally accredited schools automatically accept credits from nationally accredited schools and vice-versa.

Here is a quote from one person who researched the viability of nationally accredited Anaheim University's MA in TESOL degree program in the California job market:

"Call the HR dept of prospective future places of employment and simply ask them if they would hire someone with MA from "x" school. I live in California, and I went through the site: www.cccregistry.org. I called every ESL position listed (which pay very well btw) and asked if they would hire someone with an MATESOL from Anaheim University (completely online school). I was shocked. They said they would in a heartbeat. Furthermore, the people who do the actually hiring didn't know the difference from regionally accredited vs nationally accredited, and they much preferred a graduate from Anaheim University to a graduate from a top Australian brick and mortar university (local bias, I guess). These two things were true for all 6 of the CC's I was able to get through to. They really didn't have any problem with online MA's."

The general consensus seems to be that online education is every bit as effective as traditional on-campus face to face education. In fact the Secretary of Education recently announced through a U.S. Department of Education Report their findings of a recent study which prove that online students more often meet the expected learning outcomes and spend more time focusing on the subject matter than students learning in a face to face setting. The report can be seen here: http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf

The national accreditors responsible for governing graduate degree programs up to the doctoral level have for many decades recognized the value of distance education and now that the U.S. Dept. of Education has made a formal judgment on the matter, we can assume that regional accreditors like WASC will begin to loosen their standards in relation to online education, at which point we can expect to see more schools like Anaheim University holding both national accreditation from the DETC and regional accreditation from WASC.

Since there are absolutely no regulations or standards preventing regionally accredited schools from accepting credits from a nationally accredited school, any school that is apprehensive in any way about hiring a graduate of Anaheim University's TESOL program is going to look into the program and the faculty. They are going to find that the Anaheim program is taught by 5-world renowned linguists through weekly live online classes. The Anaheim University TESOL faculty is headed by the Dean of the Graduate School of Education Dr. David Nunan, the TESOL Chair Dr. Rod Ellis, and TESOL professors Dr. Kathleen Bailey, Dr. Ruth Wajnryb and Dr. Martha Cummings, all acclaimed authors and thought leaders in the field. There are few regionally accredited institutions who have a TESOL faculty that can compare in regards to experience, qualifications, and international recognition.

[bobbybigfoot]

bump...would like some more recent comments if possible.

[Bailsibub]

Those three supportive posters who joined within days of each other haven't been too active on the board since then. Hmmm, they must be working their SOCKS off!

[bobbybigfoot]

[The Gipkik]

All right. What do you want to know? A good friend of mine is taking the MA TESOL and loves it. I'm definitely not a sock and, from what I'm told the other posters here are real live students taking the course right here and right now. He told me, and I can't verify this, that the discounts are supported by donations from people like Carol Burnett and others in the film industry. That 30% used to be 50%.

Tons of material available to students online. Proctored examinations. Lots of writing. A thesis. An intense discussion forum. Real time chats with the professors once a week. Damn good profs--at least I've read lots of stuff by them. Lots of support from staff and other students. Busy and engaging discussions--his words. Technology using something called the AMNOVET, seems to work well. Intellectually rigorous and demanding. First assignments for one course ranged from 55% to 98% so I doubt it's a mill that merely passes everyone--especially when the pass grade is something like 83% to graduate (a B average).

[freeridden]

So, if this program is not good/accredited, then which one is?

[eb]

Has anyone had any experience with the MBA Global?