Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sirius black]

How does one know if their uni or college is 'recognized'? Degree mills aren't obvioiusly. The ones that used to be sold from the back of magazines. But if a friend went to a for profit uni in America or Canada (i.e. Univ of Phoenix, Univ.of Canada West, etc.) how do you know if it will be approved?
I also hear it must be 'accredited'. There are all sorts. There are regional and national services. I was thinking of gettng a master's from an 'easy' school (not concerned about the quality, only the paper...NO PREACHING please), and they list their accredidation as "accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. "

Does Korea have a list of schools that are not acceptable (or acceptable?).

How does one know prior if its acceptable or not?

[toby99]

The bar is pretty low in terms of what is acceptable. I'm pretty sure online degrees will do the trick just fine, but hopefully another poster can confirm/deny.

[nathanrutledge]

Lots of accreditation bodies out there. Personally, I found the group that accredited my university (state school, part of the Big 10) and then looked on their list. So, take a look at who accredits U of Phoenix or whatever other for profit/non traditional school you're looking at and see who else they accredit. If you've never heard of any of the schools on their list, you should probably be wary of getting a degree from that place.

For example, University of Phoenix is accredited by TEAC for their teacher ed programs.

http://www.teac.org/accreditation/comment-to-members-and-programs/

Check the list and you'll see Michigan State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Princeton, Rice, as well as many other no/low-name universities and colleges.

Their overall accreditation is the Higher Learning Commission, a group that accredits loads of places.

Long story short - the haters gonna hate, but eff 'em. Any one of the places that is on the accredited list is going to be acceptable.

The only thing I'd watch out for is a school that is on the edge. A university in North Dakota was just found to have been giving out degrees without the proper coursework. So... make sure the place you're looking at doesn't have difficulties that would cause them to forgo their academic responsibilities... Hate to do the work, get the degree, only to see them dropped from the list.

Side note - plenty of good institutions offer distance education at better prices than U of Phoenix. Not hating on them for their education, just saying - I think they are a waste of money because they are overpriced. The distance education market has changed significantly in the past few years, so DO YOUR RESEARCH. No need to spend tons of money if you don't have to...

[ttompatz]

Unlike the USA, Canada does not have a national or regional accreditation system for post-secondary institutions and, therefore, educational jurisdictions do not normally employ the word "accredited" to denote provincially authorized or recognized institutions.

Each program in a Canadian university (and in fact even the privilege of using the term university in their name) must meet the requirements and standards under law for the province it is located in.

They must meet and continue to meet the standard (as required by the provincial assembly and regulated by provincial authority) or not be allowed to grant a degree or use the title "university" in their name.

Unlike in the US. it is not just a simple matter of gaining a business license to operate. It requires a law to be passed to allow them to operate as a university and their programs MUST be peer reviewed on a regular basis.

There are no degree mills legally operating in Canada. By definition it is illegal to operate one.

In Canada all universities and colleges are under the direct supervision of the provincial and territorial governments, and there are no accreditation authorities, so the problem of degree mills is relatively rare.

For example, in Ontario the Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000, regulates degree-granting authority. Any institution that wishes to a) offer a degree and/or b) use the term "university" must be authorized to do so under an Act of the Legislature or by the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities under the Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000.

The same is true of ALL provincial and territorial governments in Canada and the ONLY exceptions are those institutions that are old enough to have been granted their charter by the national government before the provincial governments came into being.

bottom line:

Every Canadian University is fine for gaining a degree.

In the US, check the lists of degree/diploma mills (Google them).

If the US university is NOT regionally accredited the chances are that a degree offered by it won't be recognized by anyone but your friends.

.

[pkang0202]

For US schools, find the program you want and what accreditation it has. google that accreditation. If you see other Tier 1 programs in that list, then you are safe that the program is not completely worthless.


Then check the reputation of that school. If they are accredited, but the program has got zero name value then you probably shouldn't waste your money there.

[sirius black]

[ren546]

Reputable American organizations will know better.

It depends on what you want to do. If you want to work at a lower end university in Korea that pays 2.1 for life and requires a Master's in anything, then go for it. If you want more options, it's worth investing in something better.

A lot of reputable education programs at the graduate level in Canada are starting to have a significant online component. Programs at UBC and U of C (Calgary) are two examples that I know of (UBC has a better reputation, though).

For example: http://edst.educ.ubc.ca/future/algc

[ttompatz]

[coralreefer_1]

The Korean Ministry of Education is recognized by the US dept. of Education as having an acceptable/minimal/equal standard of education. What this means is that purely from that point of view, they are equal. (not really, but at least recognized) What that really means is that although the level of education may not be similar, the US has recognized that there are at least legitimate schools in Korea with real professors, certain criteria have been met, various programs in place...etc etc