Arguing national over regional

[High_Order1]

So

I availed myself of the link in the teaching thread, and looked at what apparently is desired for that career path.

I have seen more than a few saying they want a terminal masters from an RA school.


Help me develop a strategy. I'm considering a NA masters' program. How would I go about convincing the people asking these requirements my degree is equivalent?

Is it potentially simply a matter of copypasta on the part of HR types? Or, is there something deeper I need to consider before plunking down a significant amount (to me, anyway) of money.


Thanks1

[davewill]

Yeah, you need to consider that certain employers, especially RA schools, are going to care about the difference. A lot. Most private employers won't care.

[Ideas]

Yep, schools will probably not be convinced

Some might take NA Masters if your 18 grad credits are RA, but that seems like most cost and time for you. And I think you would be less considered if they had any RA Masters candidates

Edit: To clarify, I mean the schools which don't even require a Masters. If they say they need one, it's really unlikely they would be ok with NA.

[jsd]

Even NA schools typically ask for RA degrees when they are hiring professors. That says a lot.

RA is hugely important in academia. There's no way around it.

But as davewill pointed out, many private employers won't know (or care about) the difference.

[allvia]

Having a strategy won’t help; as you likely won’t get a chance to make the argument becasue your application won’t make it into the pile of possible candidates they interview.

[cookderosa]

So

I availed myself of the link in the teaching thread, and looked at what apparently is desired for that career path.

I have seen more than a few saying they want a terminal masters from an RA school.


Help me develop a strategy. I'm considering a NA masters' program. How would I go about convincing the people asking these requirements my degree is equivalent?

Is it potentially simply a matter of copypasta on the part of HR types? Or, is there something deeper I need to consider before plunking down a significant amount (to me, anyway) of money.


Thanks1

RA schools only hire RA faculty to teach courses that are part of a transfer or articulation agreement because that is a requirement of BEING an RA school. Non-transfer programs (those that award CEUs or AAS degrees) can employ NA teachers BECAUSE those programs don't have an educational requirement.
So, can you teach at a RA CC with an NA masters? Yes, if it's an AAS program. Example- Truck Driving AAS degree is taught by faculty that may not even have a degree, so if they do, no one cares if it was NA or RA because having a degree is irrelevant. Their dept coordinator, however, may ask for certain credentials just because that's what they want. You want to teach in a culinary AAS program, you may be asked to have ACF certification and no degree. Or you may have a NA or RA master's.
If you want to teach a general education course, forget it, it's out of their hands.

[Sagan]

Some employers will not accept degrees from nationally accredited schools. This is never the case with regional accreditation, where an employer would insist on a degree from an NA school and would not accept one from an RA school. That tells you something.

The arguments in this area tend to go to one of two lines. First, some people want to ignore this difference, demanding that all accreditation is the same and that those who say differently are somehow "accreditation snobs." But this just isn't true. There IS a difference.

Which leads to the second line: how big of a difference is it? Two studies have looked at this question. One queried admissions officers, the other HR managers. But both have some years on them and can't possibly be relied upon anymore to measure the difference in acceptability of degrees accredited in these two different ways.

Finally, the question is almost moot. After all, what matters is your own life, your own personal experiences, and how the degree fits in now and into the future. But that leads to a vital point: making sure the degree you earn today will meet both your present and future needs. Will it be acceptable to future employers? Towards other professional designations? Towards admission to a higher degree program? Break out your crystal ball; you'll need it.

A couple of other notes. The ones doing the arguing about how NA is just as legitimate as RA are almost exclusively holders or pursuers of degrees from NA schools. Also, it is almost always true that degrees from NA schools are faster, cheaper, and come from for-profit operations. (Yes, again, there are some exceptions.) And it is also true that very few NA schools have gone on to regional accreditation. I know of at least one, perhaps there are others. (Oh, and schools who pursued both don't count. BTW, those that did received NA much faster than RA.)

[cookderosa]

This might be putting too fine of point on the question, but unlike RA degrees, not all NA agencies are equal. Schools that will consider NA credits will undoubtedly have players on the list that are ok, and others that are not.

This is "the list" of players (both active and inactive) who are *officially* accredited by US Dept of Ed:

Regional Accrediting Agencies
Higher Learning Commission
Active
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Active
Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools
Active
New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education
Active
New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Technical and Career Institutions
Inactive
New York State Board of Regents, State Education Department, Office of the Professions (Public Postsecondary Vocational Education, Practical Nursing)
Active
North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, Board of Trustees
Inactive
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Active
Oklahoma Board of Career and Technology Education
Active
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
Inactive
Pennsylvania State Board of Vocational Education, Bureau of Career and Technical Education
Active
Puerto Rico State Agency for the Approval of Public Postsecondary Vocational, Technical Institutions and Programs
Active
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Active
Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
Active
Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Schools
Inactive
Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Senior College and University Commission
Active



Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
Active
Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training
Active
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
Inactive
Association for Biblical Higher Education, Commission on Accreditation
Active
Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools, Accreditation Commission
Active
Association of Institutions of Jewish Studies
Active
Council on Occupational Education
Active
Distance Education Accrediting Commission
Active
New York State Board of Regents, and the Commissioner of Education
Active
Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, Accreditation Commission
Active

[rlw74]

For a degree in education, I wouldn't chance it. There will always be exceptions where certain schools will hire, or certain types of courses can be taught. But if you really want to teach, don't go NA. Just imagine getting in a teaching job, getting experience, and years later you get the opportunity for a dream job but, lo and behold, they can only hire an RA grad. You don't know what you'll be doing 20 years from now, what opportunities you'll have. Why not set yourself the best way you can?

[dfrecore]

I personally would never consider getting an NA degree, simply because I like to create as many opportunities as possible down the road. Getting an NA degree shuts as many doors as it opens.

Now, if you are going to stay in the private sector forever, and you've never seen a job opening state RA degree, and it truly doesn't matter to you, then you can do what you want. But it's not like it's free, or even cheaper than other RA degrees you can get.