Looking for Backup

[Pancake123]

Greetings, 

I'm in the process of submitting my application to a Masters of Acupuncture Program. They don't require a full degree before acceptance, just 90 credits with specific prereqs. 

I'm three classes away from 90 credits. Most of which are from Sophia, Straigherline, Study.com, TECEP, and Clep. I have 16 from Community College as well. 

I'm also enrolled at TESU, as an active student, and plan on finishing my BALS with them before starting the Acupuncture Program. 

Yesterday my heart drop when the admissions person at the Acupuncture School told me that Study.com, Sophia, and Straigherline are a scam and that I would need to start over, that none of these organizations are recognized by the US Department of Education, and that they will not accept me given the source of my credit. I sent them my TESU transcript (listing all of my courses as "ACE" credit) and asked for a meeting with the Dean. 

Is this real, or is she terribly confused and taking an illegal elitist stand against ACE recommended credit? I was up all night reading different sources and trying to figure this out. I found that CHEA lists ACE as a certifying body, isn't that enough? I also read about a new CFR from July 2020 that the Department of Ed put out stating that non-traditional post-secondary organizations and "subscription-based" programs are an essential part of higher edu. 

Any thoughts? How would you handle this? I've started a letter to the dean and am looking for suggestions. 

Thank you!

[rachel83az]

Uhhh... no, they are not a scam. It's up to a school whether or not they accept ACE credit (and not every school does) but that doesn't mean that ACE credits are a scam. Honestly, if they don't accept ACE credits then a meeting with the dean is probably not going to change that.

[MNomadic]

I would see if you can read their policies on transfer credit but I would think that if you have an RA bachelor degree, you should be good to go. The specific prerequisites may be a different story, though. Many graduate programs do require their prerequisite courses to be graded credits from an RA college/university.

[Pancake123]

Thank you both. I'll post an update when I hear back.

[eLearner]

This doesn't look good. The opinion of the person you spoke to is nonsense, but each school has the right to accept or reject any credits they choose and if they have a policy against those programs then there is no real recourse. However, I have a hard time believing that they have a written policy specifically addressing Study.com, Sophia.com, Straighterline.com, and ACE. So for that reason, you may try filing a complaint with their accreditor to challenge their denial, and that may get some results. But honestly, acupuncture schools tend to be small and have plenty of communication between the small group of personnel, so once you do something like file a complaint you're pretty much asking to be put through some BS over the course of your studies, and it won't be an accident. I'm speaking from experience on that, and maybe yours won't be the same, but the possibility is there.

[bjcheung77]

Your sentence below is all that is required: |I'm also enrolled at TESU, as an active student, and plan on finishing my BALS with them before starting the Acupuncture Program.|

I wouldn't worry too much in regards to them accepting ACE/NCCRS or other community college credits, just finish your BALS before you start the program. When are you anticipating finishing the BALS and when do you want to start the Acupuncture Program?

[dfrecore]

If a school doesn't accept ACE/NCCRS credit (most don't), that's one thing. To say that ACE credit is a scam is nonsense, as you know from this forum. I'd like to point out that many people consider Acupuncture a scam...

[Pancake123]

Hi Again. 

Thanks for the continued comments and support. I had a good chuckle at your comment dfrecore, it's so true, and makes this whole situation so silly. 

eLearner, good advice. I'm not going to cause a fuss and see if the BA will get me in. Having a BA will open me up to several other Acupuncture Programs, so if one accepts I may be able to use that as leverage. Their policy is pretty short: https://acupuncturist.edu/information/ad...uirements/, and does not say anything about ACE credits, the hand up is that they only accept credits from institutions accredited by the US Department of Edu. TESU falls into that bucket, but ACE does not. 

Bjcheung77, if I only had to meet the 90 credits and my TESU transcript would suffice, then I was planning to start the Acupuncture Program in Aug and complete the BSLS in Sept. This is due to TESU's rule that I need 100 credits before I can enroll in the Capstone. I'm at 84 credits today, so I don't think I'll make it into the June Grad schedule and will have to wait until Sept. 

Thank you all. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. 

Here are the courses I have left on my plan. 

Algebra - In process (sophia)
Principles of Finance (sophia)
Business Law (sophia)
US History 2 (sophia)
Introduction to Statistics (sophia)
Psychology 301: Industrial/Organizational Psychology (study UL)
Psychology 310: Psychology of Personality (study UL)
Psychology 312: History and Systems of Psychology (study UL)
Sociology 305: Sociology of Work (study UL)
Abnormal Psychology (TECEP)
SOS - 110: Critical Info Lit (TESU)
LIB-495 Liberal Studies Capstone (TESU)

As an FYI, I have 16 Community College Credits, 2 TECEPs, so the new 90 non-collegiate limit policy at TESU should not affect me. I think.

[rachel83az]

Looking at their site, they're not even accredited themselves? https://acupuncturist.edu/accreditation/ At least not by any "real" accrediting agencies; not even DEAC. Before you pay $46k for this program, you might want to make sure that this isn't going to hinder any future employment prospects. That's a lot of money to spend on a "degree" that isn't a degree.

[ARhead]

I see you have 16 CC credits and 81 total.
If it was me, I'd be focusing on getting as many ACE credits on your TESU transcript in the next month before that door closes. (So you're not forced to get another 14 RA credits)
With a focus on upper level credits.