When seeking higher education, avoid the 'diploma mills'<\/p>\n
By Donna K. Woodward<\/p>\n
MEDAN (JP): Many students from developing countries, including
\nIndonesia, are eager to pursue an overseas education. Students
\nand their families sometimes choose foreign schools because they
\nhave more confidence in overseas education systems.<\/p>\n
Other reasons why families prefer an overseas education
\ninclude they believe that a foreign university degree is more
\nmarketable than a local degree and will lead to a better salary
\nlater.<\/p>\n
Long-distance foreign university education programs have
\nrecently started to gain in popularity in Indonesia and other
\ndeveloping countries, especially since the start of the krismon,
\nthe monetary crisis.<\/p>\n
Local branches of overseas universities are particularly
\nattractive. They promise a quality education, a foreign degree,
\nease of admission and a lower price tag. They will become more
\npopular as overseas universities take advantage of Indonesia's
\nliberalized rules for establishing their presence here.<\/p>\n
Because of this, students may need to exercise caution to
\navoid becoming victims of "diploma mills".<\/p>\n
While the following comments apply specifically to American
\nuniversities, the caveat to Indonesian students to do some
\nresearch beforehand seems valid with respect to any foreign
\nuniversity.<\/p>\n
Diploma mills are unaccredited institutions that issue
\ndiplomas and degrees without delivering the quality education
\nthat is the basis of a legitimate degree.<\/p>\n
Would you like to become a Bachelor of Science, a Master of
\nBusiness Administration, or maybe a Doctor of Philosophy?<\/p>\n
Bisa diatur -- It can be arranged -- to cite a phrase for
\nalmost any interest here.<\/p>\n
In the last few years several institutions with American-
\nsounding names have appeared in Indonesia's major cities,
\nclaiming to offer accredited U.S. university degrees through a
\nlocal partner-institution.<\/p>\n
Some of these may be legitimate. For example, the Duke
\nUniversity MBA program is what it claims to be, a thoroughly
\nfirst-class, credible, accredited program.<\/p>\n
But other programs operating in Indonesia are not what they
\nclaim to be. They misleadingly promise applicants a degree from
\nan "accredited" U.S. university.<\/p>\n
They are in fact exploiting students' lack of information
\nabout American education. To understand why their claims are
\nmisleading, one needs to understand something about accreditation
\nof schools and universities in the U.S.<\/p>\n
University accreditation is to education what ISO 9000 is to
\nmanufacturing, a means of verifying quality.<\/p>\n
The earliest educational accreditation programs in the U.S.
\nbegan in the early 1900s, when medical professionals decided it
\nwas important to ensure the quality of medical schools.<\/p>\n
They developed standards for judging the quality of medical
\neducation, and then they recognized or "accredited" those schools
\nwhich met the established standards.<\/p>\n
This is what university accreditation is: recognition by a
\nbody or board of respected experts or professionals that a
\nuniversity meets certain minimum standards of excellence.<\/p>\n
Over the years, many university accreditation agencies sprang
\nup in the U.S. Eventually two bodies, one governmental and one
\nnongovernmental, were recognized as having legitimate
\nresponsibility for evaluating the many educational accrediting
\nagencies throughout the U.S.<\/p>\n
One, the U.S. Department of Education, is a unit of the
\nfederal government. The other, COPA, the Council On Postsecondary
\nAccreditation, is a private group.<\/p>\n
These two bodies do not accredit universities; they instead
\naccredit the accreditation agencies, as it were.<\/p>\n
An accredited university is one which has been accredited by
\nan accreditation agency approved by either COPA or the U.S.
\nDepartment of Education.<\/p>\n
Some institutions in Indonesia claim they are licensed or
\nincorporated in the U.S. and are therefore "accredited".<\/p>\n
Those considering an association with these schools should
\nunderstand the difference between being incorporated or licensed
\nin the U.S., and being accredited.<\/p>\n
Unless a university is accredited by an accrediting agency as
\nexplained above, they are not recognized as accredited, even
\nthough they may be licensed.<\/p>\n
In the U.S. it is lawful for an educational institution to
\noperate without becoming accredited, so long as it does not
\nfalsely claim to be accredited.<\/p>\n
Accreditation is not about legality. It is about recognized
\neducational excellence. To be fair, there are some unaccredited
\ninstitutions which offer good courses.<\/p>\n
But as a rule, degrees from unaccredited universities will not
\ngive the expertise or entry into a professional career or the
\nrespect that a degree from an accredited university will give.<\/p>\n
A degree from an unaccredited university is worth little in
\nthe U.S. A degree from a nonaccredited university will not be
\naccepted by an accredited graduate school or by the best
\ncorporate employers as evidence of an acceptable U.S. education.<\/p>\n
If an employer is not fussy about credentials, then perhaps
\nthis degree will work. But for further higher education at a
\nrecognized university, or employment with the better companies,
\ndegrees from unaccredited universities will not carry a person
\nvery far.<\/p>\n
Moreover Europe, Canada and Australia also recognize the
\ndifference between accredited and unaccredited American
\nuniversities.<\/p>\n
Justify<\/p>\n
Directors of these unaccredited schools commonly justify them
\nby saying that if a student possesses any kind of foreign
\ncredentials this will help him\/her get better employment in
\nhis\/her home country.<\/p>\n
Or they say that the students are bound to learn something if
\nthey are taking courses. Thus, they say, the programs have some
\nvalue.<\/p>\n
The point is that these schools are claiming to give degrees
\nthat signify an accredited high-quality university education.<\/p>\n
That is what the student is paying for and expecting. But that
\nis not what the student is getting.<\/p>\n
Should the student's education or credentials later be
\nquestioned, there may be embarrassment for the student and
\nhis\/her family.<\/p>\n
Those who are academically qualified for admission to an
\nAmerican university, but who for financial or other reasons
\ncannot study full-time in the U.S., have alternatives.<\/p>\n
Many accredited U.S. universities offer legitimate nonresident
\nprograms, which permit students to complete course requirements
\nfor a U.S. degree from overseas countries.<\/p>\n
These programs are structured, regulated, and monitored by the
\nparent university; they meet certain standards. They are
\naccredited. Students are required to pass English language and
\nstandardized academic tests before being admitted to the
\nprograms. Fees are lower than they would be for attending
\nuniversity in the U.S., but the tuition is not cheap.<\/p>\n
There are 10 COPA -- or U.S. Department of Education --
\napproved university accrediting agencies. In addition, there are
\nnational agencies which accredit professional educational
\nprograms: law, medicine, business administration, psychology,
\netc.<\/p>\n
And because of the U.S. federal system, each state also has an
\nagency to set minimum educational standards for schools within
\nits borders.<\/p>\n
But there are also dozens of unapproved accreditation agencies
\nin the U.S. Universities "accredited" by one of these nonapproved
\nagencies are not considered accredited.<\/p>\n
How can a student learn whether or not a university program is
\nlegitimately accredited? The surest way is to contact one of the
\n10 approved accreditation agencies in the U.S., or COPA or the
\nU.S. Department of Education.<\/p>\n
The American Indonesian Education Foundation (AMINEF) in
\nJakarta will be able to provide the names and addresses of the
\nthese agencies.<\/p>\n
Finally, a note about the claims of some local institutions
\nthat their programs are "legalized" by an Indonesian Consulate
\nGeneral abroad. Whatever this may mean, it does not mean that a
\nschool is accredited in the sense explained above.<\/p>\n
This may instead be a procedure used by the Consulate General
\nfor it's own reasons.<\/p>\n
As we say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
\nAn institution which promises a BS or MBA or even PhD degree from
\nan accredited American university but does not require English
\nlanguage proficiency, does not conduct lectures and tests in
\nEnglish, employs as lecturers persons whose credentials would not
\nbe accepted by accredited universities in the U.S., and requires
\nonly a few hours of classes a day for several terms, is too good
\nto be true. Question this.<\/p>\n
The writer is advisor to American Alumni Association of Medan.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/when-seeking-higher-education-avoid-the-diploma-mills-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }