When seeking higher education, avoid the 'diploma mills'
When seeking higher education, avoid the 'diploma mills'
By Donna K. Woodward
MEDAN (JP): Many students from developing countries, including
Indonesia, are eager to pursue an overseas education. Students
and their families sometimes choose foreign schools because they
have more confidence in overseas education systems.
Other reasons why families prefer an overseas education
include they believe that a foreign university degree is more
marketable than a local degree and will lead to a better salary
later.
Long-distance foreign university education programs have
recently started to gain in popularity in Indonesia and other
developing countries, especially since the start of the krismon,
the monetary crisis.
Local branches of overseas universities are particularly
attractive. They promise a quality education, a foreign degree,
ease of admission and a lower price tag. They will become more
popular as overseas universities take advantage of Indonesia's
liberalized rules for establishing their presence here.
Because of this, students may need to exercise caution to
avoid becoming victims of "diploma mills".
While the following comments apply specifically to American
universities, the caveat to Indonesian students to do some
research beforehand seems valid with respect to any foreign
university.
Diploma mills are unaccredited institutions that issue
diplomas and degrees without delivering the quality education
that is the basis of a legitimate degree.
Would you like to become a Bachelor of Science, a Master of
Business Administration, or maybe a Doctor of Philosophy?
Bisa diatur -- It can be arranged -- to cite a phrase for
almost any interest here.
In the last few years several institutions with American-
sounding names have appeared in Indonesia's major cities,
claiming to offer accredited U.S. university degrees through a
local partner-institution.
Some of these may be legitimate. For example, the Duke
University MBA program is what it claims to be, a thoroughly
first-class, credible, accredited program.
But other programs operating in Indonesia are not what they
claim to be. They misleadingly promise applicants a degree from
an "accredited" U.S. university.
They are in fact exploiting students' lack of information
about American education. To understand why their claims are
misleading, one needs to understand something about accreditation
of schools and universities in the U.S.
University accreditation is to education what ISO 9000 is to
manufacturing, a means of verifying quality.
The earliest educational accreditation programs in the U.S.
began in the early 1900s, when medical professionals decided it
was important to ensure the quality of medical schools.
They developed standards for judging the quality of medical
education, and then they recognized or "accredited" those schools
which met the established standards.
This is what university accreditation is: recognition by a
body or board of respected experts or professionals that a
university meets certain minimum standards of excellence.
Over the years, many university accreditation agencies sprang
up in the U.S. Eventually two bodies, one governmental and one
nongovernmental, were recognized as having legitimate
responsibility for evaluating the many educational accrediting
agencies throughout the U.S.
One, the U.S. Department of Education, is a unit of the
federal government. The other, COPA, the Council On Postsecondary
Accreditation, is a private group.
These two bodies do not accredit universities; they instead
accredit the accreditation agencies, as it were.
An accredited university is one which has been accredited by
an accreditation agency approved by either COPA or the U.S.
Department of Education.
Some institutions in Indonesia claim they are licensed or
incorporated in the U.S. and are therefore "accredited".
Those considering an association with these schools should
understand the difference between being incorporated or licensed
in the U.S., and being accredited.
Unless a university is accredited by an accrediting agency as
explained above, they are not recognized as accredited, even
though they may be licensed.
In the U.S. it is lawful for an educational institution to
operate without becoming accredited, so long as it does not
falsely claim to be accredited.
Accreditation is not about legality. It is about recognized
educational excellence. To be fair, there are some unaccredited
institutions which offer good courses.
But as a rule, degrees from unaccredited universities will not
give the expertise or entry into a professional career or the
respect that a degree from an accredited university will give.
A degree from an unaccredited university is worth little in
the U.S. A degree from a nonaccredited university will not be
accepted by an accredited graduate school or by the best
corporate employers as evidence of an acceptable U.S. education.
If an employer is not fussy about credentials, then perhaps
this degree will work. But for further higher education at a
recognized university, or employment with the better companies,
degrees from unaccredited universities will not carry a person
very far.
Moreover Europe, Canada and Australia also recognize the
difference between accredited and unaccredited American
universities.
Justify
Directors of these unaccredited schools commonly justify them
by saying that if a student possesses any kind of foreign
credentials this will help him/her get better employment in
his/her home country.
Or they say that the students are bound to learn something if
they are taking courses. Thus, they say, the programs have some
value.
The point is that these schools are claiming to give degrees
that signify an accredited high-quality university education.
That is what the student is paying for and expecting. But that
is not what the student is getting.
Should the student's education or credentials later be
questioned, there may be embarrassment for the student and
his/her family.
Those who are academically qualified for admission to an
American university, but who for financial or other reasons
cannot study full-time in the U.S., have alternatives.
Many accredited U.S. universities offer legitimate nonresident
programs, which permit students to complete course requirements
for a U.S. degree from overseas countries.
These programs are structured, regulated, and monitored by the
parent university; they meet certain standards. They are
accredited. Students are required to pass English language and
standardized academic tests before being admitted to the
programs. Fees are lower than they would be for attending
university in the U.S., but the tuition is not cheap.
There are 10 COPA -- or U.S. Department of Education --
approved university accrediting agencies. In addition, there are
national agencies which accredit professional educational
programs: law, medicine, business administration, psychology,
etc.
And because of the U.S. federal system, each state also has an
agency to set minimum educational standards for schools within
its borders.
But there are also dozens of unapproved accreditation agencies
in the U.S. Universities "accredited" by one of these nonapproved
agencies are not considered accredited.
How can a student learn whether or not a university program is
legitimately accredited? The surest way is to contact one of the
10 approved accreditation agencies in the U.S., or COPA or the
U.S. Department of Education.
The American Indonesian Education Foundation (AMINEF) in
Jakarta will be able to provide the names and addresses of the
these agencies.
Finally, a note about the claims of some local institutions
that their programs are "legalized" by an Indonesian Consulate
General abroad. Whatever this may mean, it does not mean that a
school is accredited in the sense explained above.
This may instead be a procedure used by the Consulate General
for it's own reasons.
As we say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
An institution which promises a BS or MBA or even PhD degree from
an accredited American university but does not require English
language proficiency, does not conduct lectures and tests in
English, employs as lecturers persons whose credentials would not
be accepted by accredited universities in the U.S., and requires
only a few hours of classes a day for several terms, is too good
to be true. Question this.
The writer is advisor to American Alumni Association of Medan.