Florida Metropolitan University ripoff They take your money and you get nothing in return but a sorry education "not an accredited school" Orlando Florida

Both of you guys have made it sound like that national accreditation is harder to get than regional accreditation. So my question is why doesn't FMU get both? If national accreditation is harder to get, than it should be breeze to get the regional accreditation. I know plenty of schools that are accredited by more than one accreditation service. It seems that would solve the problem here and give FMU a leg up on all the other universities in the state of Florida.

I have read all of the inquiries/rebuttels and much to my amazment all the people responding have great knowledge but no common sense. When you purchase a product you never know exactly what you will get. Every company in the world puts their product in the light most favorable to themselves. I am a grad of Tampa College before it became FMU and no one ever told me that my credits would transfere. In fact I felt that if I was going to that school, I should grad from that school. Therefore why wory about transfere credits. I also went back to FMU for my masters degree and that too was a great education that opened alot of doors for me. I also want to take a moment to discuss the issue that schools like FMU cater to students that want it all, yet might never get there the conventional college ways.

After graduating from FMU's Masters degree program I went on to graduate from a ABA aproved law school. I know teach at an ACICS school and let me tell everyone the ACICS schools require alot of faculty development and proffessional growth certificates, I know instuctors from SACS schools that say they do no development.

I am a beliver that you can sit and complain about anything and everything, you can get in line with the other complainers or you can make things happen and get on with your life and make positive progress for the learning environment. To bad so many people are confused about how these issues work and how to get ahead. It seems we do more complaining than acting and I find that to be the root of the issues. I just hope that the bills on accreditation infront of congress resolve the issues. Therefore the big six accreditations (good old boys club) will be banished.

Ayesha, no school can guarantee that all of its credits will transfer to all schools all of the time. If FMU made such a guarantee, they should be held accountable. I would say the same thing if Harvard made such a promise.

With regards to the list.. That list of 52 is only a partial one. A good many of the schools on that partial list were chosen because I was able to speak with students who actually made the NA to RA transfer.

Many of the schools on the list are well respected brick and mortar institutions. Many also offer distance education degree programs. Some are even ranked in the Top Tier according to U.S. News. (See www.usnews.com). The only schools on that list with questionable reputations are the two or three reported here. Weeding out those semi-bad apples should only take a few minutes.

In any event, which (if any) schools on this list rejected you? Please name them so that I can re-confirm my research with their administrations and update the list if necessary. Also, did you actually apply to the program and receive an official rejection letter? If so, what was the rationale for denial?

As far as nationally accredited schools being forced to change.... Again, I understand your frustration, but it is the regionals that should be forced to change. And it appears as if the day is finally coming. With HR 4283 and 3311 being debated, national accreditors are trying to force change within traditional academia. I believe they will be successful. If they are, your problems will be solved.

Testimony from one national accreditor regarding HR 4283.... "DETC strongly supports the Bill's goal of reducing the systemic bias in higher education on the matter of credit transfer. Admittedly, there are many sensitive academic considerations involved, and institutional autonomy is vital, but we have yet to see a convincing justification for rejecting student requests for transfer credit based solely on the source of the accreditation?"

In the mean time, why not just pick any school on the list that will accept all or most of your C or higher grades. You really can't go wrong since all of the schools are regionally accredited. You could finish up your degree at an RA degree, kick a*s on the GRE or GMAT, and then, move on to a top notch graduate school.

If schools or employers say they can't find your school in a book, refer them to the Council on Higher Education Accreditation database at www.chea.org. FMU is also listed in the Peterson and College Board directories. See www.petersons.com/ugchannel/ and apps.collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp. FMU is probably in some of the major university handbooks. I will double check the handbooks at my university library when I head back for the spring semester on Jan 12th.

Feel free to call email me at royalbluechief at yahoo if you want help you narrowing that list. If you tell me what kind of degree you wish to earn (discipline and level), I will do my best to locate the right school for you.

Mike,

I wanted to wait till I finished researching the schools in your list that I haven't already contacted, but I'll just respond to your post.

I've gone through most of your prior list during my 9 month search. First I had to weed out the schools that have a bad reputation, and in my line of work, the school is very important. Some of those schools have nearly the same complaints as FMU. Several of those schools would not take my NA credits for multiple reasons. Some insisted my schools were not in their book of schools. Others claimed to consider NA credits until hearing the name of my schools. Then there were some who said, you can petition, but we probably won't. Then there were schools who, like Brevard, would only take a couple of my 60 credits and would not even consider the other school I attended (aside from FMU), even though they had the same accreditation. Some schools no longer have (or profess to have had) articulation agreements with my school(s).

I want FMU to accept responsibility for their admissions goons who lie to students like me, promising that all my credits will transfer without any problems. I want every other school who does this to be held liable. They should be forced to change!

I almost thought school number 52 would be a possibility until I read the whole story about them. Because I plan on continuing my education, I have to anticipate every possible problem.It's clearly very difficult to transfer NA credits.

Most of the schools in the partial list below will accept credits from nationally accredited schools. I hate to keep posting this list, but it appears as if people keep accidentally missing it. I guarantee that, if you put your mind to it, you will be able to find a regionally accredited (RA) school willing take all of your FMU crdits (grades C- or higher).

If you want to finish up at an on campus at an RA school in Florida, Argosy, UoP, or AIU may suit your needs. Or, you could earn an RA degree via distance learning. Many of the schools below also offer online degree programs.

Either way, I understand your frustration. Why not use that frustration to help force change. Write you Rep and Senator regarding HR 3311 and HR 4283. If these proposals pass, your FMU credits will be accepted everywhere!

Follow this link to write you Congressman. http://www.house.gov/writerep/

The list.....
1-University of Phoenix
2-Walden University
3-Oral Roberts University
4-Capella University
5-Jones International University
6-University of Alabama
7-Colorado State University
8-Everett Community College
9-Mount Ida College
10-Lesley University
11-Cheyney University
12-Fox Valley Technical College
13-Western Governors University
14-Bellevue University, Nebraska
15-Chattahooche Technical College
16-British American College
17-Mount Aloysius College
18-Winona State College
19-George C. Wallace Community College
20-Sterling College
21-Indiana State College
22-Kansas State University
23-DePauw University
24-Northcentral University (Arizona)
25-Northwest Christian College
26-University of Wisconsin, Platteville
27 Charter Oak (only if ACE approved)
28-Harvard University, (DL ALB program)
29-Liberty University
30-University of North Alabama
31-University of West Alabama
32-American Indian University
33-Cleveland State University
34-South Dakota State University
35-Upper Iowa University
36-Union College, NE
37-Ohio University
38-York College
39-Sul Ross State University
40-Stayer University
41-Trinity College
42-Elon University
43-Brigham Young (maybe)
44-Oklahoma State University
45-Baker College
46-Touro College and TUI
47-Argosy University
48-Neumann College (liberal studies program)
49-Roger Williams University (University College)
50-Ottawa University (Kansas)
51-American Military University (RA Candidate)
52-American InterContinental University

Aleysha, using this list, you should be able to get your FMU work accepted, in toto, at a respected RA university. If you need some feedback on any of the schools listed, post a rebuttal and I will do my best to help you narrow the choices.

One last thing: I am not just a know-it-all bystander. I was in your shoes once! If I made it work, you can too. Best of luck to you! And keep us updated.

I commend those who have researched FMU and nationally accredited schools before making a commitment! As someone who has spent months stuck in this quagmire, I am insisting that you be very careful and find out what accreditation a school has before you jump in.

I am also a victim of national accreditation (2 schools) and I wish I knew the disaster I would face by attending this school. These long-winded, nonsensical, blathering posts that support FMU are written by authors who don't even bother to completely read the posts from those of us who found out the hard way.

I attended FMU twice -- once because they had some very serious problems about 12 years ago at the campus I attended and I had to leave. Actually half of the students in my program left also. Several years later I saw that FMU made a lot of changes and I thought I'd try again, only I knew of the accrediation issues and asked my admissions officer point blank: You had some accreditation problems, have they been fixed and will my credits transfer? I intend on continuing my education elsewhere (since FMU does not offer the graduate degree I plan to earn) and I must be sure that I will not have any problems. My admissions officer said that my credits would definitely transfer wherever I wanted to go and I would not have any problems.

Since then I learned that sure, my credits will transfer.. they'll transfer to any other NATIONALLY ACCREDITED school. Not one school, aside from Brevard Community College, will even look at them. Yes, this violates the CHEA statement that regionally accredited schools sign which states that credits must be reviewed regardless of their accreditation status. I have about 60 credits that I need to transfer, and Brevard would only take 10. Other than that, I am facing starting over elsewhere, or returning to a nationally accredited school.

I learned that you cannot trust most admissions officers when I enrolled at another school where I was assured that my credits would be fine for transfer to any school. I knew about some of this accreditation chaos but not enough to avoid more problems and more student loans for credits that no one wants. It's aggravating because these regional schools are really not supposed to do this but even when confronted about their agreement to the CHEA statement to the community, they either have no idea what you're talking about, or they just dont' care.

So those of you who bother defending FMU and their officers who swear up and down that credits will transfer.. there are some of us out here who know more about FMU than you ever will. FMU has some fine programs, but it is wrong for them to insist that students will have an easy time transferring credits. Only in rare instances, when a student makes a major scene to demand that something should be done, will another school accept a student with national credits. Mike, who said that students who fail to obtain a transfer aren't trying hard enough, doesn't know what he's saying. There are plenty of us out here who have spent months trying to get transfers and it is not as easy as Mike tries to imply.

Also --
FMU did apply for regional accreditation, but they dropped it in 2003 when they were told they could not add any programs or new branches during the approval process. The higher ups now recognize the "sinkhole" we are in with this whole nightmare and I was glad to see David Moore addressing a government committee about this. They still have a lot of work to do though.

The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) website address is www.acics.org. Almost every legit accreditor uses a .org domain because .edu is primarily reserved for schools they accredit.

Correct wesbites for federally recognized institutional accreditors:

Regionals...
-North Central (NCA-HLC): www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org
-Southern Association (SACS): www.sacs.org
-Middle States (MSA): www.msache.org
-Northwest Commission (NWCCU): www.nwccu.org
-Western Association (WASC): www.wascweb.org

Select Nationals:
-Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS): www.acics.org
-Distance Education and Training Council (DETC):
www.detc.org
-Transnational Association of Christain Colleges (TRACS): www.tracs.org
-Accrediting Commission for Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT): www.accsct.org

Hi Danielle: Sorry for the delayed response. It is unfortunate that your employer does not consider FMU to be a properly accredited school. However, employers are generally permitted to accept and/or reject certain type of accreditation for any reason or no reason at all.

My advice to you is this: Whatever you do, do not repeat the hard work you have completed thus far. If, in the end, you decide to transfer, try to find a school that will accept your FMU credits.

If you can't find one near you, see www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff104181.htm for some good advice regarding how to deal with schools that are less than willing to accept FMU credits. Or, you could always choose an online school with regional accreditation that accepts FMU credits. There are plenty. See the list above.

In the mean time, why not try to convince your employer that FMU is legit, and that you are not just buying a degree? If your employer is open-minded this should not be a difficult task since FMU is a nationally accredited school with several campuses and Title IV Federal Student Aid eligibility.

By explaining accreditation and financial aid, you might have some success with your employer. First, you could refer him to the CHEA (www.chea.org), ACE (www.acenet.edu), AACRAO (www.aacrao.org), and the U.S. Department of Education (www.ed.gov) websites. There, your employer would be provided with official information regarding legitimate sources of accreditation. Your employer would have more than enough information to determine (for him or herself) that FMU is in fact properly accredited by the federally recognized ACICS agency.

You could also try to get a letter from ACICS that explains their Federal scope of recognition, and that states how FMU is approved and in good standing. Visit their website at www.acics.edu and send them an email detailing your problem. They would probably be willing to provide you with some advice.

Remember, as far as the Federal Government is concerned, ACICS is every bit as valid as the regional bodies. Your employer can easily verify this with the Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Further, you could point to recent statements concerning accreditation equality, transfer, etc made by the American Council on Education (ACE) and CHEA. These statements have more to do with equity in credit transfer, but they are public statements made by official organizations basically stating how national accreditors such as ACICS should not be viewed as inferior.
See http://www.acenet.edu/clll/joint.cfm and
http://www.chea.org/Research/index.asp (Public Interest article)

In order to clear up issues of accreditation discrimination, Congress has proposed changes that would make it illegal for regionally accredited schools to arbitrarily reject credits and degrees from nationally accredited schools. See http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff104181.htm for more information, excerpts, and links to the pending legislation. You might want to show your employer copies of the legislation. It couldn't hurt. It would at least show that members of Congress support ACICS and other national accreditors. See also thomas.loc.gov/ (Search HR 3311 and HR 4283)

In addition, you could discuss the financial aid issue. This is a very easy way to determine whether or not a school is properly accredited. If a school offers Title IV Federal Student Aid, the school must be legitimately accredited. You could explain that since FMU is Title IV eligible, they must be properly accredited, or at the very least, a candidate for accreditation. This is a Federal requirement. See www.fafsa.gov or www.ed.gov

Finally, national accreditation (ACICS, DETC, etc) will suffice for just about any government job. National accredition is even accepted for sensitive positions at the United States Department of Homeland Security. See http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=25996467&AVSDM=2005%2D01%2D03+15%3A20%3A08&Logo=0&col=dltc&cy=&brd=3876&lid=316&fn=&q=
Therefore, I would ask my employer: If ACICS is good enough for the Feds, why isn't good enough for you?

Oh, and one last thing: FMU's website address is www.fmu.edu, and .edu domains are currently restricted to properly accredited institutions only. This wasn't always the case, though. See www.educause.edu

Below are some links that should be of help to your employer, should s/he decide to investigate FMU's legitimacy. Again, your employer can find everything needed to verify FMU's legitimacy by visiting the websites below.

United States Secretary of Education: www.ed.gov
Accreditors; www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html
Financial Aid; www.fafsa.ed.gov

Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): www.chea.org
American Council on Education (ACE): www.acenet.edu
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO)
www.aacrao.org
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and School (ACICS): www.acics.edu
Educause (education domains): www.educause.edu
Library of Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/ (Search HR 3311 and HR 4283)

An example of accreditation requirements for Government employment: See the methods of evaluation paragraph below for accreditation requirements. FMU and ACICS most certainly qualify!
http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=25996467&AVSDM=2005%2D01%2D03+15%3A20%3A08&Logo=0&col=dltc&cy=&brd=3876&lid=316&fn=&q=

POSITION SENSITIVITY: This is a Critical-Sensitive (Level 3) position and requires a Secret Security Clearance and completion of a favorable Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) or Background Investigation (BI) prior to appointment, unless a waiver is obtained. The incumbent will be subject to a 5-year periodic re-investigation. You must also pass Drug and Alcohol Screening and be subject to random testing.

METHOD OF EVALUATION: Applicants will be evaluated on their total background including experience, education, awards, training, and self-development as it relates to the position. If you are qualifying on the basis of substitution of education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcript or a list of courses with title of course, number of credits, grade, and date of completion. Report only attendance
and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Refer to the OPM and the U.S. Department ofEducation websites for more information at: www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html

Responses to the evaluation criteria may be ranked according to relative merit for this position and identified as being "qualified" or "best qualified." Selection for this position will be made only from among candidates possessing the best qualifications.

Good luck!!

Mike,
I work for a large company that has tuition reimbursement. I got a call today from one of the staff in benefits about FMU. They are telling me they wanted to warn me that getting a degree from there isn't a good idea because they are not "properly accredited." I'm frustrated that my company looks at the degree that I'm working towards to be inferior. She repeatedly warned me that I may be "buying my degree." I am considering transferring now, but I live in a small town and I don't know of any schools here that my credits will transferee to. I don't think it is fair for an employer to decide my education is inferior, but I'm afraid that many other employers may feel that way. I have even considered starting over at a regionally accredited school and loosing my credits and money. I'm frustrated like FMU, and I feel I'm getting a good education, but I am doing all of this to further my career and I'm worried that that won't happen. Any advice?

If you are getting your degree from a non-regionally accredited university, at the end of the day, the only thing that will matter is whether you can get a job with an unaccredited degree or whether you can get into graduate school with an unaccredited degree. Even if you decided to stick out the degree program, either Bachelors or Masters, you will still have a degree from an non-regionally accredited school. Master's (MBA) programs, at least the highly regarded ones, are accredited by the AACSB, which is the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business; most for-profit schools don't have that designation/accreditation . . . so don't think that continuing your education in a non-regional school is going to fix the problem, even on a Master's level. I graduated from a school that was not regionally accredited and didn't realize it until my senior year because the school administation, just like FMU, lied about the accreditation. Transferability, even to a community college was not an alternative because the credits were not transferable. I, too, decided to stick it out and complete the 4 year program. It was only when I tried to go on to graduate school did the reality hit. Because the school was not regionally accredited, the designated graduate school would not recognize my B.S. degree. It has been extremely difficult to live that down . . . significant money, time, effort has been put into getting a degree that employers did not recognize and potential graduate schools would not consider to admit to their Master's programs. It's about time that students stand up to the deceptive advertising that these schools make about credit transferability and accreditation.

They prey on people who do not know about accredidations. I was going to attend FMU here in Jacksonville but I became skeptical when I asked them about their articulation aggrement and the counselor hesitated. She told me that some colleges wont take FMU's credits "Oh but we are accredited and we are better than those other schools."

First thing I did was went home and started researching. Then I learned that most colleges will not take their degree because they are ASICS. I decided to go to community college instead. Oh but that wasnt the end I had got a letter from my community college telling me to repay my financial aid. This happened to some other students also. What had happened was I had signed up for FMU but I didnt go once I resarched them and found out they were a "trap me school" (school that u have to stay at to finsih your education because it wont transfer to most colleges) back to what I was saying I never attended this school and they reported that they had received financial aid for me.

That got me in trouble with the school that I am currently attending. I was so mad! Took three months to resolve because FMU kept denying it. They kept saying "we dont know how to fix it" Mind you the only thing they had to do was to tell Department of Edu. that it was a mistake and it took them 3 months to do it! I guess they didnt want to because it makes them look bad especially since I wasnt the only one who they did this to.

I think they should lose the privilage of financial aid since they keep messing up peoples stuff. Make matters even worse an employee who works at FMU told me the same happened to her sister! Anybody thinking of going to this school think again! Its too expensive for a school that is only accredited by ASICS and guess what you would be better off at a community college then here. At least the credits from a community college will transfer!

If the school is in CHEA's database, you really can't go wrong....

Visit the institutional database at www.chea.org ~ Just make sure that the school your child wishes to attend is listed in that database. Columbia College (IL) is listed. They are properly accredited by North Central.

The main thing is to make certain that the school your child chooses has a legitimate form of "institutional" accreditation. Specialized art accreditation (if there is such a thing) would be a plus, but by no means neccessary.

This is especially true if your child plans on moving on to an MBA program. For that to happen s/he will need a bachelor's degree from an institutionally accredited school, maybe some business prereqs, and possibly a GMAT score.

I have read all the dialogue on this topic of accrediation. I am in my quest to determine the appropriate accrediating bodies for speciality universities in the area of the Arts, specfically Animation programs and Film Programs.

Hours of research and still cannot locate a central source of information for such schools as CalArts; Columbia College Chicago etc - comparing accrediation in a specific area.

My child desires to obtain a BFA than an MBA - but chooses to attend a speciality school.

Does the above apply to this situation, and are these designated accreditions for Art Schools in film and animation.

Pam

pfurey@sbcglobal.net

G States: However, it appears only "some" of the research is done. Most importantly...I encourage students looking to take an MBA, or those with an Associates looking to work on their Bachelors, to contact schools in your local area and find out if they accept credits from Nationally accredited schools.

My response: No, ALL of my research is done. Like you, I have always stated that prospective transfer students should contact the colleges they would like to transfer to before enrolling in ANY school.

G States: There are very, very few. For this to be done they will normally draw up an articulation agreement to have the credits to be transferred in approved. National vs. Regional is a major difference.

My response: This is a common misconception. See the list several rebuttals above. More than just a few schools are named. And that is just the start. Research studies show that 50-60% of RA universities will openly accept NA credits.

Students with NA credentials CAN gain entry into RA schools. Schools in the southern (SACS) region do seem to be more difficult to work with. However, with some effort, NA to RA transfer can be still accomplished in the SACS region.

Visit educationconsulting.org. If NA students send in their transcripts, the advocates will find RA schools willing to accept their hard work. Apparently, the organization has even convinced schools to make exceptions to their arbitrary no NA policies. It is amazing how far a little persuasion will go; especially when it is accompanied by knowledge, CHEA and ACE statements, completed applications, transcripts, and fees.

G States: If you aren't sure about this please do some research on some schools who once were Regionally accredited and lost that accreditation and became Nationally accredited.

My Response: Several RA schools do not meet NA qualifications and vice versa. For example, Thomas Edison, Excelsior, and Charter Oak (3 distance learning RA schools in the northeast) would clearly NOT meet DETC's accreditation criteria. Southern California University for Professional Studies, under the same ownership as the regionally accredited Northcentral University, was recently DENIED DETC accreditation (CollegeHints). Similarly, several religious RA colleges would probably not qualify for TRACS or other Christian accreditation.

G States: Why would they lose one and then become Nationally accredited? Because it is much easier to be approved for this type of accreditation.

My Reponse: This is a false premise. Schools usually choose national accreditation because of their school structure, religious affiliations, course delivery methods, etc. They choose NA not because it is easier or because of inferior academics, but because it better suits their needs.

For example, depending on location, multi-campus for profit schools are sometimes better suited for ACICS national accreditation. Distance-only schools (especially those in the south) are often best suited for DETC accreditation. Smaller trade, technical, and career schools, are sometimes best fit for ACCSCT accreditation. Conservative Christian schools are often better suited for TRACS accreditation.

I have reviewed the accreditation criteria for all of the regional and some of the national agencies. The requirements are different, but not easier. As I have already pointed out, there are RA schools that would not even qualify for National accreditation.

In general, the regional accreditors are big on research capabilities. They also more concerned with other inputs such as the number of tenured full-time faculty, etc. Generally speaking, the nationals seem to be concerned more with learning outcomes. For profit, multi campus schools that are not research oriented and utilize higher numbers of adjunct faculty would have trouble attaining regional accreditation for all of the wrong reasons.

G States: People would be foolish to think schools who are Nationally accredited would not JUMP at the opportunity to receive a Regional Accreditation.

My Response: I'm not foolish. History shows that many NA schools could qualify for RA, but have opted not to pursue it. Take a look at all of the Regionally accredited distance learning colleges. Most of the RA DL-only colleges in this country are located in the NCA-HLC region. This is not a coincidence. If these schools were located in any other region, chances are they would have a more difficult time attaining RA.

UoP, Walden, Capella, Northcentral, etc are all regionally accredited by NCA. American Military University, a DETC school re-located to the NCA territory so that they could attain RA. They are currently in candidacy status. Another school to make the NA to RA move is Western Governor's University.

Plenty of NA schools could easily follow suit and relocate to the very large NCA region, but so far, most have chosen to stay put. They clearly have not jumped at the opportunity. Columbia Southern University (Alabama) is one of many DETC schools that have refused to relocate in order to attain RA.

Bob Jones University isn't jumping at the chance either. Academically, BJU probably far exceeds RA standards. However, they have chosen to pursue TRACS because they refuse (and rightfully so!) to abandon their conservative Christian mission. TRACS is different from RA, but not easier to obtain.

G States: I respect your insight Mike and the research... but I'm curious... it really sounds as though your view is quite skewed towards National accreditation and it being equal to Regional....why is that?

My response: Why? Because it is the right position to take! All regional and national accreditors are EQUAL in the eyes of our government, and as such, should be treated with the respect they deserve.

If you are curious, my academic background is as follows: Before entering a traditional ABA approved law school JD program, I earned AS, BS, and MBA degrees. My AS was earned at an NA school, and the work was definitely on the RA level. In fact, my NA undergrad work was more difficult than my RA undergrad work. My relative GPAs substantiate this assertion.

More importantly, I had no trouble transferring my credits (no articulation agreement) to a traditional RA university. Students who fail to transfer are, in my opinion, just not trying hard enough. With some effort, it can be done.

The bottom line: National and Regional accrediting agencies meet the exact same standards necessary to earn United States Department of Education and CHEA approval. National accreditation is better suited for some school structures, but it is NOT easier to obtain. As I have pointed out, there are cases where RA schools could not obtain NA.

Students with NA credentials are treated unfairly, and it must end. Even CHEA (an organization to which properly accredited schools are members), agrees that denial of transfer of credit should NEVER be based on the sending school's source of accreditation.

Elitist bent-left academics currently have control of the higher-ed community. They are trying to protect their monopoly by engaging in anti-competitive behavior. Unfairly alleging that national accreditors are inferior is just one of their many underhanded tactics.

The credit transfer proposal made by Representative Howard Buck McKeon (R-CA) will help to ensure that NA students are treated as the equals they are. If the bill is passed by Congress and signed into law, this discussion will become irrelevant, as it should be.

My suggestion: First, find out what makes accreditors legitimate. Find out what they need to do to in order to obtain USDE and/or CHEA recognition. Then, review and compare their accreditation criteria.

This will be time consuming, but you will no doubt learn that national accreditation is equally valid, and just as difficult to earn. Otherwise, NA schools (not restricted by the 50% rule) would probably not be permitted to participate in federal Title IV student loan programs.

Mike, you have some great info. in your responses and they are well written. However, it appears only "some" of the research is done. Most importantly...I encourage students looking to take an MBA, or those with an Associates looking to work on their Bachelors, to contact schools in your local area and find out if they accept credits from Nationally accredited schools.

There are very, very few. For this to be done they will normally draw up an articulation agreement to have the credits to be transferred in approved. National vs. Regional is a major difference. If you aren't sure about this please do some research on some schools who once were Regionally accredited and lost that accreditation and became Nationally accredited.

Why would they lose one and then become Nationally accredited? Because it is much easier to be approved for this type of accreditation. People would be foolish to think schools who are Nationally accredited would not JUMP at the opportunity to receive a Regional Accreditation.

I respect your insight Mike and the research... but I'm curious... it really sounds as though your view is quite skewed towards National accreditation and it being equal to Regional....why is that?

Thanks for the response, Teresa. There are just two things I wanted to follow up on.

1) You stated: University of Phoenix was accredited by North Central (national accrediting body) when I was looking into school a few months ago.

I just wanted to point out that University of Phoenix has been regionally accredited by NCA for several years. NCA-HLC is a regional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and CHEA. See the NCA website at: www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org.

The 6 regional accreditors are the Southern (SACS), North Central (NCA-HLC), Western (WASC), New England (NEASC), Middle States (MSA), and Northwestern associations. Two of the most well known national accreditors are the Distance Education and Training Council (www.detc.org) and the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (www.acics.org). Like the regionals, DETC and ACICS are fully recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and CHEA.

2) You also said: I know that it would still be a "Valued" degree, but isn't it true that the main difference between regional accreditation, and national accreditation, is that if you obtain a REGIONALLY accredited degree, it is accepted, as a whole, into any school w/in the continental US. Whereas, if you obtain a NATIONALLY accredited degree, you would still be looking at taking some pre-reqs to get into the degree program of choice.

No. This is a very common misconception. Institutional accreditation (national or regional) does ensure a certain minimum level of quality. Unfortunately, however, accreditation does not ensure that degrees will always be accepted. No regionally or nationally school (not even Yale or Harvard) can guarantee that their credits or degrees will always be accepted in transfer or admissions, or by employers. Schools and employers can accept or reject credits and degrees for just about any reason.

It is true that degrees earned at regionally accredited schools often have higher levels of acceptance within academia. However, like you said, nationally accredited degrees are well valued. They are every bit as legal and legitimate, and their levels of academic acceptance are steadily increasing. They are already well accepted in the workplace.

Many regionally accredited schools unconditionally accept nationally accredited work without prerequisites. See the list several rebuttals above for a good starting point of examples. With a little work, those who have earned nationally accredited degrees can definitely gain admissions into regionally accredited graduate programs. Impressive entrance exam scores make the process easier.

In some cases, nationally accredited degrees are just as well accepted (almost) as regionally accredited degrees. For the most part, ABA approved law schools require applicants to possess regionally or nationally accredited undergraduate degrees, good uGPAs, and an acceptable LSAT scores. There are even some cases where nationally accredited degrees may work better.

Remember, the national accreditors have met the exact same strict governmental standards as the regionals. Regionally accredited schools that refuse to accept work done at nationally accredited schools are completely disregarding the recommendations made by CHEA, an organization to which they all belong.

CHEA even published a statement reminding schools that the source of recognized accreditation should never be the basis of credit and degree denial. Since many regionally accredited schools have ignored this statement, politicians have proposed legislation that would forbid such unfair anti-competitive activity.

To learn more see:
http://mckeon.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=174
www.highereducation.org/crosstalk/ct0203/interview0203.shtml

Proposal by Buck McKeon (R-CA) Transfer of Credits Provision: *Denials and deterrents to credit transfers are unfair to students, inhibit student completion and drive up the cost of postsecondary education by forcing students to take and pay for the same courses twice. *The proposal would prohibit the denial of transfers of credit based solely on the accreditation of the institution from which the student is transferring.

National and regional accreditors are equal in every measurable way. If this bill passes, regionally accredited schools will no longer be able to discriminate against those who have worked very hard to earn nationally accredited credentials. Even the proposal doesn't pass, though; students who have completed nationally accredited work will still be able to transfer their credits and degrees. Regionally accredited schools such as AIU have started a promising trend by welcoming these students with open arms.

It should also be noted that there are many instances where national or even regional accreditation is not enough. Where licensure is involved, professional accreditation (ABA, APA, etc) is often required. Therefore, those who wish to become a licensed professional (lawyers, psychologists, etc) will need to make sure that the school meets their needs. They can do so by contacting their state licensing authority for the appropriate profession (i.e. the state bar) after they visit the CHEA database.

Thanks to M. from PA.

Thanks for clearing that up for me (about the chea website). You know, when I had evaluated all of these distance learing courses, after many nights of research, I found that AIU had six physical campuses (2GA, 1FL, 1CA, 1England, 1Dubai) they maintained the regional accreditation for about 30 years with their first schools in GA. I wanted to make sure that I clarified myself. University of Phoenix was accredited by North Central (national accrediting body) when I was looking into school a few months ago. I know that it would still be a "Valued" degree, but isn't it true that the main difference between regional accreditation, and national accreditation, is that if you obtain a REGIONALLY accredited degree, it is accepted, as a whole, into any school w/in the continental US. Whereas, if you obtain a NATIONALLY accredited degree, you would still be looking at taking some pre-reqs to get into the degree program of choice.
That would be my biggest concern. You seem as though you have great knowledge abou these things, I would really appreciate your imput on this matter.

Students should always review the CHEA database when choosing a school. Schools listed there possess valid forms of regional or national institutional accreditation. Like you said, regional accreditation is a good thing. However, national accreditation is equally valid, and CHEA agrees.

Also, just to clarify: Univeristy of Phoenix has been regionally accredited by NCA-HLC for much longer than 6 months. Likewise, American InterContinental University has been regionally accredited by SACS for longer than 6 months. Both schools have been properly accredited for several years. The dates you mention must be when CHEA updated their webiste and/or confirmed that the school is still properly accredited.

Basically, visit CHEA to confirm that a school is properly accredited, and to find out who they are accredited by. Then, visit the accreditor websites to find out things like: when the school was initially accredited; how long they are accredited for; if they are on probation; when they will be re-evaluated, etc.

In order to avoid situations like this, you should visit www.chea.org. This is the website for: "Council of Higher Education." You can verify the school name, accrediting body, and all of the nitty-gritty details.

If the school that you are attending does not list here, be careful, that means it's not accredited.

A rule of thumb individuals might want to follw is this:

Make sure that you go to a school that is REGIOnally accredited! tHIS WILL PREVENT ALL OF THESE THINGS FROM HAPPENING. The regional accreditation insures recognition by employers and other universities. University of Phoenix just received regional accreditation about six months ago. AIU has maintained their's for over 30 years. AIU's online programs are fantastic. When looking into distance learnin, you have to find a good fit for what you are looking for. AIU is accellerated (BA=13 months one class at a time). I loved it. Sometimes you might need a little more structure, and a little less freedon, so people go with a NON-accellerated program. Whichever suits you best.

Moral of this artical: REVIEW WWW.CHEA.ORG BEFORE YOU ATTEND ANY SCHOOL.

Dearest Kerri,

First, you need to understand: HLC is one (and only one) regional accrediting agency. NCA-HLC does not accredit schools in the state of Florida.

The regional accreditor SACS and other national accreditors (i.e. ACICS) cover that geographic region. Get the HLC out of you head; they are only one of six regional agencies, and they really have no bearing on this issue.

Second, I have read the new reports: see www.tampatrib.com/News/MGA7EFE0DRD.html

I also checked public records on lexis and westlaw, but as far as I can tell, this complaint is not yet listed.

Regardless, I feel it is highly unlikely that the female student will prevail in her lawsuit. This is mainly because colleges and universities vary greatly in their acceptance of credit. And accreditation never guarantees the acceptance of transfer credit.

For the most part, schools can accept or deny transfer credit for any reason they fit. This is extremely unfair; especially when credit is denied on the basis of recognized accreditation. But for now anyway, schools have almost total control over what they will and won't accept.

So, basically, unless FMU promised that their credits would always transfer, I see no merit in such a complaint. Keep in mind, though, no school, not even Harvard, could make such a guarantee.

I will agree that FMU is way overpriced. However, they are fully accredited by a fully recognized accreditor. It is not their fault that other schools engage in arbitrary anti-competitive transfer practices. Even still, many schools will accept FMU and other NA credits. This is an issue I have researched for many years.

Review my previous rebuttal for a fairly comprehensive list of schools that will likely accept FMU credits. I think you may notice how may of those listed are accredited by your favorite NCA-HLC. You also may notice how most on the list are religious and/or conservative, or for-profit. Funny, I thought the traditional liberal academics at private non-profit and/or state funded schools were supposed to be the fair tolerant ones. Hmmm.

Third, transfer of credit is not what makes accreditation legitimate. The fact that a state university will or will not accept nationally accredited transfer credit (or transfer credit of any kind) has little to do with the value and legitimacy of accreditation. It has more to do with the bent-left gatekeeper policies within academia.

Community colleges, with zero in terms of quality assurance and/or admissions criteria, are regionally accredited by the same agency (SACS) as the Florida state schools that denied our gutless friend. Should community college students have an easier time transferring than FMU students? I think not.

On a side note, it has been reported to me that the problem with FMU transfer credit may be the result of something totally unrelated to their accreditation. Florida uses a special course numbering system. Apparently, FMU does utilize this system. Other ACICS colleges in Florida who do participate reportedly have an easier time with transfer issues. However, I have yet to confirm this for myself.

Finally, in my humble opinion, the girl who sued is just a whiner. Instead of suing and/or starting over again, all she has to do is transfer to one of the schools that will accept her credits, complete a regionally accredited Bachelor's degree, take her GRE/GMAT/LSAT etc, then move on to a Master's program.

Instead of whining and suing, she could easily transfer to American InterContinental University (SACS accredited) or even University of Phoenix (NCA-HLC accredited).
The reason I listed these 2 schools is because they are both regionally accredited; they both accept ACICS credits; they both offer Title IV financial aid; and they both offer online and on-campus programs. I just spoke with AIU and they will definitely take FMU credits.

So, what's her problem? Unless there is something I am not aware of, the only problem is that she paid too much. If credit transfer/denial is her only problem, she is suing the wrong school.

Maybe she should be focusing her attention on the schools that unfairly denied her? Why not sue the schools that blatently disregarded the CHEA equity in credit transfer statement to which they all endorse? Hypocrisy!

Finally, darlin' ACICS is not a "rather unknown board". Visit their website at www.acics.org and see how many schools they accredit. Then, visit ncahigherlearningcommission.org and the websites of the other regionals. Verify the results by visiting the chea.org institutional database.

Also, just for fun, while you are at the accreditor websites, take the time to print, review, and compare all of their accreditation criteria. After that, find out for yourself what makes an accreditor legit.

Then, if you can, give me some good reasons why students with nationally accredited credentials should be treated differently in transfer and admissions. You won't be able to because all of the recognized accreditors meet precisely the same standards. You will quickly realize that any problems the whiner with the lawsuit has, should be taken up with the schools that unfairly turned her away.

... Don't take my word for it, research it yourself. You will likely end up agreeing with me!

My numbers are as follows:

Two selected national accreditors:
1) ACICS = 616 schools
2) DETC = 81 schools

All six regional accreditors:
1) NCA-HLC = 987 schools
2) SACS = 792 schools
3) MSA = 519 schools
4) WASC = 331 schools
5) NEASC = 252 schools
6) NWCCU = 157 schools

Mike, MBA, Juris Doctorate candidate - before you go off "spouting" and assuming others don't know what they are talking about, recent local news media report that FMU is being sued by a female student. She apparently spent thousands on the below-level education and when she tried to apply to a state school, they said her FMU education credits were no good because the school was "not accredited."

I stand by what I say, and you may wish to read Bill's posting (3/3/04) which further cements my belief that FMU, while nationally accredited by ACICS - a rather unknown board, seems to have a hard time getting the respect of major colleges and private universities which are HLC accredited.

I have a diamond I can sell you. It may be tarnished, and gray in quality, but it counts as a diamond none-the-less.

=Chrissy: If you give up now, with only 6 credit hours to go, you will only have yourself to blame. I understand your frustration regarding the financial aid situation, but that is not an excuse to quit. A previous poster was correct when he explained the workings of financial aid. Sadly, federal money will not always cover the full cost tuition. This is sometimes true for full time students.



For instance, I am a full time law student. The yearly tuition at my school (and most other private ABA approved law schools) is approx $25k per year plus books and misc expenses. Unfortunately, the maximum amount any full time grad student can receive in federal Stafford loan money peaks at $18,500 per academic year. Even a Perkins loan would not be near enough to cover the gap. Therefore, many of my classmates are forced to either pay the difference out of pocket or obtain private (credit based) student loans. Of course this sucks, but that's life, so deal with it!



The bottom line is this, Chrissy, YOU need to take control of your own education. If you dislike FMU that much, then the answer is simple; TRANSFER! You have several option here, but no matter which option you choose, you will undoubtedly lose credits in the transfer process. This loss, however, is NOT related to FMU's valid accreditation.



You will lose credits because almost every regionally and nationally accredited school limits the number of credits they will accept in transfer. This number usually caps at about 75% of the bachelor degree requirements (i.e. 90 of 120 credit hours or about 135 of 180 quarter hours). Therefore, you will only be able to transfer about 90 of your semester credits at most. And this only applies to grades of C or higher.



You say that not a single credit you have earned will transfer. I say phooey! Don't take no for an answer; get off your toosh and either locate one of the many schools that will accept FMU credits, or try forcing the school(s) that have denied you, to accept your work! How to accomplish this explained in my other rebuttal.



I am not going to do all of your research for you, but I will try to point you in the right direction. So, if you really don't want to transfer to another nationally accredited (NA) school, try one of the following regionally accredited (RA) universities, all of which have accepted NA credentials in admissions and/or transfer in the past.



Since I don't know where you live (Orlando or DC?), I am listing several schools with RA distance education programs. **Thanks in part to Collegehints.com, and other advocates of NA schools**



-Liberty University

-Argosy University

-Walden University

-Bellevue University

-Northcentral University

-Harvard University (DL ALB degree)

-University of Phoenix

-Baker College

-Capella University

-Jones International University

-Devry University

-Strayer University

-American InterContinental University

-Oral Roberts University

-Regent University

-Elon University

-Ottawa University (Kansas)

-Neumann College

-Brigham Young University

-Regis University

-Indiana State University

-Kansas State University

-Touro College and TUI

-Western Governors University



... And there are probably thousands of others, but I think you get the point. With a little research, you can make good use of your FMU credits. For that reason, I would personally recommend that you stay the course and complete your FMU degree. And more importantly, be proud of the hard you work put in! Then, if you decide to go to graduate school, you can use the list above as a starting point.



If you plan to use you degree to gain employment, you shouldn't have a problem. Think about it, do you really think employers value UoP-online graduates more than FMU graduates just because FMU is NA not RA? Doubtful! Within employment circles, NA credentials are arguably just as valuable as their RA counterparts. This is because most employers and hiring personnel realize that the NA and RA agencies have met the exact same standards, and that both require their member schools to meet stringent requirements.



It is only within academia (usually the extremely liberal sections) that NA utility is a real issue. And this will possibly be taken care of in the near future. Even if it remains an issue within parts of the RA community, there are still plenty of RA universities that do not discriminate. So don't be a whiner or a quitter; get to work and graduate!



If you need assistance, file a Rebuttal or Consumer Comment here so others will know.

K.M: No offense, ..but before you go spouting off at the mouth, you should get your facts straight. You are far from knowledgeable on the issue of higher education accreditation, and it is reckless to hold yourself out as such. The misinformation you received from your parents (with PhD credentials in education), helps to prove that higher education is controlled by leftist elites with less than honorable agendas. The good news is that this will soon come to end!



In any event, you are right in that the regional accreditors are powerful organizations. However, you are wrong in assuming that they are more legitimate that the nationals. To become legitimate, all of the regional and national accrediting associations must meet precisely the same standards to earn governmental recognition.



Basically, an accreditor is valid if it is has met the regulations set forth by the United States Department of Education (USDE) and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). All 6 of the regional associations have been approved by both CHEA and the USDE. Similarly, several nationally recognized accreditors have met the same standards. The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) and the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) are just 2 examples.



The aforementioned nationally recognized accreditors are equal to the regionals in every measurable way. In the eyes of CHEA and the U.S. Secretary of Education, no distinctions are made between the two types of accreditation. There are no accreditation tiers, and there are no second rate b-list accreditors. There are, however, ignorant individuals and organizations that discriminate against accrediting organizations for no good reason.



To combat this, CHEA has published a statement regarding equity in credit transfer. This public interest statement has been endorsed by accrediting organizations, the American Council on Education, and the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). What the statement basically says is that when examining credentials for transfer and admissions, the source of legitimate accreditation should never be a basis for rejecting a student's previous college work. Since all regionally accredited schools are institutional members of CHEA, ignoring the statement when evaluating applicant credentials, exposes the hypocrisy within higher education.



More importantly, K.M., you speak of how student-faculty ratios and the percentage of faculty members possessing terminal degrees, etc., are important parts of the regional accreditation process. To a certain extent, you are right. However, the regionals place far too much emphasis on these less important inputs. The nationals do in fact focus on these important factors, but unlike the regionals, they seem to pay much closer attention to learning outcomes. In effect, the nationals seem to care more about what the students learn, rather than how they learn it or whom they learn it from.



Nationally accredited schools are of great importance to U.S. higher education. They often provide more affordable and flexible alternatives to their regionally accredited counterparts. And no matter what the regionally accredited community says, credentials earned from nationally accredited schools are just as valid; especially within employment circles where it really counts.



On a side not K.M., you seem to be under the impression that for a school to be accredited, it must be approved by HLC AND one of the 6 regionals. Here is lesson in accreditation. The HLC or Higher Learning Commission IS one of the 6 regionals; it is affiliated with the North Central Association's (NCA) regional accrediting commission. In addition to NCA-HLC, there are 5 other regional bodies. I am pointing this out only so the readers will know that you are virtually clueless on this issue.



For example, you even stated FMU is a non-accredited school somewhere in your posting. FMU is not regionally accredited by SACS; I doubt they even pursued such approval. However, FMU does possess accreditation by ACICS, which again, is equal in the eyes of our government, and is just as legitimate. FMU would not be allowed to participate in Title IV financial aid programs (i.e. Stafford Loans) if they were somehow second rate or unaccredited.



Those who wish to verify whether or not a school possesses valid institutional accreditation, should visit CHEA.org and use the institutional database. All of the schools listed there possess proper accreditation. You should dismiss a school as invalid if (and only if) it is not accredited by, or in the process of becoming accredited by, one of the institutional accreditors recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and/or CHEA.



Again, though, many schools in possession of valid national accreditation continue to be the victims of anti-competitive practices. Many within the traditional academic community attempt to force out nationally accredited competition via discrimination. Right, K.M.?? Obviously, this needs to end immediately! The Higher Education Act will be reauthorized in late 2004, and from what I understand, it is possible that such discriminatory gatekeeper policies will be dealt with at that time. But in the mean time, students who have been denied admissions/transfer based only on the source of their previous school's recognized accreditation, should take immediate action.



Such students should first appeal any of these denials by sending a letter, along with a copy of CHEA's equity in credit transfer statement (available at chea.org), to the school engaged in the discriminatory practices. Then, it would be wise to remind the school that they are members of CHEA and that CHEA does not endorse discrimination on the basis of recognized accreditation. If that doesn't work., students should escalate the matter further by filing a rip-off reports here, consulting attorneys, filing complaints with other consumer protection organizations, and even by complaining to the school's accreditor as well as to the U.S. Secretary of Education.



Even if students are still unable to get their previous college level work accepted after appeal, they shouldn't sweat it! All they need to do is locate one of the many regionally accredited schools that are more than willing to fully recognize their hard work. (hint: usually for-profits and/or those with conservative administrations)



It is time that hard working students from equally legitimate nationally accredited schools expose the hypocrisy engaged in by elitist academic establishments. Make them practice what they preach! Show them that the tolerance and diversity they speak of includes accepting deserving students with nationally recognized credentials. Most importantly, don't let them get away with it!



And of course, don't listen to the likes of K.M. Be proud of you FMU or other nationally accredited credentials. They are just as real, legit, and legal as those earned by students at more traditional regionally accredited (private and state) universities!



Finally, anyone wishing to better understand higher education and higher education accreditation, should browse these helpful websites. This means you, K.M.!



United States Department of Education: www.ed.gov

Council for Higher Education Accrediation: www.chea.org

a*s'n of College Registrars and Admissions Officers: www.aacrao.org

American Council on Education: www.acenet.edu



Distance Education and Training Council: www.detc.org (national accreditor)

Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges: www.acics.edu (national accreditor)

North Central Assn: ncahigherlearningcommission.org (1 of the 6 regionals)



And if you are the victim of accreditation discrimination, feel free to send a note to my yahoo (educationadvocate2000) account. You should also contact someone here at ripoffreport.com by filing a rebuttal. Either way, get in touch with an educational advocate with the knowledge to assist you.



Mike, MBA (Juris Doctor candidate)

I just located your website and am aware it has been over a year since someone responded to Chrissy. However, I will enter this in hopes that it will save someone else in the future.



To back up my credibility, my parent each have a Ph.D. in education. I have an MA degree in business from a fully "accredited" school.



Chrissy's problem, when trying to transfer FMU credits to another school, is not unusual. Let me tell you why.



While FMU touts they hold nationwide accreditation, what they DON"T tell you is what other schools think of their accreditation. Let me tell you, other schools don't think much of it.



FMU, while holding a certain form of accredition (ACICS - or something to that effect) is NOT the same as being accredited by (1) the HLC (Higher Learning Commission) and (2) one of the the six, nationwide, regional accrediting boards.



All major state schools (and even some major private ones, such as Univ. of Phoenix) are accredited by the HLC and one of the six regional accrediting boards. These boards hold ALOT of power and a lot of weight when determining the value of an academic program and whether or not it gets the "seal of approval - regardless of cost."



The things they use to determine this are (1) staff to faculty ratio (2) the degrees held by professiors (3) the academic program and how it is drawn up....along with a plethora of other things.



Schools unable to get into those two categories go to what you might call a "B" rating...this means they go to some obscure, often times unknown, accrediting board - but they make it sound good...like "we are nationally accredited and the secretary of state on education thinks highly of us...." (don't fall for that!!)



Now Chrissy, FMU staff will tell you that the school is accredited - and, to a certain extent, it is. And I can sell you a car that has a transmission but it doesn't work...get my point? You still have a car - but is it worth anything? You have a degree from FMU, but what is it worth when juxtaposed with degrees from much more highly accredited schools.



The gal who responded to you and said you were nuts, I noticed she got her BA from FMU and she got her MBA from FMU - notice she never stepped outside of that? Why? Because most schools (and many employers) would not recognize her degree as being valid because it is from a non-accredited school.



In otherwords, the HLC and one of the six regional accrediting boards did not approve the program and would not put it's seal (stamp) on the curriculum being taught - FMU will NOT tell you this when they are trying to get your money.



She would have run into the SAME problem transfering credits if she tried to tell an Ivy league school or a major state school that she went to FMU and wanted her credits transferred.

She played it safe and stayed within the same institution - but neither of her degrees are approved by the HLC and six regional accrediting boards.



This is something I can't personally stress to students enough - to not go with the verbal, "we are accredited.



A simple phone call to your state school and saying, "will you accept transfer credits from (you name the school)" can save upi thousands of dollars in educational losses later.



As a final note, this is not meant to say your education was wasted - you learned something didn't you? You may have learned more than you wanted. But to all students, education is a business - much like everything else. The trick is to know what you are looking for before signing on the doted line and spending your money.

As the first rebuttal stated that students must do their homework. I too graduated from FMU with my Bachelors in Accounting and I am currently working on my Masters at FMU. FMU IS ACCREDITED by ASICS which is a National Accrediting board and not SACS which is a Regional Accrediting board which majority of the colleges are. I too found out the hard way but made the bast of it therefore I do not see any reason for this young lady to START OVER!!!!



All she has to do is try to finish up with her remaining credits and get info from other colleges. There are some schools that would conditionally accept her if she aggrees to take certain classes in additional to her core classes. Usually someone in admissions would try to pull some strings to help the students as much as possible especially in her situation.



She invested too much time and money to say forget it. There is ALWAYS a solution and going back to the drawing board is certainly NOT the thing to do when she has already fronted $21,000.

The student should have learnd more about Financail aid. If a student is not full time then they want get the aid the school hoped for. I went to FMU and got my degree and now im about to get my MBA from there. the student must do there home work before put out blame on others. The school is accreditaed Nationally, Hopefully one day they will get regional but that comes in time, nothing can be done over night.