Issues affecting the value of American DegreesThere are more than 4000 degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States. Many Of the world’s top universities are located in the States but there are also many FAKE and FRAUDULENT organizations both in US and Malaysia abusing the American Education System that mislead and deceive the people of Malaysia.
We are very concerned about the latest development in fake degrees and fraudulent cases which are getting very common in Malaysia. It has brought to our attention that degrees are being sold even just by a phone call.
ACCREDITATION
Accreditation is an external review process used to evaluate educational programs for quality assurance and improvement. In the states, accreditation is NOT carried out or controlled by the government; it is implemented through private, non-profit organizations created for this specific purpose.
Accreditation is essential to assure prospective students of the quality of the academic program, transferability of credits from one institution to another, recognition of degrees and certificates earned. Most importantly, NO graduate schools (Master, PhD) will accept degrees from Non-accredited Universities.
Generally, to be accredited, ones must have
1. Faculties (with PHD lecturers)
2. Building
3. Sizeable library
4. Labs (for professional accreditation)
There are GERERAL and PROFESSIONAL accrediting organizations in the U.S. Accreditation as quality assurance is called in the US are indirectly controlled by the universities themselves through six regional associations.
All accredited universities in each geographic region of the country belong to one of these regional associations ( accreditation can be verified thru the following websites) :
1. Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools - http://www.msache.org/
2. New England Association of School and Colleges – http://www.neasc.org/
3. North Central Association of colleges and Schools – http://www.ncacihe.org/
4. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools – http://www.cocnasc.org/
5. Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges – http://www.saca.org/
6. Western Association of Schools and Colleges – http://www.wascweb.org/
Professional Accreditation is not as uniformly required as is general accreditation. It is provided through professional associations for specific academic fields, i.e.: engineering, nursing, and teacher education programs.
CHOOSING AN ACCREDITED UNIVERSITY, STUDENTS MUST BE AWARE OF:
Within US higher education there is no central authority such as a government ministry of education that directs or controls activities in the education sector, and this is especially true for accreditation, quality assurance or institutional evaluation.
The government control of education is not as strong in the US as it is in Malaysia. Because the system is not centrally or tightly controlled obtaining a license to become a UNIVERSITY is not difficult, there are then fake universities in the US – organizations or companies that want to sell a degree but provide no education.
In USA, RECOGNIZED does not mean the same as Accredited. The only term that signals quality recognition is ACCREDITED. Also, the terms like REGISTERED, LICENSED or APPROVED, even when connected to a government organization, DO NOT mean accredited.
Do not plan to enroll in any college or university, which cannot confirm that it is fully accredited by one of the six regional associations.
Do not plan to enroll in any college or university, which cannot confirm that it is fully accredited by one of the six regional associations.
Students can become the victim of cheating unless they follow the guidelines provided by MACEE – Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange. E-mail: mea@pc.jaring.my
Distance Learning (Online Education)
We recognize the importance of Distance learning and we encourage Online learning, However, we would like the public to aware about the fact as many fake degrees have been sold thru this channel. It has been seriously misused for TITLE purpose.o Most of the distance learning in US are not recognized (very few)o To be accredited, one must have proper campuso Online education is not popular in the United States (not successful)o
In US, it is normally used for corporate, professional training. It is for the purpose of improving and developing skill. It is only popular for obtaining certificate, not degree.
For updated info, please check with MACEE 马美教育交流委员会 Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange）E-Mail : mea@pc.jaring.my
Note : This is a Press Statement issue by Gavin Tee of American Universities Alumni Malaysia in 2003
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