What is an Education?
How do you define it?
Defining what an education is,
is a continuous subject of debate by many. Education
can be attained by many means such as:
There are many quotes
regarding what an education is. I have seen many of
these around but am not sure of the original quotations or date of
the some of the quotations, however you may find them of interest.
From a purely esoteric or philosophical point of view an Education
can be defined as:
" When you have attained a
thorough and complete understanding of yourself and the world
around you, that allows you to obtain anything you want or need
without infringing on the rights or privileges of others, that is when
you can truly call yourself educated." Originator unknown.
Albert Einstein supposedly
made this statement, "Self Education is the only kind there really
is".
Formal education is important
and everyone who wants a college degree should be able to get one.
Self education and being well read has its benefits and is a necessity. Only having
one formal degree in one discipline is not enough to equip you for
a changing world. You must constantly learn and re-invent yourself
for today and tomorrow.
What does our society and
business recognize? In the United States we tend to be
a credentialed society that looks for official credentials.
In the United States educational institutions can be public,
private, accredited or non accredited.
Choosing your source of education is something you should consider
wisely as you may spend substantial amounts of time or money in
your quest to acquire a degree or certification. .
There are hundreds if not
thousands of accrediting organizations in the United States and
around the world. In the United States most higher
educational institutions are accredited by primary accrediting
organizations. In the United States there is an
Independent organization called the "Counsel for Higher Education
Accreditation referred to as CHEA". The CHEA website is
www.chea.org.
CHEA reviews and approves the
organizations that are empowered to accredit colleges and
universities. Accreditation is a process of external review
used by higher education to scrutinize colleges, universities and
higher education programs for quality assurance and quality
improvement.
There are three types of
accreditors:
-
Regional accreditors:
Accredit public and private, nonprofit and for-profit,
two- and four-year institutions. This is a comprehensive
review of all institutional functions. Many state colleges
are regionally accredited. There are over 2900 regionally
accredited colleges. The majority of regionally accredited
colleges and universities are non-profit.
-
National accreditors:
Accredit public and private, nonprofit and for
profit institutions, frequently single purpose institutions,
including distance learning colleges and universities, private
career institutions and faith-based colleges and universities.
There are over 3400 nationally accredited schools, the majority of
which operate for profit.
-
Specialized and
professional accreditors: Accredit specific programs
or schools including law schools, medical schools, engineering
schools and programs, and health professional programs.
For more information on
accreditors go to:
http://www.chea.org/international/index.cfm and click on "An
Overview of U.S. Accreditation". The CHEA website offers a
searchable database of colleges and universities that have been
accredited.
Stiff competition exists
between colleges and schools to acquire students. There
are many on-line consortiums in which universities have partnered
to offer on-line degrees. If cost is a factor, most
state colleges and universities are regionally accredited usually
offering degrees at lower tuition costs than private or nationally
accredited schools.
Distance Education
has been around for many many years.
Correspondence schools have been around long before the Internet
started. In recent years, as an individual you can get a
formal degree and education via the Internet in the comfort and
privacy of your home. However, distance programs
differ and vary by school. Distance education programs
can be from accredited or non-accredited schools. Some
distance education programs are now nationally accredited by the
Distance Education and Training Council, DETC (www.detc.org.)
Distance learning degrees are also being offered by many
regionally accredited schools. You should
check the accreditation of any school you plan to attend and pick
the right school based on your needs, future educational plans,
and what your educational budget is.
Many Regionally accredited
schools will not accept transfer credits from Nationally
accredited schools and vice versa. If you plan on obtaining a
Master's degree or Ph.D. you should be aware of the school's
accreditation before attending it to see if your coursework,
Associate's degree or Bachelor's degree credits will transfer to
graduate school or program you may be considering.
Another agency you should be
familiar with is the American Council on Education, ACE. The ACE website is www.acenet.edu.
There are over 1800 colleges and schools that are members of ACE.
Non-accredited schools
have not been accredited by any government or any
independent agency. Does this mean that non-accredited
schools are bad or not worth attending? Not necessarily!
Becoming an accredited school is voluntary. Many schools
start out as non-accredited schools and become accredited in the
future once they get going, apply and pass the accreditation
standards. Some colleges and universities have been
accredited by State Departments of Education, but are not
regionally or nationally accredited, so be sure to check if they
say they are accredited, find out by what accrediting agency.
If you are considering a
particular job or employer you should check with the employer to
find out which types of degrees, schools and accreditations they
will recognize for employment qualification.
Many of the current Internet
based learning venues, technology based learning, mystery and
philosophy schools are non-accredited schools. There are over 500
non-accredited universities in the United States. Some
non-accredited schools and training providers offer specialized
training or information for the learner for various purposes and
in various forms. Many accredited schools now offer acceleration
programs that allow you to acquire college credit from what you
have learned at non accredited schools or through experience.
This can take the form of experiential learning programs, advanced
placement testing or CLEP and DANTES exams to receive college
credit. You should inquire at the school you are
considering regarding these acceleration methods for
consideration.
Ewell Educational and
Technology is a private non-accredited educational business.
We hold multiple degrees and industry certifications from both
regionally accredited and non-accredited
schools. We provide educational tools and services for the
both the public and private sector, however we are Certified
Technical Trainers in many areas. We teach both credit and
non-credit courses at various accredited colleges and schools.
Someday we may even become an actual University and seek
accreditation. See our learning concepts page.
Visit my personal
organizational and development site ":Orgalosophy,
The New Science or Organized Planning Website".
Please write us if you
questions about our educational services or our products.
Sincerely,
Michael Ewell, Ewell
Educational & Technology Services
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