Online Student References & Helpful Guides | University of Louisville News

UofL Online Storytelling Team Strikes Gold!

By admin | September 26, 2018

The story of Rachel McClain, first graduate of UofL’s Healthcare Leadership competency-based education (CBE) program, won first place in the national CBExchange Digital Storytelling contest. The video was produced by UofL Online marketing team led by Laura Dorman, marketing manager, in partnership with VideoBred Production, and with the contribution of Dr. Lee Bewley, BS OLL – Healthcare Leadership, CBE program director.

Watch the award-winning video now.

The Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) is a group formed of colleges and universities working together to address shared challenges to designing, developing and scaling competency-based degree programs across the United States. C-BEN brings together educators and staff who work in competency-based education and witness the transformative and innovative nature of CBE on a daily basis. Many have seen first-hand the ways CBE impacts students’ lives—enabling them to fulfill lifetime goals and pursue new opportunities.

To help others see the power of CBE, C-BEN issued a call to share these success stories. The CBExchange Digital Storytelling contest evaluated short digital stories combining video, photography, music, animation, etc., that focused on the impact of CBE on students’ journey and opportunity for higher achievements. Winning first place, Rachel’s story stood out as the most powerful and well-presented.

Her success story also launched the “What’s Your Why?” video testimonial series, created by the UofL Online marketing team. This series aims to share inspirational student and faculty stories with potential UofL Online students, the online learners community-at-large, employers and beyond.

Read more about Rachel’s journey at uofl.me/cbengold.

Prior Learning Assessment – Brief overview of an extensive learning advantage

By admin | December 15, 2016

What is PLA?

The Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) is a systematic approach of comparing and evaluating formal and informal learning accumulated through various situations and activities carried on at work, in school and throughout life against the requirements of an academic program of studies. Its history and beginnings go all the way back to post-World War II era when veterans requested that their formal and informal learning achieved during military service be recognized with academic credit normally reserved for formal learning (Shelton and Armistead, 1989).

How does it work?

There are many methods of substantiating and evaluating prior learning, from documentation via portfolios, transcripts, certificates, and licenses to demonstration through standard exams, oral interviews, product samples, and performance tests (Knapp and Sharon, 1975).

The University of Louisville has incorporated the PLA element into its Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Learning (BSOLL) online program, and works with each student individually to identify the best evaluation method for granting college credit.

At UofL, PLA also aligns with the concept that learning is the product of various activities and situations and that learning is continuous. Even when your life gets in the way of your educational goals or you are forced by life circumstances to put your education on hold, you continue to learn and accumulate knowledge and skills that can translate into college credits.

As you begin the BSOLL online program, in the first major course, ELFH 300 – Prior Learning Assessment, you can document and evaluate learning from work experiences, existing course credits and associate degrees, technical and specialized training to receive credit for the specialization.

During this 3 credit hour course, you may earn up to 48 credit hours in the specialization component at no cost (equivalent of 16 courses tuition-free!). That could amount to more than a third of the entire degree credit requirement, which could get you even closer to reaching your end-goal. After completing the PLA course, you can proceed to the remaining courses in the designated track.

“Our first priority is our students’ success and ensuring that they capitalize on all the time spent learning throughout their career. The BS OLL PLA Class gives our students the opportunity to reflect and show evidence of their workplace knowledge from training, development, continuing education, and overall work experience. Each student has the opportunity to share the value of their work-related experiences, and infuse these experiences in the PLA Portfolio.” says Dr. Terri Rowland, Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Learning (B.S. OLL) Program Director and Clinical Assistant Professor.

She added “The culmination and successful completion of a PLA Portfolio can lead to earning up to 48 hours of college credit and we believe that this makes it cost-effective and is a great opportunity for our BS OLL students who are working full-time, serving our country or raising a family!”

While the definition and application of PLA is somewhat fluent and may vary from one field to another, most experts agree that PLA is based on five core norms:

learning is continuous and occurs across the lifespan
learning can happen in formal, informal, and non‐formal contexts
learning can be equally valuable and significant whether gained from a formal or informal context
formal learning outcomes can serve as a measure for all other types of learning
if learning from various contexts is equivalent to format learning, it should be recognized and credited as such.

Because all learning is considered valuable, PLA reflects learning from sources such as family, school, work, community, volunteer, hobby, military, and even travel. Most often, the university prior learning credit is given for learning from on-the- job training and development, continuing educational units, or unaccredited college courses, as well as CLEP tests. Credit is not awarded for work experience per se, but for the learning and transferable knowledge that occurred as the result of work or life experiences which are comparable to college-level courses. These credits may not be used for Organizational Leadership and Learning core courses or general education requirements, but are used to develop the required 48-hour specialty area.

The Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Learning is specifically designed for experienced professionals who have an associate degree or equivalent college hours and extensive work history but they lack the college credentials to secure their current job of pursue a leadership position in the future. If you are one of those professionals, give our program a try and move closer to completing your bachelor’s degree in a convenient, efficient and affordable manner.

Visit our BSOLL online program page to learn more. To review application requirements and deadlines for this program visit Apply Now page.

References

Knapp, J. and Sharon, A. (1975), A Compendium of Assessment Techniques, Cooperative Assessment of Experiential Learning, Princeton, NJ.

Shelton, S.E. and Armistead, L.P. (1989), “The practice of awarding credit for prior learning in the community college”, Community/Junior College Quarterly, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 23‐31.

University of Louisville wins the 2015 SANsational Award

By Laura Dorman | January 11, 2016

University of Louisville wins the 2015 SANsational Award for outstanding efforts in developing high-quality solutions to state authorization challenges.

The University of Louisville (UofL) is the proud recipient of the WCET SANsational Award for excellent work in addressing out-of-state students’ location. UofL is one of the four winners across three state authorization regulatory categories: Student Location; Institutional Authorization – notifications and disclosures; and Licensure Programs – notifications and disclosures.

The State Authorization Network (SAN) within WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) has evaluated all SAN member institutions on their work and recognized a select few for creating and presenting innovative and effective solutions addressing the issues and challenges of the state authorization regulations in higher education. Their applied concepts, approaches and processes will establish the foundation and industry-wide best practices in meeting the needs of regulators, institutions and students.

The Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning worked in partnership with the Office of Academic Programs and Accountability, UofL SACS liaison, and associate deans to design a thorough process to identify UofL students’ state of residence, from initial inquiry to their start each academic term.

The detailed data reports and frequent communication with the stakeholders helped UofL monitor the volume of educational activity outside the state of Kentucky and take immediate necessary action to address compliance issues. “As the University of Louisville and the Delphi Center strive for excellence, we are constantly looking for ways to implement new strategies to enhance processes so that we become the industry model in addressing state authorization,” said Gale Rhodes, Associate Provost and Executive Director of the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning, who leads the state authorization compliance efforts.

“The recipients of the SANsational Awards demonstrate creativity and commitment to compliance,” said Sharyl Thompson, CEO, Higher Education Regulatory (HER) Consulting, and chair, SANsational Awards committee. “They are great examples of how institutions are managing their state authorization work.”

About WCET
The WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) is the leader in the practice, policy, and advocacy of technology-enhanced higher education. WCET’s State Authorization Network (SAN) assists each member institution, system, or consortium through access to experts and networking among others seeking to comply with state regulations.

Future UofL students who live outside of the state of Kentucky can look up the state authorization for the program of their choice on the Online Learning website at http://louisville.edu/online/About-Us/state-authorization-regulations. For more information, contact Kristen Brown, kristen.brown@louisville.edu, 502.852.8565.

To view all online programs at UofL visit http://louisville.edu/online/programs.

Accreditation: National vs Regional Comparison

By Laura Dorman | April 8, 2015

The information in this article is out-of-date as of July 2020.

Let’s look at the difference between national vs. regional accreditation.

There are two primary types of accreditation: national accreditation and regional accreditation. National accreditation may sound more prestigious, but in reality this is not the case. In fact, the difference between a regionally accredited and nationally accredited school has less to do with the quality of the education and more to do with the recognition and type of education you receive.

Here is a brief side-by-side comparison of the two types of accreditation:

Regional Accreditation	National Accreditation
More liberal arts courses required, leading to a more well-rounded education	Fewer liberal arts courses required for a more specialized education
Generally viewed as more prestigious and reputable in both academia and corporate America	Not regarded as highly by the academic and corporate worlds
Transfer credits widely accepted by other institutions and professional licensing bodies	Transfer credits not typically accepted by other institutions and professional lincensing bodies
Higher admissions standards; more selective acceptance	Less competitive; easier to get in
Typically more expensive	Typically cheaper
Prime candidates for corporate tuition reimbursement programs	Often excluded from corporate tuition reimbursement programs
Offers almost exclusively professor-led courses	More likely to have self-study courses

Regionally accredited schools are typically traditional colleges and universities with one or more physical campuses, while nationally accredited schools are generally vocational, trade, or religious institutions of higher learning.

Regional Accreditation

Regional accreditation traces its roots to 1885 and its importance has grown exponentially, now leading the development of higher education in the U.S. and protecting the integrity of the learning process and outcomes, and the interest of students in a diversity-driven higher education environment (cihe.neasc.org).

There are six regional accreditation bodies in the United States: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NASC), North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS), New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and Middle State Association of Colleges and Schools (MSACS) (Bray, 2013).

The University of Louisville is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate, bachelor, master, specialist, doctoral, and first-professional degrees (D.M.D., J.D., M.D.). See online programs available at UofL.

You can see in the image below which accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA.org) accredits which region and its specific states.(elearners.com) regional accrediting bodies map

While each of the six regional accreditation bodies has its own set of rules and standards for granting accreditation, the requirements are largely similar if not identical. The standards imposed by regional accreditation bodies often revolve around the central rule of having a mission and purpose that is appropriate for higher learning. All other guidelines, such as having a planning and evaluation process for improvement, obtaining and retaining skilled faculty, having physical resources like a library and technological equipment, and having sufficient financial resources, are in place to ensure that the institution will be able to provide its students with a quality education (NEASC, 2011) (SACSCOC, 2012).

Because of the high standards set by regional accreditation bodies, the academic world and the corporate world largely consider regionally accredited schools to be the premiere institutions of higher learning. This means that a regionally accredited school is generally more prestigious and reputable and more competitive with higher admission standards than a nationally accredited school (Phillips).

One of the most important differences between regionally and nationally accredited schools is the ability to transfer credits from different schools. Because all regionally accredited schools are held to very similar standards, they know that students who have attended a different school which is regionally accredited have received a quality education. This is why regionally accredited schools will generally accept credits transferred from another regionally accredited school and put it towards the transferring student’s degree. (Phillips).

Most regionally accredited colleges’ curricula call for more liberal arts courses to fulfill graduation requirements, thus providing a wide range of knowledge and better preparation for various career paths and life-long learning. Whether delivered on campus or online, nearly all courses at a regionally accredited institution are led by instructors, adjuncts or tenured professors. Very few self-study courses are offered (Phillips).

National Accreditation

Nationally accredited institutions generally focus on providing specific instruction for a specialized career and place more emphasis on practical courses rather than a well-rounded curriculum (Phillips). Although nationally accredited schools are often cheaper than regionally accredited schools, they are sometimes excluded from corporate tuition reimbursement programs, unlike regionally accredited schools (Phillips).

Another issue to consider is whether a degree from a nationally accredited institution will be accepted by professional licensing bodies or other higher learning institutions. Many careers require licensing after earning a degree. Students who graduate from nationally accredited schools are often not accepted to take licensing exams (Howell). As mentioned, courses from nationally accredited schools are typically not accepted for transfer credit to other institutions; additionally, in many cases a regionally accredited school will not recognize a degree from a nationally accredited school, preventing students from pursuing a second degree from a regionally accredited school (Phillips).

As evidenced, the effects of accreditation reach far beyond the classroom and can affect a student’s personal and professional life. Choosing the wrong education can cost money and time, both of which are precious commodities for college students. The differences in the level of education obtained from schools with regional vs national accreditation should be more than enough to motivate prospective students to thoroughly research their school selections and weigh their educational options prior to enrollment.

Students or graduates of professional degrees (e.g., engineering, law) earned from nationally or non-regionally accredited institutions may encounter the issue of courses/credits not being accepted for professional licensure — most often, professional licensing bodies will not accept nationally accredited degrees.

If a student has questions on the accreditation of a particular school, they should speak with an enrollment advisor to ensure the school of their choice carries proper accreditation to be a good match for their future personal and career goals.

To learn more about what it means for an institution or program to be non-accredited, see our article “Does it Matter if my School is Accredited?”

References

Bray, K. (2013). College Accreditation – Regional vs National Accreditation. Elearners. 

New England Association of Schools and Colleges. U.S. Regional Accreditation: An Overview. 

Howell, T. Why You Should Care About Accreditation. Military Education. 

New England Association of Schools and Colleges, NEASC. (2011). Standards for Accreditation. 

Phillips, V. (n.d.). Regionally Accredited Online Colleges vs. Nationally Accredited. Get Educated. 

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, SACSCOC. (2012). 

[Untitled image of regional accreditation bodies territories] Retrieved August 1, 2014 from: http://www.elearners.com/online-education-resources/degrees-and-programs/regional-accreditation-vs-national-accreditation/

Category: References & Guides