KWU Questions #7 and #8 Discussions

[Robert J.]

Open for Business...

[plcscott]

Number 7

David Gering wrote:
This question vastly over-simplifies the issue. At any university, the number of courses required to complete a major or degree program varies depending on the major and the school's individual requirements. Each KWU student is assessed individually for his/her respective academic credits and work experience. As such, some students must take more than 7 courses as a result.

Most universities publish their requirements in their catalogs. What specifically are the requirements for a KWU degree? KWU list majors and the courses in each major (roughly 20 under each major), yet there is no requirements that ANYONE meet the major requirements. If experience credit is given, shouldn't credit be given for the courses in the major, and then shouldn't the student be required to take the ones that credit was not given for? If not, why list courses under a major? Once the magic secret formula is used to come up with the number of courses required then the student just chooses which courses to take. If your number is 4, then you just choose which 4 courses you want to take. If your number is 7 then just choose 7 courses. No core requirement, no minimum level of competency to meet.

How about giving us some DETAIL on the individual assessment? No general talk, give us some procedures, show us how KWU operates because from the senate testimony it looks like the individual assessment is low-grade.

I know of two individuals that were in the same major > one had an accredited associates degree, 40 years experience in his field, and many other qualifications, >the other had very little college, 15 years experience, and many other qualifications. The one with more education and experience had to take 7 courses and the one with the least had to take 6 courses.

In fact, our Master's and Doctorate degree programs are virtually identical in length to traditional university programs. For the Bachelor's degree programs, they are typically shorter than traditional degree programs because those students are coming in with a required 60 units of college work. Our students come to Kennedy-Western specifically because their programs are focused on their particular area of emphasis. Thus, KWU students must earn their degrees in an amount of time comparable to most online universities' programs. Regardless, this has nothing to do with academic integrity or our challenging curricula, which are comparable to those of traditional universities.

There have been students that were enrolled in a master's program that were required to take 4 courses, and they were never required to send in any undergraduate transcripts. <--This was posted on the pub by a student (swordfish), along with other similar statements from other students.

The business world is only concerned with results and performance. This should be included in any discussion about the relative merits of any school, and is forefront in the minds of our faculty and Student Services Advisors. Further, our Admissions Counselors are responsible for helping prospective students to decide whether they have the skills, discipline and knowledge to successfully complete their degree programs according to KWU's high academic standards. As an institution, we are focused on maximizing student performance to high standards -- academic outcomes.

You are SO right about the business world; however, KW is supposed to be a "university", and it awards academic degrees, not certifications, not certificates.

[plcscott]

Number 8

The University determines the percentage of credit award a student receives based on the years of work experience related to their major as well as the number of prior college credits earned and related training programs the student has attended. Students must have a minimum of 5 years of work experience directly related to the degree they seek to pursue. Awarding credit for prior learning on-the-job is credible given the unique mission of Kennedy-Western University, and the practice is far from unique to KWU. Credit decisions are also affected by the respective required outcomes for each degree program. Regardless of whether someone has been given credit for past work experience, that student must still meet the academic standards set forth for the program.

Why is NOTHING ever specific? How specifically does KWU come up with the amount of experience credit to give someone? Is this an objective process, or is this based on how much KWU thinks will close the deal? How does KWU assess or verify the experience, and what makes KWU know that they have acquired academic knowledge related to the degree program from their experience?

How about giving some examples of accredited schools that have comparable procedures to KWU?