Gwen in VA Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I am unsure of what accreditation is, but somehow the idea of a coop being accredited makes no sense to me. Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on this? (No, I'm not involved. Since coops seem to be the way of the future in homeschooling, I'm just trying to understand how a coop can be accredited and what that means!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 You'd have to find an accrediting board. Unless it's 4-5 days a week school a traditional board won't touch it. NAUMS (3 day a week) is the University Model of Education and you can get accredited through as a UMS school. As far as I know there's nothing for co-op program accredation. Accredation means that someone has verified that you are doing what you say you are doing. There is stated curriculum, stated goals, stated foci and you have operationalized what you are doing to accomplish those goals and have demonstated that you are doing that. It's an accountability system for curriculum. This what a provost office does: are we doing what we say we are doing. This is kind of what CC is attempting to do- standardize the program, ensure a certain quality of education. Given the independence of many homeschoolers and the variety, method and diversity of co-ops I'm not sure that there is a supply or demand for accredation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 Thanks. This coop is trying to get accredited since supposedly some colleges require an accredited transcript, though I've never dealt with a college that actually did. Since a coop just offers a random smattering of classes, I don't understand how it can get accredited. I mean, a lot of the classes would be taken outside of the coop setting. It seems to me that having an accredited transcript from a place that only offers a few classes to begin with would be meaningless! But thanks for your clarification of what being accredited means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 (edited) Who would accredit them? It seems meaningless to me to accredit oneself- where is the accountablity (the whole point of accredation) in that? Maybe what they really want to do is become an "umbrella school." They could keep transcrips, oversea coursework, etc. I know of several co-ops here who are offering a "credit" of high school classes that require far less than a carnegie unit's worth of time and effort on the part of the student. Personally, I would be very wary of any co-op that tried to accredit themself. If the parent is keeping the transcript it's the parents responsiblity to ensure that the coursework (content and work load) is what it says it is. Colleges don't care so much about coursework as test scores. Unless the student is applying to Ivy League or an Academy it's the test scores that are going to matter. Edited February 2, 2011 by laughing lioness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 Thank you! The word "umbrella school" is precisely what I think these folks have in mind. I googled the term "umbrella school' and was dumbfounded at the huge number of results. I must be living in a cave -- I've never heard of the term before! Do many folks use umbrella schools? I know in some states the legalities almost require them, but for those living in states that have less onerous requirements, what would be the advantage? :bigear: [scratching head and pondering the abundance of homeschool options available] :confused: I'll now go back to my cave! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 If the state doesn't req it it's just a way for some entrepreneurial person to make money off of people who feel insecure about thier homeschooling (imho - I feel the same way about transcript "services.") We joined one in CA years and years ago but our park day leader had actually gone to jail and none of our fam supported us in h.s. so we felt like it was worth the $. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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