Northland Ruled Ineligible for Wisconsin Tuition Grant; TRACS Accreditation Cited as Reason
[Jim Peet] *** Forum Director Comment ****It looks like people have already moved on. But for the record I acknowledge your directive.
Please drop the “misleading headline” discussion
Greg answered the issue …. time to move on
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Now back to the topic. It does not appear that if it goes all the way to court there is much of a chance of denial being upheld. My guess is someone will get wise before hand…but who knows? As Bob T. pointed out there is the DOE validation that will make it a fatal flaw in the denial if it went as far as court.
The question seems to be is “Wisconsin trying to make a point?” or is this an ignorant bureaucratic snafu? Perhaps NIU already knows and is responding accordingly. Having worked with the US Dept. of Education (that is ED.gov, not DOE [which is the Dept. of Energy] ) Office of Postsecondary Education, it is known in higher ed circles that the Secretary’s list of recognized accrediting agencies is the way Congress knows who is a nationally recognized accrediting agency. One wonders whether the Trib/AP reporter knows what he/she is talking about when he/she characterizes the Wisconsin bureaucrats as following criteria that is different than stated in the Wisconsin statute. It will be important and interesting to follow the bureaucratic response to this issue.
Gerry Carlson
It is not uncommon for state agencies to use regional accreditation as a standard recognition for state-funded programs. Florida is similar to Wisconsin in their funding of state grants/scholarships to college students. Clearwater Christian College (http://www.clearwater.edu) is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the regional agency for the southern region, and our in-state students receive Florida Resident Access Grants (FRAG). On the other hand, Trinity Baptist College is accredited by TRACS, but their students may not receive FRAG funding.
Eric
Eric
Eric,
Does Florida specify that distinction, or is it an interpretation of a state statute or reg?
Does Florida specify that distinction, or is it an interpretation of a state statute or reg?
Gerry Carlson
I wanted to point readers to the following link (http://www.ni.edu/about/news/fall-2010/northlands-appeal.htm) where Northland posted a statement regarding the meeting with the Wisconsin Higher Education Aids Board last week. We sent four representatives to the meeting, and I acted as our spokesman. The meeting was very cordial and remained positive throughout. Interestingly, one of the first pieces of business was a report from the HEAB director that all state funds for the 2009-2010 budget year had already been committed and that several Wisconsin students, who would otherwise be eligible for state aid, will not receive it for this coming school year. One of the main reasons for this is both a national and state phenomena due to the current economic climate: many people are heading back to school to receive further training or re-training either because they have lost their job or want to improve job security. The HEAB budget won’t be able to handle the sheer volume of students who meet eligibility requirements this year. They are now dealing with complaints from many students, some of whom received aid last year but won’t this year because they ended up toward the end of the application line, so to speak. This information flavored the rest of the proceedings and seemed to limit the sense of urgency in the minds of the board members in regard to our appeal, since granting the appeal would be a moot point for Northland students for this coming year.
Our arguments seemed to resonate with the board, but in light of the above information and in order to verify our claims, they tabled a decision until either their next meeting in October or the one thereafter in February. We were assured that even if a favorable decision came as late as February, it would not jeopardize our students’ ability to apply for aid for the following school year. The AP article seemed to imply that the board had denied our students access to state aid at last week’s meeting, but denial actually came last year not from the board but from the HEAB staff. The staff indicated they were unable to make an exception for us, since the board itself must grant approval. So, we asked and were placed on the agenda for the board meeting last week. The essence of our appeal centered on the state statute itself which indicates the need for a “nationally recognized accrediting agency,” (see above post which contains the actual wording of the statute), but the HEAB policies and procedures manual contains the following statement in their list of requirements: “The school must be accredited through a federally accepted accrediting agency (HEAB recognizes the Higher Learning Commission of the Northcentral Association of Colleges and Schools).” Neither the staff nor the board was familiar with the history of this wording in the manual. So to answer the question from the poster above, no one has been able to ascertain whether or not the above wording was intentionally selected to discriminate against other approved accreditors or was simply meant to be a clarification that North Central happens to be the regional accreditor for the state of Wisconsin. I can’t speak for those responsible for the wording, and no one on the current staff or board of the HEAB seems able to do so either. You may also notice that the state statute indicates provision for a school whose credits are accepted for transfer by at least three accredited schools, so in order to further substantiate our appeal (and meet the law in not one but two points), we provided transfer agreements by more than three North Central regionally accredited schools.
So, as we say on the website, we are very hopeful that after having a chance to review the documents we submitted, verify their authenticity, and think through our arguments, the board will uphold what we believe to be a proper interpretation of the state statute, and grant our appeal. We will of course provide an update of the outcome of the next hearing on www.ni.edu.
Kevin Priest, Ed.D.
Registrar
Northland International University
Our arguments seemed to resonate with the board, but in light of the above information and in order to verify our claims, they tabled a decision until either their next meeting in October or the one thereafter in February. We were assured that even if a favorable decision came as late as February, it would not jeopardize our students’ ability to apply for aid for the following school year. The AP article seemed to imply that the board had denied our students access to state aid at last week’s meeting, but denial actually came last year not from the board but from the HEAB staff. The staff indicated they were unable to make an exception for us, since the board itself must grant approval. So, we asked and were placed on the agenda for the board meeting last week. The essence of our appeal centered on the state statute itself which indicates the need for a “nationally recognized accrediting agency,” (see above post which contains the actual wording of the statute), but the HEAB policies and procedures manual contains the following statement in their list of requirements: “The school must be accredited through a federally accepted accrediting agency (HEAB recognizes the Higher Learning Commission of the Northcentral Association of Colleges and Schools).” Neither the staff nor the board was familiar with the history of this wording in the manual. So to answer the question from the poster above, no one has been able to ascertain whether or not the above wording was intentionally selected to discriminate against other approved accreditors or was simply meant to be a clarification that North Central happens to be the regional accreditor for the state of Wisconsin. I can’t speak for those responsible for the wording, and no one on the current staff or board of the HEAB seems able to do so either. You may also notice that the state statute indicates provision for a school whose credits are accepted for transfer by at least three accredited schools, so in order to further substantiate our appeal (and meet the law in not one but two points), we provided transfer agreements by more than three North Central regionally accredited schools.
So, as we say on the website, we are very hopeful that after having a chance to review the documents we submitted, verify their authenticity, and think through our arguments, the board will uphold what we believe to be a proper interpretation of the state statute, and grant our appeal. We will of course provide an update of the outcome of the next hearing on www.ni.edu.
Kevin Priest, Ed.D.
Registrar
Northland International University
Dr. Priest -
Welcome to SI!
This is very encouraging and enlightening. Thank you so much for sharing it with us so that we know how properly to pray for the Northland Ministries; please keep us informed of whatever progress they make, as the AP reports are somewhat incomplete.
Welcome to SI!
This is very encouraging and enlightening. Thank you so much for sharing it with us so that we know how properly to pray for the Northland Ministries; please keep us informed of whatever progress they make, as the AP reports are somewhat incomplete.
"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells
Hi Gerry,
Yes, the FRAG program is specifically intended for undergrads who attend regionally accredited, private colleges and universities that are members of ICUF. Here’s more information about it — http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/ssfad/factsheets/FRAG.htm and a list of elgible private instituitions — https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/admin/SAWELIGPSI_ByProg.as…
Kevin, thank you very much for posting Northland’s update. NIU’s statement sheds light on the situation.
Eric
Yes, the FRAG program is specifically intended for undergrads who attend regionally accredited, private colleges and universities that are members of ICUF. Here’s more information about it — http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/ssfad/factsheets/FRAG.htm and a list of elgible private instituitions — https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/admin/SAWELIGPSI_ByProg.as…
Kevin, thank you very much for posting Northland’s update. NIU’s statement sheds light on the situation.
Eric
After reading the FRAG and ICUF information, it looks like Wisconsin is not similar at all to Florida in their administration of student aid programs. Neither state has statutory language that specifies regional accreditation recognition, but Florida seems quite specific in naming their State Board of Education as the entity empowered to determine acceptable accrediting agencies. Evidently Wisconsin allowed their HEAB to interpret their statutes. It may be that when the statute was written the term “nationally recognized” only logically related to regional accreditation. The inclusion of the “three letter rule” concept, which was common practice in the 60s, 70s, & 80s, seems to indicate that the statute was written some time back. It was under that rubric that BJU grads gained entrance to dozens of grad schools back in the day. However, since that time program specific accreditation agencies have proliferated and have been formally recognized by the Secretary of Education.
Since my interaction with the Dept. of ED’s postsecondary division 20+ years ago it seems that the Federal approval mechanism has gained more power in the Higher Ed community. At least that seems to be the message from the INSIDE HIGHER ED writer. It will be very interesting to see what Wisconsin decides and what their rationale may be. TRACS has had its share of PR challenges, and so the future may be very definitive for that organization. Dr. Henry Morris was the original driving force behind TRACS and his legacy is yet to be written in this area.
Since my interaction with the Dept. of ED’s postsecondary division 20+ years ago it seems that the Federal approval mechanism has gained more power in the Higher Ed community. At least that seems to be the message from the INSIDE HIGHER ED writer. It will be very interesting to see what Wisconsin decides and what their rationale may be. TRACS has had its share of PR challenges, and so the future may be very definitive for that organization. Dr. Henry Morris was the original driving force behind TRACS and his legacy is yet to be written in this area.
Gerry Carlson
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