Sports teams in West Middlesex School District are known as the Big Reds. Over the last week there have been a lot of Big Red faces in the district after the embarrassing revelation that some teachers were taking classes through an unaccredted online “college.”
Last Friday’s Herald broke the story that school board President Tom Hubert was upset after learning that 11 teachers were reimbursed or asked for reimbursement of $2,400 each for taking online courses from the Web-based Canyon College in Caldwell, Idaho.
The school, which isn’t accredited by the Pennsylvania Department of Education or the Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality, is dubbed a “diploma mill” by some education groups.
The school, which claims that it is legitimate, is accredited by two national organizations. However, The Herald learned that neither one of them is approved by the U.S. Secretary of Education or Council of Higher Education, which recognizes 60 accrediting groups.
At a glance, it would appear that this “college” was established as an easy way for teachers to earn credits toward continuing education requirements. Pennsylvania has one of the tougher requirements in the country — teachers are required to complete 180 hours of professional development every 5 years.
One of the problems appears to be that the state Department of Education allows school districts to determine what that development entails. Therein lies a huge problem that should be addressed at the state level.
The Herald staff researched some of the course requirements on the Canyon College Web site. It seems as though a student has up to eight weeks to complete a course. Because of their unchallenging requirements, a student probably could finish an entire course during a weekend.
The school explains that its courses “are designed for guided independent study” and it allows students time “to maintain flexible scheduling.” On top of that, “life experience” can count for up to 50 percent of a degree’s credits.
Tuition reimbursements are, in this case, a waste of taxpayers’ money. According to the fees listed by Canyon, a course toward a master’s degree costs $500. One West Middlesex teacher completed five courses in the spring while teaching and handling some administrative duties. That would be next to impossible at a real college.
Hubert blamed school Superintendent Alan Baldarelli for allowing this disgrace to occur. He’s right — the buck always stops with the person at the top.
Maybe the bucks should have stopped there too and teachers shouldn’t have been approved for taking courses at Canyon. Baldarelli said he researched the curriculum for two days before approving it. It appears that during that time he could have completed a course or two as well.
The district faces big problems that need to be mended. One involves the school board itself, since some directors felt slighted that they weren’t in the loop on the Canyon investigation.
There’s a lot of blame to go around and the board needs to act. There’s no time for playing political games, but only to do what’s right for the students and taxpayers. The first move should be to reject courses from Canyon and other “colleges” like it.
Opinion
Required courses shouldn’t be grist for a diploma mill
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