Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
News

Accreditors Caution American Colleges as They Create Academic Programs Abroad

By Karin Fischer February 22, 2012
Washington

Universities are entering a brave new world when they set up collaborative degree or academic programs overseas, and they must be vigilant in ensuring proper academic standards. That was the message accreditors were delivering at a conference here of senior international officers—along with a reminder that the accrediting organizations are watching.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

Universities are entering a brave new world when they set up collaborative degree or academic programs overseas, and they must be vigilant in ensuring proper academic standards. That was the message accreditors were delivering at a conference here of senior international officers—along with a reminder that the accrediting organizations are watching.

“These are uncharted waters,” said Richard Osborn, a vice president of the Western Association of Colleges and Schools, one of the six regional accrediting agencies. Wielding copies of news articles about recent missteps colleges have taken in international partnerships, Mr. Osborn cautioned, “You get tainted with the brush of these programs being questionable.”

He spoke on Tuesday at the annual conference of the Association of International Education Administrators, which has drawn around 900 attendees from 47 countries for a three-day meeting that concludes on Wednesday.

Problems with programs overseas can put colleges’ accreditation back in the United States in jeopardy, Mr. Osborn and Marsal Stoll, his counterpart from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, said during Tuesday’s session.

Reviewing American colleges’ activities overseas has not been a major focus of regional accreditors in the past, but Mr. Osborn said his agency is paying more attention and recently approved new rules that tighten how credits can be awarded in dual-degree programs, limiting the number of credits in upper-level courses that can be counted toward both degrees.

As a result, a major Chinese-American dual-degree program, which has dozens of participating Chinese and American institutions, is out of compliance and could lose accreditation, he said. (The accrediting agency is allowing a three-year grace period.)

Mr. Osborn and Ms. Stoll hastened to say that increased scrutiny from accreditors should not be read as opposition to colleges’ increasing international activities. “We’re not here to be barriers. We’re here to enforce integrity, quality,” Ms. Stoll said.

Ms. Stoll encouraged institutions that begin academic collaborations abroad to ask themselves a few key questions, such as which partner will vet course content and supervise students and faculty members, as well as how academic credit will be awarded. These are questions, she noted, that accreditors will be raising when they review international-degree programs and collaborations.

Ms. Stoll told the packed conference room about one real-life international joint-degree program that failed to win her agency’s accreditation.

Among its failings, she said, was that the U.S. college did not do sufficient evaluation of faculty credentials and allowed credits from the partner institution to count toward the degree without giving them proper review. The American supervisor was a staff member without real authority to implement policy.

ADVERTISEMENT

Despite the overview, figuring out which programs must be reviewed by accrediting groups, and what joint activities are permissible, can seem more art than science, many in the audience said.

Ms. Stoll and Mr. Osborn were peppered with questions during a question-and-answer session, and participants lined up a half-dozen-deep after the end of the session with additional queries. One complication is that the differing American accreditors have varying standards of review.


More global news from The Chronicle

SIGN UP: Get Global Coverage in Your Inbox
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Twitter LinkedIn


We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
International
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
Fischer_Karin.jpg
About the Author
Karin Fischer
Karin Fischer writes about international education and the economic, cultural, and political divides around American colleges. She’s on the social-media platform X @karinfischer, and her email address is karin.fischer@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Vector illustration of large open scissors  with several workers in seats dangling by white lines
Iced Out
The Death of Shared Governance
Illustration showing money being funnelled into the top of a microscope.
'A New Era'
Higher-Ed Associations Pitch an Alternative to Trump’s Cap on Research Funding
Illustration showing classical columns of various heights, each turning into a stack of coins
Endowment funds
The Nation’s Wealthiest Small Colleges Just Won a Big Tax Exemption
WASHINGTON, DISTICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES - 2025/04/14: A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator holding a sign with Release Mahmud Khalil written on it, stands in front of the ICE building while joining in a protest. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally in front of the ICE building, demanding freedom for Mahmoud Khalil and all those targeted for speaking out against genocide in Palestine. Protesters demand an end to U.S. complicity and solidarity with the resistance in Gaza. (Photo by Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Campus Activism
An Anonymous Group’s List of Purported Critics of Israel Helped Steer a U.S. Crackdown on Student Activists

From The Review

Illustration of an ocean tide shaped like Donald Trump about to wash away sandcastles shaped like a college campus.
The Review | Essay
Why Universities Are So Powerless in Their Fight Against Trump
By Jason Owen-Smith
Photo-based illustration of a closeup of a pencil meshed with a circuit bosrd
The Review | Essay
How Are Students Really Using AI?
By Derek O'Connell
John T. Scopes as he stood before the judges stand and was sentenced, July 2025.
The Review | Essay
100 Years Ago, the Scopes Monkey Trial Discovered Academic Freedom
By John K. Wilson

Upcoming Events

07-31-Turbulent-Workday_assets v2_Plain.png
Keeping Your Institution Moving Forward in Turbulent Times
Ascendium_Housing_Plain.png
What It Really Takes to Serve Students’ Basic Needs: Housing
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin