University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Boomba
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:02 pm

University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by Boomba »

Dear all,

any feedback regarding this master?
The UotP offers an almost free master around 2300USD based on the philosophy that knowledge should be for all. Many volunteer teachers there. The uni is nationally accredited; I feel it is good enough for abroad.

I cannot find much info about this Master. Maybe you can help?
Smoko
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:41 am

Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by Smoko »

Definitely the cheapest M.Ed out there. It's a relatively new program so very few (if any?) people have completed it yet. The UoPeople subreddit seems pretty useful for gauging the quality of instruction - sounds like a mixed bag of reviews, with a few recurring negative themes (lots of inconsistent peer assessment, poor customer service from university advisors etc). With that said, I don't think it's fair to compare the quality to a university that costs 3 or 4 times the money. I also know it is also going through the process of regional accreditation, which could be quite a game changer.

My main gripe is with the name. I really don't want to put "University of the People" on my resume...
inmortus
Posts: 55
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:55 am

Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by inmortus »

The reason for not finding information is probably because University of the People does not have a Master in Educational Leadership degree. The only Masters in education that they offer is a Master's of Education in Advanced Teaching. They don't have any degree that is specifically tailored towards educational leadership. The validity and recognition of their master's degree has been discussed before in this forum. The short version is that it is nationally accredited but not regionally accredited which means that some countries may take it and some may not. Because it is not regionally accredited it also means that you may not use these studies for things like applying for a license in the US and such. Most education departments in the US simply do not accept nationally accredited degrees.

Some people have also questioned the name of the institution as it will surely ring some alarm bells for some recruiters who will question the quality just based on the name.

Given you were inquiring about a master's in educational leadership I would venture to say that getting this degree would not really help in any way or form in obtaining a leadership position; at least not at any reputable school.
inmortus
Posts: 55
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:55 am

Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by inmortus »

Smoko wrote:
> My main gripe is with the name. I really don't want to put "University
> of the People" on my resume...

The name is certainly horrible and I really don't know what their marketing team was thinking when they came up with it.

Even with regional accreditation it still sounds horrible. Personally, having already a master's degree in education I might consider it just to add an extra thing while still having a proper name on my resume. That being said, I'm not sure I would consider this as my sole graduate degree simply because even if the quality was acceptable and even if it was regionally accredited, I know that many recruiters would still look down on it simply because of the name (and although this may sound superficial the fact is that is how the world works). However, as a second graduate degree, it might actually serve as an interesting conversation maker during interviews...
Smoko
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:41 am

Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by Smoko »

inmortus wrote:
> Smoko wrote:
> > My main gripe is with the name. I really don't want to put "University
> > of the People" on my resume...
>
> The name is certainly horrible and I really don't know what their marketing team was
> thinking when they came up with it.
>
> Even with regional accreditation it still sounds horrible. Personally, having already
> a master's degree in education I might consider it just to add an extra thing while
> still having a proper name on my resume. That being said, I'm not sure I would
> consider this as my sole graduate degree simply because even if the quality was
> acceptable and even if it was regionally accredited, I know that many recruiters
> would still look down on it simply because of the name (and although this may sound
> superficial the fact is that is how the world works). However, as a second graduate
> degree, it might actually serve as an interesting conversation maker during
> interviews...

Agreed - I think changing their name would probably sway me to study with them more than gaining regional accreditation. It's a shame because I really like their mission and the price is incredible, but putting years of work into something that will probably get laughed at is an issue.
Boomba
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:02 pm

Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by Boomba »

@Smoko


"My main gripe is with the name. I really don't want to put "University of the People" on my resume..."

I agree! And we're probably unanimous about it. ;)

@Immortus

Yeah... You're right. There is no master of education leadership. There is a link with such a title but it points to the people leading the master... Great communication there.

Sorry if the topic has been already discussed. I did searched "University of the People" on the forum before posting...

Many thanks to all for your answers. Having already à master, I see no point of doing this one. I looked for the Spanish one in management but it's on campus.

I plan on doing Teach Now for the certification. Though I have already 10 years of experience, including 2 years in a 2nd tier and one in a premium tier. Ascension in the curriculum would have normally justified my teaching skills but I fear that having changed too often of schools + an exotic (aka an European but non English degree) might require a license reassure employers. (I'm having also a one year break).

If you think about an online cheap leadership training with some solid recognition, please, let me know.

I was thinking about the Harvard Business School Certificate in School Management and Leadership, maybe. I don't want to overload too. The problem is that there is no credit transfer later on.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... L2niEVBqsf

🤔
inmortus
Posts: 55
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:55 am

Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by inmortus »

The Harvard one is interesting. It's cheap, at about 400USD per course, so 1600USD total. No credits, but it's a bit the opposite to University of the People (this one says Harvard, and that might be good even if it is a non credit certificate).

That being said it is so cheap, that if too many people do it, it might lose some credibility. Still, it says Harvard, and some schools/parents might were value in that.

About having a European degree: I think that should not be an issue in most schools, and schools that genuinely value diversity might actually see it as a benefit...
Boomba
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:02 pm

Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by Boomba »

Thank you.

I have the same reasoning than you about Harvard and its reputation. However, with the emergence of multiple certificates, micro-masters, impressive certificates titles from prestigious unis but with a minimal content (6 up to 15h), I suspect that recruiters start to be cautious regarding what actually training one display on his resume.

As for European certifications, this is not the feedback I receive...
First, recruiters usually don't know what is my degree and just wonder if I am certified in my country. I never saw any of them doing an extra mile to check exactly what my degrees were worth, which leads to my second point:

Recruiters are too busy or lazy to pervade each non-standard resume. Therefore, uncommon profiles usually end up to the second or third stack of resumes during the selection process.

International education is an English speaking world. American schools would more likely hire American teachers with known US certifications. On the other hand, the PGCE benefits from a simple and unique terminology which makes it, on top of training to teach the well spread UK curriculum, a clear and recognizable qualification for any hirer. Proof is that Teacher Horizons selects teachers with a PGCE+QTS first, then CAN/US certifications. I heard it from a colleague who used to work in the company.

In the end, licensing is a nebulous universe and no one would like to put his nose into it aside from teachers with an exotic background and trying to make their way out.
marieh
Posts: 212
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2013 11:33 pm

Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by marieh »

@Boomba and @Immortus

Just understand that you will be forced to use the following on your resume if you go through Harvard Extension School (these are the 2020 guidelines):

Master of Liberal Arts, Harvard University Extension School. Field of Study
Master of Liberal Arts, Extension Studies, Harvard University.

There are two things wrong with this: 1. Your degree title is not going to be the point of focus - instead, it will be Extension Studies. 2. Harvard makes it VERY CLEAR that you are part of the extension program. I looked at doing my first Master's through them but ultimately decided against it for these reasons.
PsyGuy
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Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

Its not a Masters in Ed.Ld its a Masters in Teaching, all the courses are C&I courses. Some highlights:

1) Its very inexpensive. Its the cheapest Masters outside of some of the EU Unis that offer free tuition at national Unis.
2) Its entirely online. This can be a problem in some countries and ISs, though if your Bachelor/first degree is from a regionally accredited Uni you shouldnt have an issue getting a visa. There are ISs though that wont accept online degrees.
3) The name is horrible. You will get some eye rolls and turned up eyebrows. I Concur with @Inmortus, you will have some issues being taken seriously.
4) It is nationally accredited but not regionally accredited, and regional accreditation is the gold standards. There are countries that will not accept this degree and ISs that wont accept it for scale, but that would be a very small number. National accreditation is accreditation, its not a diploma mill.
5) There are states and other regulating authority that will not accept a degree from a non-regionally accredited Uni. The states that require a Masters are very small, but NY for example would not accept this degree towards a professional credential. However, DC would accept this degree towards meeting the Masters requirement for the standard administrative credential.
6) If your goals include a doctorate this degree isnt going to mean much unless your looking at similar online Unis such as Walden and Capella for the doctorate.
7) The IBO aspect has meaningful value, especially at the secondary level. For USD$2660 youre meeting all PD requirements for the IB, this can b a strategic marketing point for IB applicants. No one in IB ISs or edu will be overly impressed but in a pool of IB candidates without experience this is something rather than nothing. Its the cheapest pathway to an IB T&L equivalent certificate, and if your a secondary IT with a teaching area that has a lot of subjects in it this is cheaper than doing workshops.
8) This is one of the cheapest lowest cost sources of globally available PD available. At USD$200 a course most US ITs would need between 2-4 course to meet their PD renewal requirements. Even at very modest PD allowances from ISs this pathway would be very affordable.

If your goal is just to get on the advance degree scale or get the letters after your name for your application or meet the checkbox requirement for a position, this is very likely to work. Is it going to impress anyone, no, but then again a Masters is a Masters is a Masters unless its a global ivy.

If your looking for a low cost Ed.Ld Masters Uni. Portsmouth is about £7300 for the entire online (part time) program, and it has none of the accreditation issues of UPe. This is significantly more than UPe but still very much on the low cost for a Masters degree program.

The Harvard School Management certificate is very marketable in IE, and very affordable. It says Harvard, the are ISs that will give you the keys just for that. The IS can say "Our leader obtained their leadership certificate from Harvard" and all parents will hear is Harvard. Its only a few months commitment. There is no transcript and the courses are not transferable, but they could meet the PD requirements for renewal, which would be about 60 contact hours.
The USD$400 fee will become USD$500 after this first introductory cohort which starts in June.

ISs dont value diversity. Diversity is something they talk about so they dont sound elitist or racist. There is no benefit to a ISs ownership or leadership going on record as stating "nope, we dont value diversity."

I agree that in general non western English degrees and candidates usually dont make the first review. They generally just wont put in the work to vett a candidate until screening moves to selection and composing the short-list.
PsyGuy
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Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@marieh

Forced by who? Guidelines are just another name for suggestions. You can absolutely put "Harvard University" Master of Education. The degree scroll says Harvard University and thats it, and the transcript says Master of Education. If youre in an interview and your asked, sure tell them it was the extension school.
Boomba
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:02 pm

Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by Boomba »

Hi,

Thanks for your replies.

@marieh
Just to clarify, I never mentioned a master from Harvard but a certificate. I concur with PsyGuy that I don't see a problem to write Havard on the resume as, in the IS market, I don't see real legal issues/risks. One should mention the difference in an interview for honesty and clarity.

@PsyGuy
As I said in my previous message, I already gave up on this UotP master as it was not about leadership. The website was very unclear, at least for a non-native. ^^
I noted the partnership with IBO but there is only one optional IB internship to do, with the prerequisite to have completed all the core and specialization courses. Students are warned they will probably be obliged to travel. The criteria remain obscure so far and I am not sure if this partnership is so deep.

American education is a f** business, prices are ridiculous and I start to wonder about the actual quality. A master there is between 30/60 CH (credit hour), in France the last Master I reviewed was 320 hours. ECTS are more or less equivalent to CH so I wonder what one actually learns with a US master, considering respectfully that both of them require long hours of personal studies between the lessons.

When I read that 16000USD is nothing, I feel that it is already a lot for many people, that education access should not be based solely on your (family) income. It saddens me to see that one can say it is cheap even if I do understand that it is relatively speaking.
In comparison, while not everything is perfect here, one year of university in France is around 400 euro, social insurance included, then students with lower income can apply for a study allowance. Think about it. :)

Finally, as for the Harvard certificate, having it on my resume might compensate for the doubts generated by a European degree. Nonetheless, I remain doubtful about the actual knowledge in the end. I already tried "Leaders of Learning"(HarvardX/Edx) and I cannot say it was enlightening so much.

PsyGuy, the Master you suggested is too expensive as I will already pay for Teach-Now and I am unemployed.
PsyGuy
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Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@Boomba

The Upe Masters isnt in leadership but you can use this Masters to obtain the DC administrative credential (you would need to take the SLLA exam as well) this would be about USD$3000 in total, cheaper than Teach Now.
This degree meets all th IB PD authorization training requirements, the optional IB internship isnt relevant to that.

While it no longer applies to you, Uni. Portsmouth offers an M.Res in Education at about half the Ed.Ld program.

Whats there to think about, the EU and the US have different priorities and views on tertiary education.

None of these programs are going to make you something you already arent. There is no eureka moment. Its edu, it hasnt changed much in a century and all the ideas are just reapplied and reinvented, dressed up versions of old ideas. The technology has changed, black boards too white boards too digital boards, its still stand in front of some kids and try to get whats in your brain into their brain. Edu professionals generally have diffing opinions on how that should happen. At most the programs may inspire you or give you a moment of reflection, but if they dont than thats it, there is no "secret" its just ritual.
Boomba
Posts: 39
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Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by Boomba »

Hum, you make me confused. ^^
As I mentioned that I have already a master, I wonder whether you missed this info or you are really saying that an M.Ed might suffice you to have a license in DC.

I feel I should describe a bit more my profile here to get the best suggestions:
I plan on doing Teach-Now as I am an FSL teacher. My Bachelor (Licence in FR) is a standard 3 years level (generally equivalent to the 4-year bachelor in the US) but I enrolled directly in the third year thanks to equivalences. It is more or less a Bachelor of sciences of Social sciences with a strong emphasis on education. So far, I translated it into a B.Ed on my resume and no one questioned it.
I fear that my transcripts, split between an associate's degree for the first 2 years in a completely different field (Performing arts...), plus only one year of courses in this "B. Ed" will definitely raise questions during the NACES examination.

My master MEEF is a strange one as well as it was in its first version. It is, as always, a 2-year degree but our first year was mostly focused on preparing us for the competition test as it was the first year of the "Masterization" reform to become a teacher at the Ministry of Education. No longer a bachelor was enough and a Master was mandatory to candidate to the test to become a teacher. Meaning, the content of my first year is a bit of a joke in terms of Master standards are we did lots of revisions about every subject (Education but also History, Maths, Geography, etc.)
I fear that my transcripts, during the NACES process will also raise questions...

As you can see, I have no official training in teaching FSL despite positive feedback and reports (TPA in Ontario, so-called UNO school, etc.). I don't have experience in an American international school to validate my experience.
Last, I moved a lot and it does not reassure employers despite I did it for career opportunities...

Based on this background, correct me if I am wrong, I can go through the NACES process first. I doubt they will recognize my education as an ITT. If they do, great. Otherwise, I can do Teach-Now (TN) then Praxis for French, then obtain a DC license.
I also worry about how to get a DC license without a Social Security Number (SSN) and how to provide a proper background check (DBS)?

You also say that a master might allow me to candidate for a License. Please elaborate. I assume that you mean I can first get a teaching license, then candidate for a leadership license which requires a minimum of a Master's degree (any?) and take the SLLA to achieve it.
By the way, how hard is this SLLA? Is it like the Praxis? I was surprised to get at least 7/10 in any topic I would take, including subjects I never studied! ^^

As you can see, a Havard sticker on this resume could be nice for marketing reasons! ;)

On a side note, I agree with your comments about different objectives in education between Europe and the US. Actually I would rather make groups such as South of Europe / USA+ North of Europe.
Finally, I fully agree with your thoughts on the history of education. We did not invent the wheel recently... Again, lots of marketing speech and it is a pity that many teachers do not even see it.
shadylane
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Re: University of the People - Master in Education Leadership

Post by shadylane »

[quote=Boomba post_id=59032 time=1589900191 user_id=221993]
My Bachelor (Licence in FR) is a standard 3 years level (generally equivalent to the 4-year bachelor in the US) but I enrolled directly in the third year thanks to equivalences. It is more or less a Bachelor of sciences of Social sciences with a strong emphasis on education. So far, I translated it into a B.Ed on my resume and no one questioned it.[/quote]

Please don't do this. The 120 hours of FLS/FLE is closer to a CELTA than a B. Ed. You will probably get away with it (many have)- but it is far from true. In English speaking countries a B. Ed implies that you have studied multiple years of education, and are usually a fully qualified teacher. It's misleading, to say the least.
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