Every unaccredited degree less worth?

Hello,

I am from Germany so please forgive my ignorance concerning American laws.

Is every degree earned by an unaccredited institut less worth than a "traditional" degree?
I know an distance education institute that will grant you a D.Th. for example if you have a Masters degree, take 192 lectures à 45 min. (lectures are from an accredited school), pass exams and write a doctorate thesis. An internship of a total of 90 hours is also required.

I know that some won´t recognize such an institute but if you earn a degree there, can´t you say with pride that you

earned your degree???

And my other question is: What requirements are necessary to get the right to grant legal degrees??? How is it that there are so many "fake" universities that can grant legal doctoral degrees???

Thanks for your time.

A.H.

 

In the USA degrees are not regulated at the federal level. Laws regarding education and degrees are generally at the state level. These laws vary widely from state to state. Some states have very little requirement and these are the states that the degree mills operate from. I believe that in most cases that even in states with the least regulations, these degree mills may appear to be operating legally but if there was a deep investigation it would usually be discovered that they were breaking general fraudulent business practices laws. These investigations are rare so the degree mills continue to operate.

 

Does anyone know something about the requirements of the State of Indiana?

 

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Oh, oh

 

Why????

 

Welcome.

I should say immediately, that in the United States, the worth of degrees isn't primarily a matter of laws. It's a matter of educational value to the student, academic credibility in the wider community, and the recognition that degrees receive from employers, clients and colleagues. Accreditation is a non-governmental quality assurance mechanism that facilitates credibility and recognition.

That depends on why a student wants a degree and on what he or she proposes to do with it.

I think that in most cases, and for most applications, a non-accredited degree program has less educational value and the resulting degree has less utility than corresponding accredited programs and degrees.

But there are a handful of cases where non-accredited schools are actually very good and well established in specialized niche applications.

For example, there are a few religious denominations that prefer to recruit their clergy from their own non-accredited seminary. If you want to be a minister of that particular church, pursuing a non-accredited education might be your best choice.

I suppose so.

Of course, you could just study informally without any degree objective, and be proud of the work that you did and the sophistication that you achieved.

The question is what the degree itself is adding to all of that, and whether a degree that isn't widely recognized can successfully do whatever it is that degrees do.

In order to operate legally, post-secondary institutions have to conform to the education laws in the state where they are located.

Those laws vary widely, ranging from rules equivalent to accreditation or (more commonly) a requirement that the new school seek and acquire recognized acreditation, to states like California with a more relaxed but still accreditation-like procedure, to a handful of states where permission to operate is little more than a business license.

Since I take it that you are interested in religious degrees, you need to be aware that in the United States the government does not regulate schools offering only religious degrees. They are exempt from virtually all state regulations. That's true in every state, no matter how strict the state is on non-religious schools. You need to be very careful selecting a non-accredited religious school. Many of them are degree mills that would be quickly shut down if they weren't teaching religion.

They exploit religious exemptions, or else they shelter in those few states that don't regulate higher education effectively.

 

Bill Grover suspects that you are interested in Trinity College and Seminary in Newburgh Indiana.

If you are, you might want to use Degreeinfo's 'search' function and look for past threads about that school.There has been a LOT of discussion about it. (It probably totals book length by now.)

 

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Explain your interest in Indiana.

 

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Or even more painful Trinity's miscarriage: "Master's."

 

I don´t even know that "colleges"

I was talking about a very sincere institute that uses lectures from "Dallas Theological Seminary", "ITS" and so on... you really have to study for your degree... and that´s in Indiana. It may not be "Harvard" but you can say: "I earned it."

I know that the Doctor of Divinity degree is a religious degree which nearly everyone can get today. But what about a DTh? Can every religious school grant this degree?

 

I live in Indiana. What do you specifically want to know?

 

Somebody told me that in some states it is very easy to get the permission to open a "college" and "grant" degrees. I would like to have mor information about Indiana where that is concerned.

 

Hallo Disciple: Welcome to degreeinfo. What is the name of your school? I will be happy also to find out what I can. I am pastor of a German church (altlutherisch) near South Bend, Indiana, and will be happy to investigate on your behalf.

 

Religious institutions in Indiana may grant degrees. Indiana is very "separation of church and state friendly." There is a law against claiming a doctoral degree "while soliciting or performing consumer transactions." The doctoral degree must be accredited by a regional or professional accrediting agency recognized by the USDoE or from a religious institute, college, seminary or university IF the degree "clearly identifies the religious character of the educational program." For example, my Bethany Divinity College and Seminary Ph.D. clearly says "Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Counseling."

 

Note that many churches issue the "Doctor of Divinity" (D.D.) Degree for "Meritorious Service" or something similar. It is usually reserved for a senior pastor who has served long and faithfully. Sort of like a Lifetime Achievement award except now everyone can call him "Doctor." SOME churches are fairly casual in their definition of meritorious service, the joke being that in some churches one can get a DD for lighting candles in the sanctuary. Many Bible Colleges/Seminaries do not seek USDOE accreditation out of a fear that they will have to compromise Doctrinal Principles to meet government regulations on statement of faith, diversity, acceptance of homosexuals, and similar matters. These fears are, for the most part, unfounded.

 

Other than mail order churches I don't think this is accurate, is it, anyone else? Most churches simply refer to one as "Senior Minister Emeritus," but I have never, in 21 years of ministry in several "denominations," seen anyone bestowed the D.D. by a denomination. Perhaps I missed something but I hope I haven't been that oblivious.

 

You probably have better knowledge here than I do, Jimmy. My experience was with "Wedding Ministers", who, come to think of it, probably are for the most part, some sort of mail order minister.

 

"I suppose so.

Of course, you could just study informally without any degree objective, and be proud of the work that you did and the sophistication that you achieved.

The question is what the degree itself is adding to all of that, and whether a degree that isn't widely recognized can successfully do whatever it is that degrees do." - Bill Dayson

Good answer, sir.


I, too, have a question for you Bill.

Could not "degree mills" facilitate a student with academic criteria of some sort? Although it may not meet the standards of government approved accreditation agencies, will it still be held to the classification of "degree mill"? How do you determine such? One can only then pass a judgement solely on opinion. Right?

I know that a particular "degree mill" offers the option to have student dissertations evaluated. The evaluating staff's qualifications? I don't know. I percieve that maybe these "staff members" are probably doctors holding degrees from accredited institutions, they probably just found a better way to make their credentials work for them. Hmm, like maybe $2 mil.+ in "scholarly" benefits.

What do you say to something like that? How can you contest that?

Even more so, "life experience" transcripts. Where do you draw the line to determine earned credit to purchased credit? How can the law determine what is lawful and unlawful in this matter?