The ODA

As has been discussed numerous times the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization has virtually a "zero tolerance" for unaccredited degrees in their state.

What I find somewhat confusing is that you can use (and it's the ONLY degree from this school that can be used in Oregon) the Ph.D in psychology from Southern California University for Professional Studies in that state. So, why wouldn't someone be allowed to use say a BBA from that school in Orgeon. It would seem, at least on the surface, to be a little "safer".

The other thing I find puzzling is that Oregon will not accept degrees from California Coast U nor Fredick Taylor U (though the ODA website currently only lists Frederick Taylor International University, but presumably the same entity as FTU, even though they are listed as being "seperate" institutions). However, SCUPS states in their literature that they WILL accept credits/degrees from California state approved institutions such as CCU & FTU.

I would appreciate it if someone would elaborate on this a little further or, at best, refer me to a previous post where this was addressed. I had no luck in my search.

Thanks alot.

C.U.

 

My Supervisor, and his Manager both had degrees from institutions listed on the ODA site. This was in Oregon. I was turned down for tuition reimbursement for a DL school, they made the claim that the school I wanted to use to pursue my MBA "... isn't a real school." I printed out the ODA list, and showed it to the Training Manager, stated: "This school is not on this list," making no mention of my boss's school being on the list. A couple of days later, my boss calls me into his office and tells me:
A;That the ODA site is just a union sort of thing that is biased against privately run schools
B; I have a bad attitude.
C; Just because a school is listed on the ODA site as a diploma mill does not mean they are a bad school, just that they are not publicly funded and so those left-wingers down in Eugene are biased.
D; I have a bad attitude.
E; If the Scottish Government approved school I wanted to study through was OK as I claimed, then there must be nothing wrong with his Liberian Government approved school. (Note, I never claimed there was)
F; I have a bad attitude

I'm now very happy in my new job, and they are very happy with me

 

I can only speculate. My understanding is that the Oregon statute is quite clear that the only degrees that should be accepted within Oregon are degrees that are accredited or fully equivalent to accredited degrees. If there's any question then the ODA seems to play it safe. This seems reasonable to me since it is fairly safe to assume that if an unaccredited school has been around for years and has not yet been accredited then the reason is probably because they couldn't get accredited if they tried. Please note that there are exceptions to this rule (that's why the ODA needs to rule on the question) but I believe that generally the rule is a good one. This too is supported by the fact that so few unaccredited schools are considered acceptable by the ODA.

 

Bill & Jerry,

Thanks for your replies.

Jerry, I wonder if your boss has a bad attitude?

Bill,

SCUPS has been around (as they claim) since 1978. That's 25 years of unaccredited action. Which, as you state, means they probably couldn't get accredited if they tried. I agree, the ODA needs to rule on this. I simply find it very hard to believe that you could use a degree from SCUPS to psychologically treat patients, but you couldn't use their business degree to manage Burger King.

Have a great one,

C.U.

 

Do we know that SCUPS graduates can treat patients in Oregon? Most likely clinical psychology is a regulated profession in that state, and psychology licensing and practice are governed by different rules and statutes. I'd guess that SCUPS doesn't qualify individuals for clinical psychology licenses in Oregon. But ODA approval would mean that graduates could use their degrees in other unregulated ways.

If an individual wanted to use a SCUPS BBA to get a restaurant management job in Oregon, he/she could ask the ODA to approve the BBA program. That would mean the ODA convincing itself that the program would qualify for Oregon approval if it were located in Oregon.

 

That depends, upon the company and the amount of experience. When I was at Dell we had "Engineers" that didn't have degree's but ton's of experience. It all boils down to what a company is looking for.

 

If a person is extraordinarily talented, or has very, very good connections, then a degree may not be extremely important. However, the vast majority of us fall into neither of these categories.

I think that if you look at the entire population of people who have 15 years of IT experience and no degree, very few have attained anything remotely close to the level of achievement that your Director has.

 

My Director has no "degree". He has 15 yrs of experience in IT after high school. I work for a fortune 500 company.

Degree does'nt matter ?