Any good list of unaccredited schools that aren't degree mills?

Is there any good list of unaccredited schools that aren't degree mills? I'd like to know what other schools out there that aren't in california, perhaps in other countries that aren't accredited, but have a "fair" reputation. Is there a definitive listing anywhere?

 

No list that I know of. Two unaccredited schools (both religious) that are well thought of are Bob Jones University & Pensacola Christian College. Bob Jones University has a reputation for excellent academics and their graduates do well in national exams and get accepted to good graduate schools & med schools. They also have some DL courses. The school has one of the best collections of religious art in the country.

Steve Levicoff lists some other religious schools (in this case all religious degrees). None approach the reputation of BJU.

The problem with any non accredited degree even with as great an academic reputation as BJU is utility. You will find some doors closed. The organization I work for only accepts accredited degrees (Regional/National/Foreign equivalent), so even BJU would not work.

North

 

Thanks. Well, maybe I'll just stick with Cal Coast and Pacific Western. It would have been nice to check out a correspondence program in France, or somewhere in the Caribbean.

 

If you want to consider accredited degrees you might want to look at the University of South Africa. Very affordable, good reputation and available through DL. You can inquire through the Canadian rep for UNISA as it seems to work better than the US version. It is the equivalent of accredited and should therefore get you into graduate school if that is a goal.

I don't think anyone has inquired but you might want to check out the University of Zululand (also very affordable).

Another foreign alternative is University of London. Good reputation, very affordable, and the equivalent of accredited.

Lastly, with current tax breaks for education I suspect that any small difference in cost between TESC, Excelsior, COSC as compared with CCU disappears.

North

 

Well, I still prefer CCU over any of those schools even at the same price. I don't see them as being the same when I calculate things out. The "big three' come out to about $5000-10,000. I could go to community college and pay $11 a credit if i wanted to.
I work nearly 50 hours a week, and the whole program would take me around 5 to 10 years from where I am at.

 

You have beaten this topic to death in another thread. Since you asked I posted but I am not sure why you asked? You seem determined for rather peculiar reasons to proceed with your CCU plans without regard to there being cheaper domestic and foreign options that will result in more utility. This is not subject but an objective fact.

So, all I can do is wish you the best Brandon with your studies (and I mean that sincerely). Viel Gluck! Buena Suerte! Bon Chance! Let us know how you enjoy your courses. From what has been posted here they do not appear to be too strenuous and should be relatively stress free for you in your 50 hr week.

North

 

No, this is not a "fact". $5,000 is not cheaper than $3,500. I posted this thread to learn about "other" cheap alternatives besides the ones that everyone already knows about (such as "University of South Africa", etc) particularly unaccredited foreign degrees. I have been looking through various websites and found it very difficult to locate the cost of attending some of these institutions. I just wanted to save myself the time of manually checking out every institution in France, etc to find one that offers affordable distance learning.

 

You crack me up

As I said good luck! Should be easy to fit your CCU studies into your busy week. Keep looking you may find something cheaper and even less strenuous.

If you really want cheap and unaccredited....you can complete an Associates in Religious Education through Family Radio. Free (they really do not bug you for money) and all sorts of biblical courses including Hebrew and Greek. Courses have a mixture of multiple choice exams and essay style questions.

http://www.familyradio.com

North

 

One correction Brandon If you use the self study and testing method COSC is about $2100. TESC and Excelsior are probably a little more (about $2600). Again good luck but I truly believe you are missing the boat when you could get an RA degree for less.

 

If you are looking for a cheap, foreign, unaccredited degree, perhaps a perusal of http://www.universitydegree.com will be helpful.

1. It is foreign: Offices in Cyprus and Denmark.
2. It is cheap: Ph.D.'s for $395.
3. It is unaccredited.

Now the big question is: IS IT REAL?

 

Right. I know, but i said "that aren't diploma mills" which would have eliminated that particular institution.
Cyprus is a pretty neat little country, though(or countries rather).

 

Does Family Radio offer a free Ph.D. as well? I'm always in the market for a Ph.D. bargain.

 

That's true, but I'd prefer to just take CLEP exams at the local community college on the side. If I can pass the CLEP tests with information I learn at Cal Coast I could earn "double credit" at an RA institution. In terms of accredited schools, I'm only interested in an AA degree and a certificate of achievement in a political field. I won't attend Charter Oak because it sounds like a funeral home.

 

Oh and I forgot to say that I'm not interested in any of the religious schools since I'm not religious. I have always had a small obsession with Greek Mythology, but that's about as far as I'm willing to get into anything of a religious nature. I have nothing against the religious schools personally, though.

 

The problem with unaccredited schools is that they have not gone through any accepted quality evaluation process. As such people generally cannot trust the credentials/degrees granted by these unaccredited schools. The unaccredited schools that have at least a fair reputation have already been mentioned. In other words, the list is extremely short. If the school is good it will go for accreditation because that generally will open up their market. Almost all the unaccredited schools are non-wonderful and their degrees have a very minimal utility. If you are really interested in something below first rate then I sincerely suggest you consider DETC accredited schools. You can find some very marginal schools in that second rate category.

 

Well, I'm not concerned with accreditation, period. I'd like to take a look at some DETC schools just for the hell of it though.

 

Okay good, when discussing the reputations of DETC accredited schools, they are much closer to one another. What that means is that subjective opinion plays a much larger role than when comparing unaccredited versus accredited. I assume that you're interested in looking at the worst DETC schools.

My opinion is that there's probably two DETC schools sharing the bottom rung of that reputation ladder. ACCIS and Hawthorne(?), both have changed their name a number of times. ACCIS formerly AICS showed great dishonesty by claiming bogus accreditation right up to the day that they received DETC accreditation. Also they didn't accept students from their own state which is another sign of non-wonderfulness. They specialize in computer degree related programs. It is a school that was started by Dr. Loyd Clayton, who started up some other non-wonderful schools.

Regarding the other school my memory fails me. But I think they where called ICS at one time and they were the school that advertised on matchbook covers very heavily. You could get a degree in practically anything by checking your choice and mailing in the matchbook. As a kid I remember being very intrigued by the whole wonderful concept.

 

It is an interesting game. Brandon (and Broderick) post messages that essentially say they're going to "attend" CCU. Many others--including me at times--engage them with all the facts, logic, and reality surrounding such a decision. They say they're going to do it anyway. We say fine. Then they post again about their decision, being a bit more provocative, and the cycle renews.

Silly, this game. And typical of the internet. But it accomplishes nothing.

I really couldn't care less which school these guys choose. (Or if they do at all, assuming this isn't a red herring.) If and when they actually make substantive statements about it, I might want to jump in. But it's going to take a lot more than the "tastes great, less filling" nature of this one.

I look forward to the day when either of them finishes and regales us in their post-graduation accomplishments using their degrees. But I'm not holding my breath.

 

Good School

Look at Kennedy-Western. They are state liscened, and use RA professors. They also make you work on an intense final thesis prior to graduating. I ran an internet search and found that may RA Professors list their PhD's w/KWU. They have offices in CA, but are lisenced in WY. As the US DoE states, degree granting institutions must be either RA/NA or State Liscenced, so they are 100% legit and legal, as well as, accepted by many Fortune 500 companies. They are not tied like BJU to an fundementalist group, rather they offer a way for mid-career professionals to earn a degree.

Good Luck,

RJT

 

Re: Good School

Yes, Look at Kennedy-Western. They moved their license from California to Idaho, then to Wyoming, when California decided to regulate all unaccredited schools, then Idaho got tough. Rather than meet the state's approval requirements, they moved their degree-granting authority to one state, then another, that didn't care. Legitimate universities don't do these things.

Kennedy-Western also set itself up to run from Hawaii, but has since dissolved that presence. Legitimate universities don't set up mail-forwarding post office boxes in other states as aces-in-the hole.

As the poster notes, K-W is still run from California, despite its Wyoming address. This isn't done at legitimate universities.

K-W has been legally enjoined from enrolling students in its home state of California. This doesn't occur at legitimate universities.

K-W cannot enroll students in Oregon. This doesn't occur at legitimate universities.

There is no evidence to support the claim that K-W degrees are accepted by "many Fortune 500 companies." To my knowledge this has not been measured and reported. (You can't count K-W's statement in its literature. Not only is it unsubstantiated, it doesn't make it clear whether the companies listed represent those that proactively evaluated and approved K-W (perhaps for tuition reimbursement or for hiring/promotion purposes), or whether the list just represents some of the companies K-W students worked for.) Legitimate universities do not make such claims.

The professors-with-unaccredited-degrees issue has been discussed to no end. Please provide examples of professors in positions requiring a doctorate who hold K-W doctorates. That challenge has been issued many times without once being answered.

As was noted on another thread, there is a serious difference between what is legal and what is legitimate. K-W is the former (in some places, others not), but it is certainly not the latter.