What is the down side of working as adjunct for a less than wonderful school?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Randell1234, Aug 26, 2004.

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  1. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    What is the down side of working as an adjunct for a "less than wonderful school"?

    A school like K-W for example.
     
  2. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    How about having ACICS or DETC experience on your resume when putting in for a faculty position at a RA school?
     
  3. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    Some might not consider it a down side, but some members of this forum might say things like, "so-and-so has gone over to the dark side". Slightly before my time on a.e.d. there was a fellow named Emir that took a job with KWU. He stopped posting as soon as it was discovered that he was working for KWU.
     
  4. DaveHayden

    DaveHayden New Member

    I think a bigger problem would be that RA schools are unlikely to hire some one who has worked at a degree mill. I would avoid it at all cost. It would be much better to take a position with a local community college.
     
  5. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Be careful, many of these schools only put your name of their catalog and you never get to teach even one student (never see even one penny). Once, I responded to an ad in the chronicle for an online position, it happened to be a startup unaccredited school (American Capitol University), the first thing they sent was a form to five them consent to use my name for a catalog. Once I signed, I never heard from them again, they probably sent their catalogs with my name, but never had even one student.

    I don't see nothing wrong by teaching for an unaccredited school as long as it is an honorable place, however, KW is hot and seen by many as a scam. They might also do the same thing as the other places and use your name without getting paid. Think about it, KW programs have very little course work and they have many faculty members, so it is very likely that most of the faculty members don't even get to teach one course per year but students get to see impressive credentials in a catalog.
     
  6. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    Probably a less dramatic version of the downside of graduating from one.

    Perhaps it's like this:

    Upside:

    Income. Except that many less than wonderfuls simply gather names of those who express willingness to mentor students, then list the names as if they were teaching staff, despite the fact that the name isn't on their payroll and may never have performed any work.

    An experience credit on a resume. But that's dependent on the person reading the resume not recognizing that the employer is less than wonderful.

    Downside:

    A blot on one's resume. If the person reading the resume recognizes the employer as less than wonderful, it will probably cast doubt on the rest. If one affiliation seems fake, how many other items can be trusted? At the least, it creates questions about the applicant's honesty and professional judgement.

    Painting a target on one's self. If people ever become controversial, a less than wonderful affiliation gives their enemies the perfect ammunition to try to discredit them.

    Bottom line:

    I think that teaching for a non-accredited school can be harmless, or even a good thing. But the amount of credibility that the affiliation gives a person depends on the credibility both of the school and of the affiliation itself.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 26, 2004
  7. oxpecker

    oxpecker New Member

    I would avoid this unless you are really comfortable with the quality of the institution and confident that your name will never appear in print or online material available to the public.

    My name has been listed on the "People" page of an unaccredited university for some years. My emails to the owner have gone unanswered. As with RFValve, I have never taught a class or advised/mentored any students at this institution. And I've never been paid anything. So the return has been zero, in terms of either satisfaction or money.

    It's a trap that no degreeinfo regular should have to fall into.
     
  8. tcnixon

    tcnixon Active Member


    Actually, Emir Mohammed worked at the equally dreadful Robert Kennedy College . He is no longer there, it seems. Through e-mails to some members here, it appears that he regrets that decision. His Angelfire website is here. There's no longer anything on the home page, but some of the other pages are still there.



    Tom Nixon
     
  9. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the correction, Tom!
     

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