Clayton University and Its Former Life

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by David, Jun 1, 2001.

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  1. David

    David New Member

    I recently looked up Clayton University which, if it is the school I heard about back in the '70's, apparently began life as American-International Open University.
    I have always wished that they would expand into Europe and accept the occasional rabbinical student (Yeshiva) and rename themselves "AEIOU and sometimes Y".

    ------------------
    David
     
  2. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I don't have the Clayton file in front of me, but I believe they started out calling themselves "Open University" first, then AIOU, then settling on Clayton (named after a St. Louis suburb).

    Clayton made some inroads to acceptability once by qualifying for recognition by the USDOE under a then-available provision for unaccredited schools. They had to show that at least three accredited schools accepted credits from at least 3 Clayton students each (hence the "3x3 rule"). Doing so qualified their students for some forms of federal financial aid. Back in the late 70's and early 80's, when the regionals were largely ignoring stand-alone DL schools, this was a big deal. I dont' recall any of the other DL biggies in the day going through this before the process disappeared a few years later.

    Rich Douglas, who thinks Clayton should change its name to Terry Malloy University.
     
  3. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Very nice, David.

    They could work with the slightly famous ABCDEF Department at Fresno State University
    (http://www.csufresno.edu/web/resources/academictemp/abcdef.htm)
     
  4. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    Check out the CSUFresno Department of ABCDEF's clear mission statement:

    So that's what happened to my stock portfolio. LOL
    http://www.csufresno.edu/web/resources/academictemp/program.htm
     
  5. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Yeah, but gfdjklfduo is illegal in 27 states and Guam.
     
  6. Craig Hargis

    Craig Hargis Member

    Clayton University is back up on the net. You can get the site on Google "Clayton University." They claim some kind of affiliation with UNESCO (how original). Many of the directors appear to be Japanese, but largely without explanation there is a picture of President Ford (reportedly talking with someone about Clayton) in the Oval Office. Perhaps Ford is asking the guy where the money they ran off with in 1996 is. The MBA is "accredited by one of the, I think authentic, accounting guilds in the UK. Clayton University is now located in Hong Kong, but claims degree granting authority from good ol' MO, USA. What gives?


    Craig
     
  7. Mike Albrecht

    Mike Albrecht New Member

    Of course then would come the push to accept Wicans and then be "AEIOU and sometimes Y & W". But then most religious schools probably except wicans instead.
     
  8. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I didn't realize they were ever "down." They've been operating from Asia for years, offering degrees at all levels without requiring any work. They do not have their Missouri authority any more. (It was granted at a time when Missouri was a pushover in these matters.)

    Clayton University "exists" only in cyberspace. But the spurious diplomas they (Eugene Stone, actually) issue are on very real paper.

    Rich Douglas
     
  9. mathguy

    mathguy New Member

    Clayon University operated from a Missouri address in the 1980s. The school ceased operations and did not bother to place the transcripts of former or current students with a repository institution. Although the degree is worthless former students cannot obtain copies of their transcipts. The president then and now is Eugene Stone.
     
  10. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    For years, Ray Chasse, who ran American Coastline and 6 or 7 other schools from New Orleans, had somehow managed to obtain the Clayton records, and was offering to provide transcripts through a Clayton University (not quite the same one) that he established from a convenience address in Mobile. I have no idea what became of this curious service after Chasse's death in 2000. Somewhere out there in cyberspace is Jon Chasse, the son, who may or may not be running American Coastline and may or may not know anything about the Clayton matter.
     
  11. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

  12. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Pauling and Clayton:

    I dimly remember looking into that. Apparently true. I don't know if this one was done that way, but there have been cases where someone is appointed (without their knowledge or permission) to an honorary committee, notified by mail, and if they don't immediately squawk and say "No," they were deemed to have accepted.

    Clayton did qualify for US guaranteed loans in the 70s, and appeared in the Higher Education Directory as a result.

    I find the short letter from Brunel on the site Mark found rather touching. The "Carl Rogers Memorial Professor" writes that the "Batchelor" degree of Clayton can be used by "Dtudents" in the "Phd" at Brunel.
     
  13. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

    http://www.culhk.com/defaulteng6a.html

    "Dtudents" I can believe. Remember, this was a professor trying to type a letter on a typewriter.

    Prof. Laurie F. Thomas is or was a real person: "Leading Brunel scholars in psychology such as Marie Jahoda, Robert Borger and Laurie Thomas also developed the unique four year 'thin sandwich' undergraduate degree system, which has been built on a close interplay between academic psychology and its deployment in everyday practice." -- http://www.brunel.ac.uk/depts/hs/degrees/pg/Psychology.doc

    Here are the titles of some of Prof. Thomas's books, from the British Library Public Catalogue http://blpc.bl.uk/. I thought the first one was interesting:

    [1] The art and science of getting a degree. [by Sheila Harri-Augstein, Laurie F. Thomas]
    Harri-Augstein. E. Sheila
    [1979]
    [2] The self-organized learner and the printed word. Centre for the Study of Human Learning, Brunel University. [authors] Laurie F. Thomas & E. Sheila Harri-Augstein
    Brunel University. Centre for the Study of Human Learning
    [1978?]
    [3] Learning conversations. the self-organised learning way to personal and organisational growth. Sheila Harri-Augstein and Laurie F. Thomas
    Harri-Augstein. E. Sheila
    1991
    [4] Reading to learn. Sheila Harri-Augstein, Michael Smith and Laurie Thomas
    Harri-Augstein. E. Sheila
    1982
    [6] Self-organised learning. foundations of a conversational science for psychology. Laurie F. Thomas and E. Sheila Harri-Augstein
    Thomas. Laurie F.
    1985
    [7] Experimenting with personal construct psychology. edited by Fay Fransella, Laurie Thomas
    1988
     
  14. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    IIRC, Linus Pauling appeared on the letterhead, but he was never involved with the school.

    Clayton won US Office of Education approval back when an unaccredited school could apply directly. It had to show that its credits had been accepted by a few accredited schools.

    It really looked for a brief moment that Clayton would make headway with the NCA, but the school just didn't have it all together. It was criticized in the press for its shortcomings, and the efforts towards accreditation faded away. Eventually, so did the school.

    The founder, Eugene Stone, still sells Clayton degrees from Asia. (Clayton was named after the St. Louis suburb it was located in.)
     

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