Whoa - Definantly not a mill - Sarasota

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Manda, Jun 5, 2001.

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  1. Manda

    Manda New Member

    I may not know much but I know the school is accredited and several students have made comments to me that the work and the expectations are extremely high.... Thus someone either them or you has a problem with the truth.......
    Note that Bear's and Peterson's guide state that the university is accredited


    WHAT IS GOING ON HERE????????
     
  2. Ike

    Ike New Member

    Hi Manda,
    There are many ill-informed people in this world, including some who post on this board. Any person who refers to University of Sarasota as a degree mill is a joker. Period.

    Ike
     
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    And anyone who doesn't know that it was routinely called just such doesn't know his/her history.

    Perception is a common theme on this board. Sarasota has never been what most learned people would call a diploma mill. Still, it was called one (as were Union, Nova, and Walden) on occasion in print. That didn't make it so, but you still have to acknowledge it.

    It's amazing how things have changed over the past two decades. If I had wanted to pursue a degree from an unaccredited school in 1980, I would have taken one from Columbia Pacific University. Hands down. The Union was in and out of bankruptcy court (and losing its candidacy for accreditation along the way). Walden didn't look much more accreditable than California Coast, and Sarasota looked even less so. (Walden didn't get a good shot at accreditation until it moved out of Florida--and the jurisdiction of the Southern Association.) In fact, Sarasota was on par with Gulf States, which folded and transferred its students to Sarasota.

    Yes, things have changed tremendously. Schools that used to be considered sub-standard (at best) are now vigorously defended as if their roots were intertwined with ivy. The new and experimental are scorned. And both are done with little insight or historical perspective. Maybe things haven't changed all that much. [​IMG]

    Rich Douglas
     
  4. Manda

    Manda New Member

    Rich,

    You have posted in the past and have been in this game for some time - is Sarasota as good as Nova, Capella, Walden.... So far students claim it to be more intense. Would anyone care to rank the DL - PhD's???

    Here's my list in NO ORDER:
    Sarasota - very flexable and cost efficient but not as well known and students claim too intense

    Nova - well known - cost, intensity

    Capella - well known - tuition problems

    Phonies - same as above

    Walden - well known - costs and reputation perception

    Union and Fielding - Can't make heads or tails of their structure - no exams, different courses

    Touro - Flexible - no graduates and somewhat initial tarnished reputation.
     
  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Well, a lot of it depends on what your needs are. Union is the most flexible. The learner--in conjunction with his/her committee--determines what study areas will be covered in the degree, along with the study methods and demonstration of mastery.

    Fielding and Walden set the study areas, but the student and committee are often given wide latitude regarding how the student will master the subjects.

    Touro did not have a tarnished intitial reputation. There was some small flak over their claim of accreditation prior to Middle States announcing it decided to include them in the home campus' accreditation. But that was really no big deal, except on boards like this. The public certainly didn't know about it.

    Nova is a road show. Courses are arranged for clusters of students in a particular location. There are students at-large, too. It is heavily structured.

    Capella isn't as well known as Walden, which got a 23-year head start.

    My take:

    Flexibility
    1. Union
    2. Fielding
    3. Walden

    Structure
    1. Nova
    2. Touro
    3. Sarasota

    Reputation
    1. Fielding
    2. Nova (could easily be #1)
    3. Walden

    Costs
    1. Union
    2. Sarasota
    3. Everyone else

    I Like
    1. Union
    2. Fielding
    3. Walden
    4. Nova
    5. Capella
    6. Sarasota
    7. Touro
     
  6. Manda

    Manda New Member

    I want a DBA or PhD to meet the requirements of a tenure track position. I recieved the position based on industry experince and a MBA combined with previous teaching experince. For the life of me I can't grasp what Union does.... at least not in their literature. What does a PhD from Union cost????????

    Oh and why is Sarasota low on your scale??
     
  7. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Sarasota isn't low; I consider all of these schools pretty well bunch because (a) they're accredited and (b) none are particularly good at getting you into a tenure-track position. That's not their purpose. As I've posted already, people looking to do that should really consider taking the next decade or so off and pursuing a degree program full-time that will get them in. But if I had to pick one that might get me there, I'd pick two: Union and Nova.

    Rich Douglas
     
  8. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Just tonight I was reviewing the catalog of Lesley University (formerly Lesley College), and their full-time (I assume mostly tenured) faculty has an unusually high number of Union Ph.D.'s. There are quite a few among their adjuncts also, and Union was the only obviously DL school I saw listed for doctorates. I did see some Goddard College & Vermont College Master's sprinkled about.

    Bruce
     

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