Hello to everyone: I would greatly appreciate if anyone could share with me their knowledge or opinion about Vancouver University and Washington School of Law. Vancouver U. operates a external degree format similar to that offered by the U. of South Africa and U. of London. Washington is a distance learning institution offering postgraduate degrees in Taxation. They claim to be well-established institutions. Indeed, the information I have gathered about these institutions leads me to conclude that their claim is well-founded. But, perhaps there is anyone out there who knows something that I do not. Thanks for your comments! EMRQ
The only link I could find was from the Strategis website that is in the governmental domain: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/ccc/search/navigate.do?language=eng&portal=1&estblmntNo=123456168460&profile=completeProfile However this is only a company listing directory, so I wouldn't count on this information towards the recognition of the school. I would like to point out however that Canadian Universities have to have a minimum edcuational standard prescribed by the provincial governments, and is mostly equivalent to Regional Accreditation from an American perspective. I am not sure (and make no claims) about the exact status of this particular university though... Other than that, its American counterpart "Worldwide University" did not even have so much as a blip on the radar screen in the Chea institutional database. Anyone else have any information?
You might wish to do a search for Vancouver University Worldwide on this forum; it has been discussed a number of times. I am not aware of any properly accredited university in Canada, the US, or worldwide, that has a regular policy of accepting their degrees. Use of those degrees, as I read the situation, in New Jersey, Illinois, Oregon, North Dakota, and any other states that regulate degree use as well as schools.
Washington School of Law is a bit of a mystery to me. ODA lists it as a substandard school whose degrees may not be used in Oregon. On the other hand, IRS seems to consider its courses as being acceptable continuing education for enrolled agents. The school does not offer the J.D. It offers only advanced law degrees in taxation (LL.M. and J.S.D.) and their non-lawyer equivalents. I don't think WSL is a diploma mill. They've been offering this program for years both D/L and resident. D/L students get videotapes of the lectures.
Vancouver University is the Canadian version of Robert de Sorbon in France. I received a letter from the Minister of Education of British Columbia stating that Vancouver University is not authorized to grant degrees in that province (therefore in Canada). The goverment of BC has tried to shut them down several times. The school uses the same old trick that many schools use (Including Robert de Sorbon in France) of granting degrees based on work experience and they validate themselves by using their own interpretation of the law (like Sorbon). It operates based on a TESL private school license. In few words, don't bother to invest your time and effort in a worthless piece of paper.
Thank you for your comments. I gather that Vancouver U. must be disregarded. On the other hand, Washington School of Law is definitely a great option for either CPA's or attorneys already admitted to practice in some jurisdiction. For an attorney what really matters is that the J.D. degree be from an American Bar Assn (ABA) institution and to approve a state bar. It does not make a difference whether the advanced law degree is unaccredited. As long as the graduate institution is legitimate and operates under legal authority, any such school should be a good option. The same applies to CPA's. Further, it appears that WSL has been established and operating legally for over 25 years, which makes it quite a credible institution. In addition, their academic offering is of a top quality. They have a fairly decent explanatory bulletin in their web page, and there is always someone willing to help you during working hours. I realize that anyone wishing to become an academician would be limited by having a degree from an unaccredited institution in which case other options should be considered. But WSL seems like a great choice next to a traditional university.
W-e-e-e-l-l...I wouldn't want to leave you with QUITE that impression about Washington. The employment market outside the academy for LL.M. holders is pretty well restricted to taxation. So far, so good. But I'd be surprised to learn that any major law firm would consider a WCL LL.M. as having any real value. Law firms are funny; at the J.D. level they discriminate all over the place based on little but tradition and superstition. Smaller firms MIGHT consider a WCL LL.M. as having some value; it's hard to say. The federal government, which hires a LOT of tax LL.M.s, probably wouldn't accept the W.C.L. degree since the feds pretty well always require an ABA J.D. and I see no reason to think they'd be more liberal about the LL.M. And, of course, claiming the W.C.L. degree is plain ILLEGAL in Oregon. Bottom line: I think you could learn a good deal about federal taxation at W.C.L. Since a tax LL.M. is not a bedrock requirement for any law job, there would be no need to mention it, I suppose, provided one could get the job with no LL.M. at all. If I were looking for a D/L tax LL.M. instead of the criminology LL.M. I'm slogging through, I wouldn't go W.C.L. I'd go with Taft. Taft offers the only D/L LL.M. in American (as opposed to international) taxation that is even DETC accredited, and thus legal in all states. Two ABA accredited schools have offered D/L LL.M.s in INTERNATIONAL taxation, Regent and St. Thomas, but the sole remaining such program is (I believe) St. Thomas. No one but Taft offers an accredited LL.M. in American tax by D/L, to my knowledge, anyway.
