The Good Bad and Ugly of Online Colleges

Saw this article today at officer.com.

Seems the driver to get education is promotions, at least maybe in the law enforcement ranks. For me, I doubt I will get a promotion because of a doctorate.

http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=19&id=26513

 

It looks like the standard article about distance education and accreditation. I don't really see anything new and exciting here.

 

The article is written with the usual biases: regional accreditation is viewed as more legitimate than national accreditation, national accreditation, specifically DETC, is compared to degree mills with their bogus accreditation bodies, and the academic rigor of distance education is said to be less than that of brick-and-mortar institutions.

In the future I can see distance education being the norm due to many factors. At least we can take some comfort in the knowledge we are paving the way for the generations which follow us.

 

Oh, I don't know. During the sniper spree here in the D.C. area, the police chief from Maryland, Charles Moose, had a Ph.D. from U. of Portland. He decided the rewards from writing a book about the investigation were worth more than keeping his job--a job that didn't allow him to cash in on job-related stuff.

I wouldn't be surprised if his doctorate was a factor in his selection as police chief. It might not make a difference in becoming a sergeant, but it adds luster to what is largely a big-picture job.

 

Re: Re: The Good Bad and Ugly of Online Colleges

Likely most police chiefs won't have such juicy cases, although many might have cases as tragic, to cash in on. You think the royalties off that book was worth leaving his job for? Maybe he could get another job easily with the publicity of that book. Maybe he wants to do something else, too.

The article pointed out that many police officers look to advanced education for promotion. They specifically mentioned police chief. For other policemen, it mentioned that they were looking to teach criminal justice. The author then points out that they need a master's for that.

 

Re: Re: The Good Bad and Ugly of Online Colleges

Yes and I think he had a law suit in the works too if I remember correctly.

 

Re: Re: The Good Bad and Ugly of Online Colleges

Interesting commentary from the web, who knows if any of it is true;

http://www.strike-the-root.com/3/rarey/rarey1.html

"He (Moose) enrolled at Portland State University (PSU) and in near record time acquired Masters and PhD degrees in Urban Studies. This at a time when those with the right political connections and/or financial wherewithal easily were awarded PhD’s while some well-qualified candidates struggled for years for the certificates. The Government of Turkey had bestowed a controversial multi-million dollar grant to the university for its Urban Affairs Department. Floods of Turkish PhD candidates then were processed through what almost appeared to be a diploma mill".

"This was also a time when PSU was rife with activity by radical Islamic students and faculty. One of the instructors in Moose’s PhD program was a self-proclaimed (former) Islamic terrorist from Egypt. The Israeli government had started denying student requests to study at PSU fearing for their safety".