LaSalle University

Good or Bad?

 

As a school it looks good. What specifically were you looking for?

 

It's RA, so that's good. I've also heard the name before, so there is probably some 'brand name' recognition...

Rhonda

 

The LaSalle University in Louisiana. I've heard different things about it. My search on the Internet finds that this University was raided in 1997 by the F.B.I and it's founder sent to prison. I've also heard they changed the name to Orion University.

I am unable to find anything on Orion. I suppose what I'm really getting at is that I was pursuing a student affiliation with the ICSIA and come to find out the Executive Director of the organization claims a BS degree in Criminal Justice in 1995. Are these degree's good?


Here's the Bio:

http://www.feinc.net/resume.htm

 

Stay away from LaSalle University in Louisiana. It's a known diploma mill and not accredited.

Rhonda

 

What's it going to take to get thread-starters around here to start providing a link to the institutions about which they are inquiring so that everyone will be on the same page?

 

What Greg said. Are you referring to the mill in Louisiana, or the legitimate school located in Philadelphia, PA?

If you're referring to the LaSalle Univ. in Philly, then this is definitely a quality institution.

AH, I SEE NOW THAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO THE LOUISIANA MILL.. AH WELL, PERHAPS SOMEONE WILL BENEFIT FROM THE "REAL" LASALLE UNIV. INFO... PERSONALLY, I'M EYEING UP THEIR MA IN CLINICAL COUNSELING PYSCHOLOGY.

Home Page: http://www.lasalle.edu

A little backgrounder on LaSalle:

- LaSalle, a Catholic institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1863.
- LaSalle is an RA school (Middle States).
- LaSalle competes at the Division I level in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
- LaSalle offers traditional day and evening degree programs (however, it does not offer online degrees).
- While LaSalle does offer a number of Masters programs, it currently only offers one Doctoral program - an APA accredited PsyD. program.

Source: http://www.lasalle.edu/univcomm/glance.php

- Tom

 

I stated in a prior post Louisiana, and if I would have found a link to this University I would have posted it, hence the questions.

To read my post one would understand that what I'm truly getting at is that I was considering a student affiliation with the ICSIA (Crime Scene Investigators) because that is my field of study. However, as I stated I found that the Executive Director claims a BS in Criminal Justice from this University in 1995. So, one could see why I probably would want to reconsider. Was this University awarding accredited degrees prior to 1997?

 

What a shame that an otherwise stellar resume is tainted like that.

 

But you didn't say any of that in your thread-starting post. It's the responsibility of the person who initiates the communication to ensure that he makes himself clear; just as it is equally the responsibility of anyone responding to ensure that she makes herself clear. That's Speech 101.

But, no matter... it's no big deal. Here's some information that may help...

From both a bit of my own Googling, and what's on pages 273 and 274 of tbe 15th edition of Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning:

• LaSalle operated as a degree mill until mid-1997, when it was sold to new and serious owners. At its September 8, 2000 meeting, the Louisiana Board of Regents clamped down on LaSalle. From its minutes of that meeting:
  
  "On motion of Regent Dees, seconded by Regent Rambin, the Board voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Planning, Research and Performance Committee to approve an operating license for LaSalle University with the following stipulations:
  
  "1. LaSalle University must discontinue immediately new enrollment in certificate programs and discontinue any advertisement regarding these programs;
  2. LaSalle University must complete an application for accreditation with a USDOE recognized accrediting association as soon as allowed under the accrediting association's Guidelines;
  3. LaSalle University must gain accreditation within a reasonable time frame as established by the accrediting association. The accrediting association will inform the Board of Regents of the projected date of final determination of accreditation.
  
  "The Board of Regents reserves the right to revoke the license in the event that LaSalle University does not meet one or more of the above stipulations. Additionally, the Board of Regents reserves the right to revoke the license in the event that LaSalle University does not meet the Conditions of Eligibility or the threshold requirements of a Readiness Visit as determined by the accrediting association."
  
  In October 2000, the name was changed to Orion College, but the old LaSalle continued as well for those students who wished to finish a LaSalle degree for whatever reason. The entire enterprise went out of business in 2002. Here is the chronology, which may be helpful in evaluating a LaSalle degree:
  
  1986 through 1997: LaSalle operates as a diploma mill (although there were some students who did real work, even though they didn't have to).
  
  1997 through January 1999: Run legally by new owners, although some students still may be doing the less-demanding work of the old LaSalle.
  
  January 1999 through Octobver 2000: All students doing courses designed to meet DETC standards; they all switch to Orion College. No new enrollments under the old LaSalle standards, or lack of same.
  
  October 2000: Orion College begins.
  
  Summer, 2002: Orion/LaSalle Closes.
  
  The "old" LaSalle University was established by James Kirk (also known as Thomas McPherson and Thomas Kirk), who had earlier operated Southland University and International University (Louisiana). Following ten years of operation in Missouri and Louisiana, the school was raided in July 1996 by a joint task force of the FBI, the Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service, after a five-year investgation. Kirk and several colleagues were subsequently indicted on 18 counts of mail fruad, tax fraud, money laundering and other charges; and more than $10 million in cash was confiscated. The indictmaents claimed among other things that more than 15,000 students were being handled by fewer than five faculty, none of them with traditional academic credentials; that the university was run by a church Kirk had established for the purpose of tax evasion; and that the accreditation was from a nonexistent agency established by LaSalle. Kirk pleaded guilty, in a plea bargain, and was sentenced to five years in federal prison. He was ordered never to operate a school again. (Kirk married for the fifth or sixth time while in prison, and his new wife's name appears on the literature fo Acton [originally Edison] University, which operated from a secretarial service in Hawaii, using literature almost identical to LaSalle's.) LaSalle students and graduates prior to mid-1997 were given the option of a full refund, but only if they turned in their diplomas, an option accepted by a relatively small number of alumni.

Even if one does not have a copy of Bears' Guide, one can easily find much of this sort of information on the web by merely doing a good Google search. The following search string seem to work well:

• +"lasalle university" +louisiana

Adding +mill to the above search string makes it even more interesting.

Hopefully, the answers you seek are in there somewhere.

Best of luck!

 

I remember several years ago when "60 Minutes" did an expose on LaSalle University (the mill). They used to grade term papers by weighing them on a postage scale. The more the paper weighed, the higher the grade. The owner and operator also awarded himself and others on the "staff" doctoral degrees, with no authority behind them whatsoever (and certainly no work done for them). It was quite the scam.

 

Dang...I thought you were speaking of the "real" LaSalle...the Catholic one.

 

LaSalle's founder, James Kirk, served four years in federal prison, during which time he opened Edison (later Addison, then Acton) University, run from his prison cell. He's out now and, guess what, involved with several other fine institutions.

Of curiosity, Mr. Moderator, does DegreeInfo have guidelines for how much copyrighted material, in a single quotation, can/should be posted here? 431 words seems a bit much. Just wondering.

 

Doesn't James Kirk go on to captain a starship in the 2500's or so? Interstellar diploma mills might be very popular in the future.

 

Are you counting the green words? If so, those aren't from your book... but now I digress.

Aren't you the copyright holder? If so, are you saying you mind? If not, are you saying whomever is the copyright holder minds? I mean, I'm fairly certain that every time your books get quoted from around here it makes people want their own copy and probably sends them straight to Amazon to get one. But, hey... if you're serious, I can fix that problem lickety split; and not quote from your books ever again.

Or was your comment tongue-in-cheek and I'm missing it... and, if so, joke on me?

Let me know, one way or the other. I'l play it however you wish.

 

I was genuinely curious about guidelines, since the issue often arises here, and I am still genuinely curious. Seems to me if I were making a policy, it might relate to percentages. Quoting 431 words from a 432-word article is different from quoting 431 words from an entire book.

As it happens, I don't hold the copyrights to any of "my" education books (except Degree Mills); sold them to Pearson who in turn sold them to Ten Speed. Of course I don't mind what you did, and grant you full permission to quote 431 words (not including the green ones) whenever you wish from anything of the 27 books on which I do hold copyright. But I bet if your pal Le(a)rner quoted 431 contiguous words from Noam Chomsky and/or Danielle Steel (now there's a concept), someone might have something to say.

 

Yes because history would indicate that it would not likely be attributed to anyone else within his post. He is generally criticized for not properly attributing the quote not quoting too much.

 

Thank you, Bill. That's exactly right.

And to what do I owe this new criticism...

...and insult from you, John?

 

I have just done a telephone survey of the other 7.748 members of DegreeInfo, fortunately reaching every single one of them. Of those, 7,747 understood that I was being facetious when I referred to Gregg's "pal Le(a)rner."

I am truly sorry that Gregg believed that I was criticizing him, and I apologize for causing him a measure of distress or concern.

John Bear

PS: In the interest of improved clarity and avoidance of potential misunderstandings, I feel the need to make clear that I did not really speak to 7,748 people this morning.

 

What? You mean that person who called to survey me about my Spanish television viewing habits was not you? Well, I guess that you'll have to bring the number down to 7,746

LaSalle Philadelphia...Good...LaSalle Louisiana...Bad...Me Tarzan...