Heed University

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Nosborne, Oct 15, 2001.

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  1. Nosborne

    Nosborne New Member

    In another thread, someone mentioned Heed University, a D/L school in Wisconsin. I looked at its web site and it looked less-than-wonderful to ME. However, they've been around since 1970.
    Is Heed U a mill? Opinions? Experiences?
    Nosborne
     
  2. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    This is a very interesting question. Their website certainly leaves a lot to be desired (as do their degree requirements), but then again you can find Heed graduates on the faculty of RA schools, including DL standby The Union Institute- http://www.tui.edu/Faculty/FacultyGrad/Ormont.html

    In that particular case (Union), there is no question the faculty member was hired based on the Heed degree (her other degrees have no relevance to her teaching specialty), so I really don't know what to think. I would, however, like to see Steve Levicoff explain an unaccredited doctorate on the faculty of his alma mater. [​IMG]


    Bruce
     
  3. PSalmon

    PSalmon New Member

    Other RA schools with Heed University alums on faculty:

    Southern Connecticut State University: http://www.scsu.ctstateu.edu/grad/programs/MFT/index.php?file=gfaculty.html

    Stonehill College: http://www.stonehill.edu/catalog/book/106_CATALOGwPic_2002.htm

    Gwynedd-Mercy College: http://www.gmc.edu/academic/schools/artscience/faculty/lang_lit_fineart.htm

    St Ambrose University: http://vweb.sau.edu/mba/Academics/Faculty.htm

    Rowan University: http://www.rowan.edu/mars/cat98/ugradcat/education/special_ed.html

    Yeshiva University: http://www.yu.edu/catalog/undergrad/profs.html
     
  4. PSalmon

    PSalmon New Member

    Requirements for a Heed University PhD: Pay $10,500 and earn 80 credits, of which 20 credits are by dissertation and up to 60 credits by life experience ("learning acquired on the job or through travel and independent study...").
     
  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    These things are best understood in a historical context. During the 1970's, all nontraditional doctoral programs were unaccredited (Nova was the first to emerge as RA, but they're also backed by an on-campus program). It was hard to tell which would go on to legitimacy and which would not. It is likely the Union faculty member earned the Heed degree while Union itself was unaccredited, making its acceptance much more likely. (Although the listing doesn't give the date she earned her doctorate, she became a Union faculty member in 1980, when the then-UECU was unaccredited.) Also, Heed was considered a legitimate nontraditional school. One could not predict, at least early on, that Walden, for example, would go on to RA while Heed would not. It is clear in retrospect, but at the time legitimate academics were turning to nontraditional programs, and these programs were unaccredited.

    The "under tier" of unaccredited schools really didn't develop until the late 1970's and early '80's when some DL schools began getting accredited. Then, you could really tell that certain schools were always going to operate to a lesser standard, making it simpler to distinguish between classes of schools. Fielding, Walden, and Union are easily distinguished from CCU, CPU, and Heed. But it wasn't always so clear.

    Rich Douglas
     
  6. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Please, Bruce, don't promote war games on DegreeInfo. I can see the SCUD missiles flying already. [​IMG]

    Russell
     
  7. Nosborne

    Nosborne New Member

    I guess what bothered me was that their entire law faculty seems to consist of a SINGLE Ph.D./J.D. and an emeritus person, yet they offer a non-Bar J.D. (in as little as one year), the L.L.M. and a J.S.D. in any field of law. That seems a little thin to me...plus they are definately pricey. Am I missing something here? Why hasn't Wisconsin shut them down? Were they grandfathered? Heck, I could open a law school like THAT in my dining room!
    Nosborne
     
  8. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    That makes sense Rich, thanks. However, I still think Steve L. could have explained it a lot more colorfully. [​IMG]


    Bruce
     
  9. Peter French

    Peter French member

    Shhhhhhhhhhh! ...I do operate Heed from my dining room, but don't tell the whole bloody world!

    Where do you draw the line if you go down the '...well it used to be like this...' route?

    Carl Roger's daughter, Natalie has her PhD from Summit. So do many others in the Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology and alterntive therapy area. I don't know who signed her off there or who influenced her to study there, but i do understand that her father, Carl, did not discourage her. I have corresponded with her on other matters but respect her so there are questions one does not necessarily ask.

    Melvin Suhd who was influential in the Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics Institute, with John Goodlad in the Institute for the Development of Educational Activities in Southern California, in administering the Advisory for Open Education, in 1968 designed and administered the first University without Walls (funded by the US Dept of Labours Office of Child Development)which established Masters and Doctorate prgrams with the graduates becoming eligible for linces in psychology and marriage, and on resigning in 1986, joined with 5 other pioneers in UWW to set up Summit. [Melvin H Suhd in 'Positive Regard - Carl Rogers and Other Notables He Influenced']

    So, does this make Summit OK?

    When I read about Heed just recently, I initally thought that it was a joke. Well, start with the acronym! ...then look at the very generous advanced standing, and the apparent lack of rigour in the degree!

    It appears about as 'genuine' as any other 'less than wonderful' school. Maybe some one could do some research and write to each of the identified faculty and see what would like to tell us.

    If Heed is OK, so are a lot of others.

    ....and by the way, if this follows the pattern of my other recent contributions, it should close down this thread.

    Peter French
    Australia
     
  10. David Yamada

    David Yamada New Member

    Yup, their law program -- i.e., the Thomas Jefferson College of Law or whatever -- makes me queasy. It seems impossible to run even the most bare bones DL law program on the resources indicated in their online catalog.
     
  11. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Peter French writes, "Carl Roger's daughter, Natalie has her PhD from Summit...i do understand that her father, Carl, did not discourage her."

    One possible reason: Rogers died in 1987 and Summit was founded in 1988.
     
  12. Peter French

    Peter French member

    This one is really amazing. On the face of it they meet most of the criteria to be described as a degree mill, but if you do a 'google' check they have a large cross section of apparently reputable graduates - not just those mentioned in a later post.

    They seem pro-Jewish in more ways than one (neither a crime nor a sin - just an observation) are are fairly heavilly represented in certain areas of Psych. These are not just operatives in US, but are known out here as well.

    So, what is this place? How do their graduates obtain academic posts as they have done? Is it just that Psych people are different and go for this left field establishments? One comment made to me was tht '...if that is where XXX did their doctorate, it HAS to be accredited...' Or have we uncoivered another 'one of them'?

    Curiously ...

    Peter French
     
  13. amanda jane

    amanda jane New Member

    HI. Wondering about Heed colleges MBA. It looks good.

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  14. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Wonder some more. Lots more. Please.

    Oh, BTW, what looks good about it? Perhaps then we could be more responsive.

    Rich Douglas
     
  15. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    As I've noted in this thread, one has to consider a school like Heed in a historical context. When the person in question was hired, both the Union and Heed were unaccredited. Heed (whose materials I once received about 20 years ago) was considered one of many nontraditional institutions. It is likely the faculty member was hired more on what she did to earn the doctorate--or with whom she studied--than the prestige of the institution. I'm sure you'll find people with pre-accreditation Walden, Fielding, and Union degrees working at colleges and universities, too. In the year 2001 Heed doesn't look like such a hot prospect. But in 1978....?

    You could look it up.

    Rich Douglas
     
  16. Peter French

    Peter French member

    ...assuming that thses people we have found got their degrees in 1978 - try 1998, and then what is the opinion? It is as if Heed is 'different' in some opinions here, and that is what mystifies me, but maybe i am easily mystified :))

    Peter French
     
  17. David Yamada

    David Yamada New Member

    Isn't one of the biggest sea changes in our attitude toward graduate-level DL the fact that credit for life experience and for prior writings is no longer considered appropriate by most people who weigh in on these issues?

    When CPU, Heed, Fairfax, Greenwich, Clayton etc., were the major players in the 70s and early 80s (and, ironically, Union was teetering financially), one of their selling points was that a professionally accomplished individual should have options for earning graduate-level credit for their work accomplishment and publications. Indeed, I believe that even Union used to grant considerable amounts of credit in this manner.

    I do think that this has been one of the conforming pressures of accreditation. In expressing some willingness to accredit DL institutions and programs at the graduate level, liberal credit for past work & writings apparently was one of the major pieces that went by the wayside with many schools that pursued RA.

    In borrowing from Earon Kavanaugh's description of the CPU story, we see an evolving "social construction" of degree mills, in that schools that once were seen as pioneering because they gave liberal amounts of credit for prior experience & writings now are regarded as suspect or even worse if they use this practice at the graduate level.
     
  18. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    I could not find an address on their web site, other than "Milwaukee, Wisconsin" (but they have no listed phone there). The web site is registered to an address in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. My recollection is that for some years, they claimed to be operating from the Virgin Islands. Confusing, if not unsettling.
     
  19. Hille

    Hille Active Member

    Anything new on Heed? Out of curiousity I've tried to get more information and have come up with 0. Thanks . Have a peaceful evening.

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  20. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    Yeah. HU 's address is the same commercial mail service I used when I spent a year in seminary outside of Milwaukee. Great packagers, free mints, kind to disabled--but I never saw a university hiding in there anywhere.
     

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