California Pacific University

Because California Pacific University often gets mentioned around here as one of the good unaccredited schools (including by me), I thought I'd send off for their catalog. I was surprised and (a bit) disappointed by what I found.

On the plus side, CPU has been operating with full California approval since the late 1970's. They've always kept their curriculum offerings small, concentrating on doing a few things well. Their degree programs have always required a decent amount of work, and they've never claimed false accreditation. That said, here's what else I found:

CPU sent me a sales letter that is just this side of huckster-ism. It announces "a new Invitational Doctor of Business Administration Degree Program" beginning in February 2002. Well, I guess I better get right on it! The only differences between it and the one described in their catalog (which they also sent) are the time frames involved. This DBA takes approximately 16 months, while the catalog states that the DBA takes 36 months. But all of it is self-paced, so there's no difference there.

Each required course is based upon a textbook and study guide. Okay. And the DBA ends with a 15-q.h. doctoral project. The entire program costs about $4,500, plus books for each course. You get a 10% discount for paying the total up front.

The letter says my name 5 times. It sounds like the car salesman that sold us our Accord last year. "Well, Rich and Paula, you'll really like the new Accord. The leather seats are really nice, Rich and Paula...."

I get the feeling this program starts any month you want it to start. It's like that old joke about a baseball team that doesn't draw very well. You call the ticket office asking what time the game begins and they say, "What time can you get here?"

The DBA requires 11 courses, a doctoral proposal, and a doctoral project. The comprehensive examination is waived for this special deal.

The catalog also offers concurrent BBA/MBA and MBA/DBA programs. It doesn't offer the BBA/MBA/DBA that Columbia Pacific used to.

I was surprised to see that they also offer an MBA in Healthcare Administration, an M.A. in Management and Human Behavior, and an M.A. in Management and Healthcare Administration.

The catalog goes into great length about accreditation, downplaying its importance (natch). It stretches the truth a bit, but doesn't break it. They also take shots at referral services that push their clients to diploma mills, and at schools claiming unrecognized accreditation. What I didn't like is their unabashed line drawing between accreditation's importance in academia and (according to them) it's unimportance in the business world. They make it sound like an unaccredited degree is perfectly acceptable in employment circles. We know this is often not the case. But they do point out the most logical candidate for earning such a degree: someone wanting it for self-fulfillment.

Finally, I was disappointed by their listed faculty. Of the core faculty listed, two of the five have their doctorates from unaccredited schools. (Both from what is now California Coast University). The other three hold doctorates from U.S. International University, an accredited school in San Diego offering part-time doctoral programs. One of the full-time faculty members is his wife. Of the adjuncts, two have their doctorates from California Pacific, one from USIU, and one claims a master's and doctorate from Metropolitan University. Metropolitan operated as an unaccredited school in California in the 1950s! (Interestingly, this person also claims a bachelor's from the NHSC-accredited LaSalle Extension University, now also out of business.) The owner of the university holds a bachelor's and master's from National University--earned before they were accredited--and a doctorate from what is now CCU.

CPU is a screwy little school that puts out a verbose diatribe on the dubious value of earning an unaccredited degree--while at the same time describing theirs. But I like 'em.

Rich Douglas

 

Rich,

This is a hobby of mine as well. Over the past ten years I have sent for numerous catalogs for the purpose you state. I too received the letter from CPU about the "Invitational DBA." Wouldn't it be great if we could find a RA "Invitational Ph.D." with all the trimmings? Of course, I'm sure that Trinity C/U would give a warm invitation into their program.

Russell

 

Russ:

I've been doing this as a hobby since 1979. I just wish I'd had the foresight to save some of the now-amazing things I got from schools that are now long-gone.

Rich Douglas

 

Russell,

I must admit this is a hobby of mine too. I received the CPU catalog last year and received the invit. DBA last January.

I gues one is invited if one requests a catalog.

John

 

This is really frightening, guys. Perhaps we could initiate a 12-step program for DL addicts. Rich could direct the military division, John could direct the business division, and I could direct the religion division. Of course, I refuse to participate in the program unless it is accredited by an agency which is recognized by the USDoE, or its GAAP equivalent.

Russell

 

I used to keep all my old catalogs, but space demanded differently! I still keep the cats from all the school's I've attended.

Not that I would want to do it, but a historical electronic database of school catalogs would be a great tool.

Just think - a researcher could pour through years and years of catalogs. I can't imagine what a person could find! I'm sure it'd provide data to solve some often-asked/often-debated threads on this board.

I've got little clue re: specific laws on copyright issues verses public disclosure. However if someone had the time and energy, I bet enough people still have ancient catalogs that could be donated to the cause. I bet some innovative IT student could get some pretty good credit too .....

Barry Foster

 

You guys are not alone. I have the current and old graduate catalogs of the following schools:

Century University
California Coast University
Capella University
Northcentral University
Concordia University
Southwest University
Greenwich (outdated catalog)
ACCIS
NJIT
California National University

I am qualified to be called a professional collector of college catalogs, I guess.

 

Ike,
But do you have the original catalog from Capella -- The Graduate School of America -- (TGSA). Now there was a bold name! Alumnus 2000

------------------
Howard Rodgers

 

My name is Russell, and I am a DL-aholic. But you know guys, its encouraging to know that I'm not alone.

Russell

 

This catalog collection notion brings up a dilemma I've faced. What is to become of my collection of catalogs, 12 file drawers of them, going back to California Pacifica 1972. Probably half GAAP, half not. They should be available to researchers, especially when I no longer am. The FBI coveted them, during the DipScam era (1980-1990), but no longer. Putting them in a research library makes some sense, I guess, but then I envision Les Snell or Maxine Asher or someone marching in and removing all the damaging stuff on their schools.

Well of course it would be neat to scan it all and put it on an internet site. Perhaps there is a grant that would do that. Otherwise, what? Passing it along from generation to generation, to the next young griot of our tribe? Or what?

 

You know, ya know?

Rich Douglas

 

Fear not John. If all else fails, I'll be glad to take possession of these priceless treasures. After all, I have so much junk stored in "my room" that the wife surely won't notice a few more file cabinets suddenly appearing one day.


Bruce

 

USIU is no longer, at least not in the U.S.A. In July 2001 USIU and Alliant University joined to form Alliant International University (AIU). Alliant University was created in April 2000 when the California School of Professional Psychology expanded its programs beyond the field of psychology.

According to the AIU Accreditations & Approvals page, AIU retains its regional accreditation (among others). In checking the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Directory of Accredited and Candidate Institutions, I found that AIU and four of its campuses comprise the first five entries.

They're not shy about their past, laying it out for all to see on the University History page.

The United States International University name now applies only to the Nairobi, Kenya campus, a unit of AIU. It looks like the Nairobi web site hasn't been updated for some, though, as I could not find any references to AIU on it. USIU-Africa is still WASC-accredited. Why, I wonder, does this campus continues to use the UISU name? Might its Kenya charter require it?

AIU has eight campuses, six in Calfornia and one each in Mexico City and Nairobi.

Lowell Kinzer, who, by gathering the above information instead of doing his homework, has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that his proclivity to procrastinate knows no bounds.

 

Yes, I also have TGSA catalog.

 

USIU had WASC accreditatation (RA) even before the merger with CSPP.

 

I am responding to Rich's well-written critique on California Pacific University in the opening post of this thread. Incidentally, Dr. Bear's post above neglected to mention that there was no connection whatsoever between the illegitimate California Pacifica and California Pacific-- an unfortunate name similarity back in the early 70s. He does, however, make that distinction in his book.

As you might recall, I earned the California Pacific DBA in 1996. I believed then and continue to believe now that Cal-Pacific is
an ethical and well-respected CA-approved institution. CA extended its approval for the maximum five years at the last review, indicating its confidence in the school. Dr. Dalton is, likewise, well liked and respected by several on this board. The school has never been tainted by scandal, does not make false accreditation claims, and focuses on business only, rather than trying to be all things to all comers.

So, do I think that the "invitational DBA" is a great idea? No. Any doctoral program should incorporate without exception the four major elements--coursework, comprehensive exam, a proposal, and the doctoral project, all of which I and others before and after me had to complete. Eliminating the comp exam, quite frankly, dilutes not only the "invitational DBA" itself, but the more stringent DBA degrees earned at Cap-Pacific as well.

While I am very positive about the school, I do believe some improvements could indeed be made:

1) The website is very basic. There is no facility for uploading or e-mailing coursework assignments, consequently everything must be done via snail mail and phone. The e-mail option on the site is mostly limited to the marketing effort. Not only are there no online seminars, there is also no student forum or alumni newsletter. Implementing these features and capabilities would only enhance the Cal-Pacific experience.

2) Cal-Pacific did add a couple of interesting master's programs in Organizational Behavior and Healthcare Administration to give students options other than the MBA. I had suggested to Dr. Dalton that he consider a DM program focusing on mamagement to compliment the DBA which focuses more on broad business functions and their integration. The DM approach would have been far more efficacious than the "invitational DBA" in my opinion.

3) As Rich aptly points out, a stronger faculty would enhance credibility, student learning, and scholarly inquiry and dialogue. Because the school is much smaller than SCUPS and CCU, there has been a tendency in the past to do everything with a tiny core of dedicated faculty and staff. This saves on resources, but does not optimize or enrich the student's experience, plus it inhibits the growth of the school.

4) In the future, if DETC were to be successful in demonstrating its capability in accrediting first professional doctorates and could then expand into other professional doctorates (i.e., the DBA and DM as opposed to the academic PhD in Business or Management), I believe Cal-Pacific would be remiss not to gear up for DETC accreditation with the strategy of moving beyond state approval. I understand that its present niche stems from its vision, but no niche lasts in today's rapidly changing world.

Overall, I want to emphasize that Cal-Pacific and Dr. Dalton, as its guiding force, have and continue to do a very creditable job. My suggestions, if implemented, would make a good nontraditional DL institution even better.

Dave

 

All,

Sorry I'm so late to the party... Just thought I would comment on Rich's detailed analysis of California Pacific University's direct marketing efforts.

The Invitational Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) mailing is not new; I received something very similar in late 1995. I enrolled in early 1996 and started/stopped working on the program twice in the midst of participating in some start-up companies. I'm in the process of finishing the CPU DBA. (Gee, I thought these non-RA degrees were supposed to be easy?! ;-) Aren't they just supposed to cash your check and mail you your diploma?! HA!)

As for completing the DBA program in 16 months part-time, I would say that it would be nearly impossible to do so, including the effort on a meaningful doctoral project, and maintain a high GPA. With a dedicated, full-time effort, it might be possible to come close to that target, if you're a speed reader. The courses are more in-depth than many of the MBA courses I took at Santa Clara University, which has an RA, AACSB business school of some consequence.

As for the lack of a comprehensive exam, I can't address that issue because all correspondence I have seen refers to it being a requirement. I can't imagine it being waived without some additional requirement being added, such as perhaps completing the course work in a particular time frame. This is interesting...

All of my dealings with Dr. Dalton have shown him and CPU to have the highest integrity. I would without hesitation recommend the DBA program to anyone with an MBA who wants additional, serious continuing education at a higher level. The reason is that with a regionally-accredited MBA (as I earned), you can often land adjunct faculty positions anyway. And the DBA is not the academic degree one really needs to land a tenure track position at a RA university anyway. Furthermore, I have investigated a few regionally-accredited DL PhD programs and in each case the faculty members have been impressed by the fact that I'm enough of a scholar to pursue my research interests outside the "guild". Of course, they can't accept the course work because of the rules of the "guild" don't permit it but they do recognize that I should be allowed to swap more advanced coursework into my program where deemed appropriate. The CPU MBA is probably a good bet as well, but one should consider the zillions of options -- I think the Touro and Heriot-Watt MBA programs seem like outstanding values for the monetary investment.

My advice to anyone who has an MBA and is unsure about whether they want to commit the time (3, 4 or 5 years) and expense (30K?) to an RA PhD (i.e., "Union card"), (Perhaps you have small children or excessively demandingwork schedule like I did) is to pursue a California state-approved degree (minus all the academic hazing) in the SAME field of study first. You'll spend ALL your free time for about 2 to 3 years (or more) and about 5K plus dollars, but you'll have a nice takeaway for your resume and a good head start on the body of knowledge that you'll be asked to master in an academic/research degree program. (Just being in the CPU DBA program helped me land two jobs over the years...)

Rich, I know you have researched this area, so I don't mean to contradict... I'm just trying to give some more detail regarding my experience with California Pacific.

Regards,

Dave Wagner
[email protected]

 

Hi Dave.

Congrats on your decision to pursue the DBA program through Cal-Pacific.

I'm currently enrolled in the MBA program at Cal-Pacific. I also find Dr. Dalton & staff very helpful and believe that this school delivers credible DL degrees. I also like the fact that they focus on one major area being "business & management" as opposed to trying to be eveything to everyone....ie degrees in education, psychology, engineering, health & safety....ect. Dr. Bear & Mr. Douglas also had some positive things to say about this school as well.

I have no desire to teach at all. Once I complete the MBA, my plans are to enroll in University of London's External LLB program & eventually practice law in Canada.

In the meantime...I continue to work on my MBA & must say that I enjoy the program & studying through this school.

Best Regards,


Dwayne Worthing
BA'98, University of Victoria (Traditional Brick & Mortar)
MBA Student, California Pacific University, 2003?

 

It occurs to me that California Pacific is probably the least controversial California-approved school going. In fact the only letters I can recall getting on them, in more than 20 years, were from people who confused them with the totally phony California Pacifica University, which started about the same time, but is, thankfully, long gone.

Mr. Worthing must be careful, however, if he drives down to California to attend graduation. Unless things change by then, he'd better not slow down passing through Oregon on the way back, where that degree subjects users to fine and imprisonment. (California still has its fruit inspection stations at the border, but I don't think it likely that Oregon will establish degree inspection stations.)

 

I thank Dr. Bear for his cautionary words of wisdom.

I draw to his attention that California Pacific University isn't on Oregon's list of unapproved private post-secondary institutions. I n fact, I invite him to checkout Oregon's website to see for himself.

Even if Cal-Pacific was on Oregon's list...it would have no impact on my future career or professional plans. Furthermore, I enjoy flying so I'll proably travel by airplane to the graduation ceremony. Hopefully we won't have to make an emergency landing in Oregon and risk possible interrogation by the Oregon degree Gestapo