Since reading Dr. John Bear's book, what is your highest DL degree attained?

Since reading Dr. John Bear's book, what is your highest RA DL degree attained?

 

Who is Dr. Bear? I never heard of the guy.

Where can I purchase Dr. Bear's book?

 

Masters Degree in Library Science...1/2 DL

 

This may sound odd but what got me into DL was a catalog from Columbia State University. I looked into the "degree in 28 days" ad and got a huge catalog with 100's of schools listed. I never knew there were that many options in the mid 90's. Of course, the book listed Columbia State as the best school. Anyway that book lead me to John Bear's guide.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Bears-Guide-College-Degrees-Internet/dp/1580084591/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261026596&sr=8-1#noop

 

What got me into DL was BAin4weeks.com. I've never read Dr. Bear's book, so I didn't vote.

 

As helpful as Dr Bear's guide may have been, this version was published in 2004 so its current usefulness is probably quite limited.

Will a new updated version be published anytime soon? I thought I read somewhere here about some sort of issues with the publisher?

 

Ten Speed Press was bought by Random House earlier this year (apparently for $30 million). Random House says they will be reviving and updating about 1/4 of the 2,000 titles they acquired. So far, of my 14 books for Ten Speed, they have commissioned an update/revision of one*, and dropped another**. Both on cooking, however, not degrees.

While there are, of course, many new and changed programs in the last five years, the basic information in the first half of the book is pretty much unchanged and, I think, still useful, so an update would not be a massive job. Not by me, but there is bound to be a co-author lurking out there somewhere. And, as I've pointed out a few times, much of the first half of Bears Guide is available free on Google Books:
http://tinyurl.com/ykat4e4
or do a search at http://books.google.com
______________
* How to Repair Food
** The Cafe Beaujolais Cookbook

 

I don't know if I'd place all the blame at John Bear's feet, but he was certainly part of it. I was already interested in going back to school, which was probably why I was snooping around the education section of the San Mateo Barnes and Noble in the first place. I was already aware of distance learning and knew about CSUDH's HUX program.

I picked up 'Bear's Guide' and was kind of taken by the humor and candor. (And the cartoons!) Looking through it, I saw that DL offered more possibilities than I'd thought. So I bought the book and took it home.

John's positive remarks about CSUDH pushed me over the hump and motivated me to send in an application. They accepted me, I enrolled, and another monster was created.

I'm still happy about that.

 

I have a copy of "A Comprehensive Guide to Alternative Degree Programs" revised and expanded for 1976-1977. Looks like I bougfht it used for 50 cents.

Tucked inside is a 1/4 page add from The Wall Street Journal dated Sept 11, 1979 for "College Degrees by Mail." Cost was $20.00 plus shipping and taxes.

 

I came across the 6th edition in 1980 when browsing a Boston bookstore. I'd already completed my Regents bachelor's degrees. It had no bearing on where I took my MBA, but was a major influence in choosing Union for the Ph.D. And, it turned out, even beyond that.

 

John Bear's Book...

I won one of these...a few years ago.

 

Since picking up John Bear's Guide (9th edition) off the discard pile of the City University www.cityu.edu Library in 1992, I have never completed a distance learning degree.

 

I came across Dr. Bear's overly large-sized paperback book in the mid 1980s and was completely fascinated by it. It became my educational bible, which resulted in a long non-traditional journey. Most importantly, it taught readers what accreditation is and how it works and the value of a regionally accredited degree (in those days) as opposed to getting a non-RA degree. It was a very good non-traditional book and it was a forerunner of what online education has morphed into today.

 

I became interested in non-traditional degrees in the late 80s, when a friend completed a degree with Regents College of the University of the State of New York (now Excelsior College) and became interested in studying about diploma mills and unaccredited degrees when a popular religious author where I lived (Walter Martin) was exposed as not having been honest about the nature of his degrees. I came across a copy of Bear's Guide at the time and found that it covered both of these areas (and others, such as accreditation) in a witty and clever way. I have purchased every edition since and it has remained a staple of my professional library. Dr. Bear's book with Allen Ezell (Degree Mills) is definitely the standard work on the subject.

None of my degrees were via DL, but I oversee a decent sized online program at a brick & mortar institution and would definitely hire qualified candidates with DL degrees. Over half of my institution's 5,600 students take one or more of our 350 online courses. Twenty of our degree programs are available online. I will always be indebted to Dr. Bear.

 

Two Further Comments ...

That having been said, after having acquired my first copy of Bear's Guide, I have attended (and washed out of) the following Bears' Guide schools.

MA in Biblical Studies, Faith Evangelical Lutheran Seminary, 1993-1994
MA in Humanities/History, California State University Dominguez Hills, 1997-2003
MA, Civil War Studies, American Military University, 2000-2003
ASB, Accounting, Thompson Education Direct (nka Penn Foster College), 2001-2003
MA, Interdisciplinary Studies/History & Political Science, Western New Mexico University, 2009

Additionally, since Bears Guide (9th edition), I have also owned the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th editions, as well as Bears' Guide to College Degrees by Mail, Bears' Guide to the Best MBAs by Distance Learning, Bears' Guide to the Best Computer Degrees by Distance Learning, Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning, Bears' Guide to Earning Your High Sschool Diploma Non-Traditionally, Get Your IT Degree And Get Ahead, Walston & Bear's Guide to Earning Religious Degrees Non-Traditionally, and Degree Mills.

 

I first read a Bear's guide from my local library back in 2001. I currently own only the 15th edition, and have finished my B.S. from Excelsior just this year.

 

Hi,
Is your PhD in History DL or on-campus?

 

I came across Bear's Guide in 1997. I was looking for a master's degree in computer science or electrical engineering. At that time, I was considering the following unaccredited schools:

1. Greenwich University
2. Century University
3. American College of Computer and Information Sciences (unaccredited then)
4. Columbia Southern University (unaccredited then).

Bear's Guide opened my eyes. Without the book, I would have pursued an unaccredited degree. I am glad that I found the book.

 

Furthermore, I have also gone back and collected the 6th, 7th, and 8th editions of Bear's Guide. As to the Walston and Bear's Guide and its successor book Walston's Guide, I own four out of the five editions but I'm not sure whether I'm missing the 2nd edition or the 3rd edition.