Life Experience Degrees Suck

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by JohnSiminton, Apr 22, 2010.

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  1. JohnSiminton

    JohnSiminton member

    There are a lot of people in the world who don't have a college degree. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but in some cases, it can hold a person back. Well I was one of those people.
    Looking back, it may have been more psychological than a real problem, but I was looking at teaching English in S.E Asia and I thought that a degree would be helpful. I was sorta wrong and sorta right. Herein lies the reason for my blog. Perhaps it will save you from experiencing some of the challenges I had.
    First of all a little about me, I am 37 years old and an accomplished professional musician. Well, perhaps not as accomplished as I could be. Money in my home state of Arkansas was getting harder and harder to come by. The thought of teaching English in Asia has always appealed to me. So it was time to branch out. That was early in 2007.
    My problem was I never completed college and thus had no degree. I Googled 'life experience degrees' and decided on one. It was not a problem, quick and efficient. So far, so good.
    I'm not going to tell you the country in S.E. Asia that I went to because I don't want to burn any bridges, but my degree helped me get a job in a government owned school. I got my visa and all the required documentation. Everything went swimmingly for six weeks.
    Then my boss reviewed my file and Googled the life experience degree school. That was the end of my career, at least at that school. He was polite enough, but there was no wiggle room, I was out.
    I had a good friend who was working in Russia who said she thought she could help me. She was using a degree that had worked effectively for three years. It had worked with government and two schools. She gave me a code because she would make a commission if I purchased one, and she said it was the only way I could get one. I wasn't sure what to make of it, so I looked it up.
    It was a bit of a twist on the old life experience degree. They were using the names of closed institutions. I used my friends code and got a bachelors degree from and accredited college from them. It has turned out very useful. No problem with my new job. If my current director of studies looks it up, he will find it is closed. No way he can trace it and I am working away. Pay isn't fantastic but it's cheap to live here and lotsa sunshine.
    When I got my degree it came my promo code.
    (Attempt at spam for useless site removed by moderator.)
     
  2. Chip

    Chip Administrator

    Of course this poster is using "life experience degree" as a synonym for "diploma mill degree."

    To those of our posters who are new, there are several schools that will grant legitimate degrees based solely on life experience if you can demonstrate equivalent knowledge through a combinations of exams and demonstration of knowledge through a learning portfolio.

    There are several articles on this here.
     
  3. Cauble_TXSG

    Cauble_TXSG Member

    In stead of moderating this post, can't you just delete it?
     
  4. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    So you are admitting to be a person with no ethics (or worse)!!!

    Sorry to burst your bubble on this point but if the degree was from an accredited school in the USA then sometimes the accreditation, state, or other organizations acquire the records from the closed schools so that they can certify the validity of a degree.

    For example Northrop University, a WASC accredited university, closed in 1992however student transcripts can be obtained here:
    http://www.nrait.edu/transinfobefore92.htm

    You may also be surprised how much information various private organizations know about you such as this one:
    People Search | White Pages | Phone Book | FREE!
    (Enter your name and see what crops up)
    And this site (at least for me) is not as comprehensive as others - but companies use such sites when checking out potential employees.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 22, 2010
  5. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    I agree. This post is worthless. So someone got caught using what they knew was a diploma mill degree. I'm supposed to feel bad for them? Get some kind of "buyer beware" message from their post? He tried to scam an employer and he got caught. Good.
     
  6. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Not only that, but he went right back to another mill and got another $500 piece of paper. The moral of the story: if you get caught cheating, cheat better next time.
     
  7. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Maybe they should come with a money back guarantee: If you get caught with this degree, you get a refund. (sarcastic remark)

    I can't believe that there is such a market for this trash! Unfortunately, some people get away with these degrees.
     
  8. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Color coding your reply... awesome idea. I will procede to steal it and use it so often that no one will remember that you did it first.

    Nothing came up for "Maniac Craniac" :D I'm safe.

    On a more serious note- I agree and vote that one mod or another throws this thread in the trash. BTW- Overall, you have done a great job in exterminating the dirty rotten spammers,
     
  9. thomaskolter

    thomaskolter New Member

    Heck my ministry could have saved him money I offer a perfectly legal to use Doctor of Bible Studies by "life experience review" for free, saving him what a thousand dollars. And I don't pretend these are on par with what some of you have degree wise. I figure you should get one just because you feel God wants you to have the title "Dr." and it sticks it to both the legitimate theology schools and the matching mills.

    I figure if your going to run what you all call a "Christian Degree Mill" then why not have some fun with the thing, and I consider any degree in religious topics if not a secular academic degree BULL PADDIES. It fits my philosophy and theology to make fun of the system of religious schools.

    I even think the Universal Life Church (Modesto) degrees are over serious I mean $29.00 for an honorary Doctor of Divinity - please.

    Anyway this thread is useless I'll rather cover why people get such degrees and is there decent reasons for getting them in the Unaccredited thread. I suggest delete this one.
     
  10. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I have always said that you make some colorful remarks!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 23, 2010
  11. jackrussell

    jackrussell Member

    I certainly hope that the OP will be found out soon enough and given the boot! Thanks to the admin for being fast enough to delete his spamming. I must say it is very well disguised! Is there anyway that this guy be banned so that there is no way to contact him via PM etc?
     
  12. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Stupid question of the day: What does OP mean? :confused: Offending Party? Overly Putrid? Onerous Puke?

    (sorry, I'm writing yet another paper and my brain is fried)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 23, 2010
  13. jackrussell

    jackrussell Member

    Onerous Puke seems far more appropriate :) ! Given that every single day I received tens or dozens of emails from those *^%$$DD@ diploma mills, the label is extremely apt!
     
  14. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    ......lol!
     
  15. BevLoverly

    BevLoverly member

    Controversy is good for a forum, keeps it alive. I like the offer of a Doctorate for free. I anything sounds phoney, it's a doctorate from a church. I happen to be a good friend of John, am living and working in Russia, and John used my promo-code when he got his degree. I wanted him to use it because I get a commission for the sale. Yes, I did get their degree but it was not easy. I had to go through a rigorous test of my skill set. And, in fact, contrary to your sarcastic comment on (another attempt at spamming fraudulent site removed) offering a money back guarantee for life if you are exposed or have a problem. Read the site. You can only get a PhD from them if you have a written a thesis. And yes, there is an element of deception here, but it got me, a single mom living in Russia, a decent job withwhich I can support my child. Not a bad deal in my books.
     
  16. Chip

    Chip Administrator

    In case it wasn't obvious, the entire post was bogus. It was made by a spammer attempting to shill for his crappy diploma mill. I decided to leave it up (minus the link to his fake school) for three reasons:

    1. Annoy the spammer if he happens to come back and see that his link has been removed.

    2. Leave the text of his spam (which he's no doubt posted other places) so that Google will pick it up and hopefully if people search on it, they'll get led here, realize that the guy's full of crap, and perhaps have the opportunity to find a quality program that will meet their needs.

    3. The entertainment value and discussion it might provoke :)
     
  17. Chip

    Chip Administrator

    Another thought:

    Upon looking more closely at the website (the URL i removed), the brazen nature of their fraud is pretty amazing. They're admitting, in writing, that they're selling completely fraudulent degrees, in the names of institutions that have closed down, and backdating the graduation date to when the school was operating. They claim (and I don't believe for a moment) that they pay off the former trustees of the now-closed schools and therefore have "permission" to sell fraudulent degrees.

    If anyone would like their contact information to reach them directly and sniff out more about them and then report back here, PM me and I'll forward you the info you need :)
     
  18. thomaskolter

    thomaskolter New Member

    PM coming I'm curious about them, not that I would get such a degree but it would be interesting to look at. Looks like Dr. Bear has a new thing for his next big book on Distance Learning to show as a fake.
     
  19. bmills072200

    bmills072200 New Member

    OP stands for "orginal poster"
     
  20. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Shill alert! Obviously, the original poster (with 2 posts under their belt) was shilling for the school they mentioned with a fake testimonial...
     

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