It's here... let us know what you think...

Well, the first revision of our content-based site is now online (as you see from the new links at the top of the page).

Special thanks to Nathan Whiteside, who is responsible for the content portion of the site and has been working diligently for the last couple of months testing different site designs, writing content, and testing and retesting.

Special thanks also to the small group of beta testers who we asked to review an earlier version of the site. We received a lot of useful comments and criticisms, and we've tried to address each of the comments we received and make appropriate changes.

But I'm sure that there are still a few bugs, typos, errors, etc. here and there... please email Nathan (nathan at degreeinfo dot com) with anything you discover, and we'll get it fixed pronto.


And this is just the beginning. Lots more articles are in the works, and several other projects are in the wings. We'll be expanding the content section and the discussion board pretty soon, offering more focused content relating to specific degree programs, discussions specifically for distance learning professors and administrators, and a forum for those in the military. Any and all suggestions are welcomed, and can be posted here, emailed to Nathan, or sent to the general address ([email protected])

Thanks again to all our community members for your support, suggestions, and contributions!! We couldn't do it without you!

 

Another magnificent upgrade! Don't you folks ever rest? Seriously, someone (methinks Chip) must be paying for all of this. Let us know if it's time to pass the hat.

 

The revisions are great and have a lot of potential. I think that essentially a full service forum will develop and I hope will reduce some of the redundant type posts that are made through the availability of General information. I was lad to see the RA associations posted.

Good job,

John

 

I was interested to see the article referring to the Gang of Six. Some of them are still active here, of course. But what happened to the others? Swimming with da fishes?

 

Well, one must first realize that the Gang of Six, as denoted by Les Snell, was, on various days, a Gang of Six, a Gang of Four, a Gang of Five and so forth. This depended on how offensive (to Snell) the individual member's posts were on any particular day.

But of those who were constantly in receipt of the Foul Snell Seal of Non-Approval, Emir Mohammed (an original G6er) is the only Gang of Six member to be officially drummed out of the Gang by the rest of us after accepting a "faculty" position (teaching law at the age of 23 with no experience and a British LL.B. as his sole credential) at the dreadful Robert Kennedy University.

Of the rest, all have posted at DegreeInfo, and pretty much all still contribute fairly regularly, except for Dennis Huber, who is pretty busy teaching these days, and Steve Levicoff, who pops in occasionally to gloat about MIGS, but is mostly doing other things now.

Some day, we'll assemble and post a selection of the more colorful exchanges between the a.e.d. regulars of the time and Snell, Rudy Marn, Ron Pellar and the other mill operators who had the bad sense to attempt to defend their substandard programs on a.e.d. It's really quite amusing.

 

I think it looks great. I'm so glad you were able to avoid shrinking the forums presentation down to a fraction of the screen! I look forward to the addition of more articles and will certainly continue to refer serious seekers of info on distance learning options to this site.

 

What I think

This is a very positive change to degreeinfo.com. The aesthtics are much better, and the features that are to come will make degreeinfo.com the first stop for any serious DL student.

Darren.
...who saw Les Snell on TV, right after Dr. John Bear.

 

Re: What I think

Really??!! The only picture of Les Snell I've ever seen was that distant one of him trying to get his car out of a ditch in Denver during a snowstorm. Supposedly the guy changes his appearance so that the people after him have difficulty recognizing him...

Are you sure you're not mixing him up with Ronald Pellar, the Columbia State fraudster who was interviewed on his yacht in Mexico? If not, I'd love to know (if you remember) what station or network did the interview, because I'd love to try and get a copy from their archive.


... and, also, thanks for your positive comments on our site upgrade! Lots of cool stuff still in store...

 

Great job! Who did the neat logo of the computer terminal and the graduation cap?

- Phillip M. Perry
NYC

 

Great job. Kudos to all involved. Degreeinfo.com is my favorite website.

Tracy<><

 

Credit where credit is due...

I think that the upgrade is great. Therefore, either:

• The upgrade is truly spactular or
  
• I am easily impressed!

The links to the regional accreditors are an excellent idea. I offer two more suggestions:

• Place John Bear's explanation of what regional accredition is on this site (from his book and with his permission, of course) and
  
• Place John Bear's explanation of how the Associates degree developed in the United States, along with his explanations of what the other degrees are (from his book and with his permission, of course). The recent invention of the Associates degree in the United States is one of the most facinating educational developments I've ever read about. It is so unique to our country.

 

To answer a couple of posts:

1. The DegreeInfo logo was designed by John Beckwith, a graphic designer in Silicon Valley. There's a link to his site with his portfolio and other things he's done at the bottom of all the content pages (and probably, eventually, at the bottom of these pages as well).

2. An article on accreditation is high on our list for new content. We probably won't use the one in Bears' Guide, because John no longer owns the copyright to that book... it was part of what Ten Speed bought when they acquired the Bears' Guide books and the degree.net website from Pearson, which purchased it from John several years back.

Keep the suggestions coming!

 

Re: Re: What I think

It was something on TechTV about fake doctor's degrees and the like. They relied on John's expertise, but didn't have very much nice to say about Les. (Montecello U?)

Darren.

 

Further to my Les siting, this guy had horn rimmed glasses...you know those old-style plastic frame ones...there's a bit of a blurb about this at http://www.techtv.com/cybercrime/internetfraud/story/0,23008,3327045,00.html
Alas, the picture of Les was only in the story that was run on "Cyber Crime" on Tech TV.


Darren.

 

re: the new format

I think the new setup is great. I think all the additional information available on the front end will allow people to educate themselves on the basics before jumping into the discussion. One of the drawbacks before was that new people might ask something on the order of "What is accreditation?" I don't fault beginners at all, because everyone (including myself) has to start somewhere. Hopefully, the new options available at degreeinfo.com will promote more informed, focused discussions.

 

Issues in Traditional Education

A lot of forums have too many rooms to visit and, as a result, one or two rooms are heavily used while the others are infrequently visited. For that reason, it's important to not create too many rooms.

However, it might be nice to add a room called "Issues in Traditional Education," so those kinds of topics can be diverted from the DL room. It could turn out to be almost as popular as the DL room.

Just an idea.

 

It gets the official jimwe thumbs up! This designation will of course, be worth far more after I am elected president!!

Seriously, this is a good site and resource for all us slobs laboring to upgrade our anemic Liberal Arts BA's. I recommend this site alot because many of the ESL teachers I've met here in Korea want to go on in thier education, but don't really know where to start. For this purpose, this is a great site!

 

Great Job

This site just keeps getting better and better! Really, you guys must start "Passing the Hat" around. I can personally attest that I have reaped personal and financial benefits from this site and want to reciprocate them (I know many others have the same sentiment).

I may have to stand out on the I-105 with a sign that says..."will give Distance Learning advice for Food!"

Seriously,

This is the biggest leg-up that I have had since I started school many, many, many years ago...but this forum has helped me produce the most succes for the amount of time I have invested in my education. Don't ever stop!!

Thanks,

Mike
AA Burlington College, NJ RA
BA TESC
MS SMSU, RA (2003 I hope)

 

I'll confess that I've not searched the site entirely for this, but....

Might a blurb regarding a.e.d. be in order? I've recently taken to reading some of the posts there and the spammer(s) are still in operation. While it is clear that responding to that drivel is futile, there are still a few posters referring others to degreeinfo.com. When they arrive, they might benefit from a brief article and explanation so they know they're back in civilized discourse (mostly !).

 

You must have a different version to some of us - how do you access this? ...or have the articles changed?