William Loveland College

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by dlady, Jul 31, 2014.

Loading...
  1. dlady

    dlady Active Member

    Dear Degreeinfo Informicons:

    I need your support.

    As some of you know (and I would guess fewer of you care), tomorrow will be my 10 year anniversary of posting on Degreeinfo. When I first started posting I was enrolled in a DETC accredited MBA program that I had started in May of that same year. I didn’t know anything about NA, RA, for profit, not for profit, or any of the rest of the ’vocabulary’ used to ‘discuss’ the industry here.

    At the time I was a mid-level manager at a big fortune 100, and the MBA for me was a way to check a box to try and start the climb of the corporate ladder. I found the MBA program I selected because I was able to get in with 120 undergraduate credits but no actual undergraduate degree. I could always explain away the undergrad issue with employers, but I felt to climb higher I needed a better answer.

    I found that the online format was for me, and I Finished the MBA, a BSBA, an MS in IT, and a DBA, all online. However, after reading and participating in conversations here, I made a life changing choice. I stepped out of the corporate world after several promotions, giving up easy work, a ‘C’ level title, and ridiculously awesome pay. I was so enamored by what I was able to accomplish in the online format, and what I learned and how it helped me move forward, I wanted to participate in that market and try and provide those same opportunities for other people.

    Now, I’m no slouch. After really researching the market I realized that many of these schools were ‘relatively’ small, at least compared to say Marriot International. So I decided that the only way I could make a difference is if I could build the connections to run an online school. I worked my connections (you have to network to get work), and became the President/CEO of gazuntite university (real name withheld but it is pretty easy to find out and many know).

    I had a vision, my brother had just passed away from a drug overdose, so the first programs I put together were undergraduate and graduate addiction counseling degrees. I wanted them to be accessible so I made the tuition super low.

    Then an odd thing happened, the low tuition caught fire and we were getting 100’s more inquiries an hour than before, so we lowered the tuition for everything. I suspect there was a pent up demand that we stumbled on to. As the song goes, everything was awesome. My plan was to transition the school to a not for profit and make other improvements. However, the market visibility and good revenue streams attracted some folks who ended up buying the school. My contract didn’t contemplate this, and I had other goals anyway than to work for a big public for profit company (done and done), and many on the board had other ideas (and didn’t care for me anyway), so we parted ways. I got nothing from the sale. The new owners, by the way, have been nothing but kind to me and have helped connect me with some folks for other business ventures outside of education, so nothing but roses there.

    Through this process I have picked up some good friends, and attracted the attention of other also. I had to unplug my linkedin account, for example, because any changes I made would be scrutinized (and even posted here in a negative light). At the time this negativity prompted many inside the industry to shy away from me and even in quorums tell me that they didn’t really see me as school leadership material.

    Okay, so I wasn’t going to be ‘given’ a full time job inside the industry. Got it. What to do. I was able to get a part time gig as a Dean with a friend, again easy to figure out.

    Well first I needed money, the markets were down, so I bought and sold a number of houses, something called flipping. This raised the funds I have been using for the last two years. I met the great folks at ILM, who were interested in a transition for the school, we talked, and landed on the approach that we are set to implement on September 1, 2014. ILM has a great history, and we have plans to do everything right with the school, I believe we will accomplish some amazing things.

    So far we have transitioned from a vocational school to a degree granting school, moved to Colorado, and gotten approvals to change the name and operating model, to William Loveland College (WLC) and not for profit, respectively. We have worked closely with the town we are in and have support from the Mayor and most importantly the people that live here. For example our library services are offered from the local public library, our graduations will take place at the town municipal center, and so on. We plan on building out a nice ground infrastructure too. All in time.

    The administrative office we have set up is 4 blocks from my house near the historic down town, so I literally walk to work each day.

    The new website is in beta and is located here: wlcollege.ilm.edu

    We have a very talented staff, for example as I have seen posted here, a person I met through Degree info is out CAO, and someone who had followed me through this board is the Chair for the MBA (he happened to be located right here in CO).

    We have plans for more programs, but what I need now is a good swell of student to kick start the engine for the MBA program when we relaunch on September 1.

    Any help would be appreciated, as mentioned WLC is a product of this board. If what I have done isn't what this site is for then it is for nothing.

    My plan is to build a school that I would have loved to go to.

    I just think it is interesting that we are publically announcing this ten years from the day I made my first post here.
     
  2. Tireman 44444

    Tireman 44444 Well-Known Member

    Happy Anniversary Dave. We have known each other a long time. I am glad to have you here.
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Hi David - I'm glad you're with us. Best of luck with such a big project.
     
  4. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Best of luck, David. The beta site looks great, by the way.
     
  5. Tlon

    Tlon New Member

    Does anybody have specific experience enrolling, studying and finishing a degree here (ILM/William Loveland) ?
    Very interested in feedback and overall experience with this program.
    Thanks in advance!
     
  6. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Dr. Lady - "We have plans for more programs, but what I need now is a good swell of student to kick start the engine for the MBA program when we relaunch on September 1."

    The program as described by Dr. Lady has been running for less than 1 month.
     
  7. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    Dr. Lady, I wish you the best of luck. I like what you have done and what you are currently doing for affordable education.
     
  8. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    Well, it’s almost six weeks since Dave filed his multi-multi-million dollar lawsuit against DEAC, so I decided to do a Google search for any new coverage of this monumental, um, thingey.

    I mean, after all, the filing of a federal lawsuit against a major DoEd-approved accrediting agency would certainly draw attention from, say, the Chronicle of Higher Education. Or, at the least, some coverage from Inside Higher Ed.

    But noooooooooooooooo . . . Nada. Zip. Just one article from a publication I hadn’t even heard of. All of which tells us that the Great Comet of 2017 is going to go nowhere.

    But I did find this thread, which I had not read previously, and was entertained by Dave’s initial post. A lot of bullshit (at which he has become very adept), but a nice sense of drama. So entertaining that I decided to join the recently growing legion of necromancers and comment on it here.

    I hadn’t realized that all of Dave’s degrees were done online. But since I think that all online degrees are also bullshit, I can’t say that I’m surprised. Yes, I know that flouts current thinking in higher education, but I will continue to think of online university as an oxymoron. Especially when someone with the degrees he cites thinks he can simply go out and play the “Hey, kids, let’s start a college!” game. :mischievous:
     
  9. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    Steve you never earned a online degree? If not why do you hang around these parts?
     
  10. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member


    Foerster's is not Dominican for beer, mate.
     
  11. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 15, 2017
  12. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

  13. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Yeah, I'll bet you're right. I didn't look too hard. Partly because I couldn't imagine that there would be much to find. Maybe once something actually happens...
     
  14. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    Same question I've asked. I'm also curious as to what people who feel his way think is dramatically different between ground and online? Having graduated under both methods, I've found many of the same issues, but one advantage I've had online is more contact with professors than I was ever able to get in ground-based classes.
     
  15. Michigan68

    Michigan68 Active Member

    I will agree with you. My only on-campus degree was a very cold and impersonal experience with the professors.

    My current online degree, I have had weekly emails and phone calls every 2 weeks with my professor.

    I have learned much more online than in-class. Wouldn't change a thing.


    Michael
     
  16. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    I very much agree with this. My on campus professors were very pompous and distant. Online I have much better relationships! I have one now that has a phone just for texting students.
     
  17. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Steve is just jealous that despite his expert status, Dave actually ran accredited institutions and he didn't. ;)
     
  18. heirophant

    heirophant Well-Known Member

    While I don't agree with Steve L., I'll take a shot at your interesting question.

    I think that online delivers lecture classes very well. In fact I prefer non-synchronous classes with threaded class discussions, since they give me an opportunity to think about what I'm going to say, as opposed to popping off with the first thing that comes to mind.

    But I don't think that DL is nearly as successful when it comes to laboratory classes and practical experiences.

    So my view is that DL is more appropriate for some subjects than for others. It works well in subjects where classes are all lectures and class discussion, where work-product consists of written text. But it isn't nearly as appropriate in a laboratory science like microbiology or in other subjects where practical hands-on experience is necessary. I wouldn't trust a dentist with a 100% online dental degree.

    My experience was the exact opposite. I had very close relationships with my professors when I was an on-campus student and they went out of their way to mentor me. (It was a fairly well-regarded non-commuter school). And I had almost no contact with my professors during my DL program.

    So I guess that one depends more on individual programs and their program design.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 17, 2017
  19. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member


    "So my view is that DL is more appropriate for some subjects than for others.[/i] It works well in subjects where classes are all lectures and class discussion, where work-product consists of written text. But it isn't nearly as appropriate in a laboratory science like microbiology or in other subjects where practical hands-on experience is necessary. I wouldn't trust a dentist with a 100% online dental degree."

    I agree 100%. I spent over ten years at a B&M college. I had great professors and they interacted with me very well. On the other hand, some of the courses I took online where sub par and didn't have the same feel as a B&M college as far as personal interaction. I can't imagine taking a biology class with a lab on line, for instance.
     
  20. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I would add another factor, something that is a bit more personal. I think that different people have different learning styles. Some may prefer online learning and some may prefer classroom based learning. I know that I prefer the classroom but turned to DL because I can't just quit my job to attend B&M classes. Overall it's going to evolve and I expect that at some point virtual reality/hologram technology will come into play.
     

Share This Page