I have received a catalog from Canyon College. The accredidation is from the Central States Consortium of Colleges and Schools. Is anyone familiar with the accredidation agency? Has anyone had any good or bad experiences with Canyon College?
Central States is an unrecognized accreditor and its accreditation is essentially meaningless. Use the search function and you will uncover many threads on Canyon, few if any of a positive nature.
No one has ever had a good experience with Canyon College. If they think they have, it is only because the time bomb in their resume hasn't gone off yet. Do a search in this forum; you'll find plenty.
An Oldie But Goodie In 2000, a then-member of the old A.E.D. newsgroup had signed onto Canyon College as an adjunct faculty member and regretted his decision. He asked me to intervene, and I sent the following letter to the president of Canyon - one of my better pieces of bitchy writing at the time. I am pleased to report that the member was immediately released from his contract, and Canyon never bothered him again. Except for deleting his name, I reprint the entire letter here because it provides some useful background information on this august institution. And it shows that, occasionally, it does pay to be obnoxious. ________________________ January 15, 2000 Michael F. Storrs, President Canyon College 521 West Maple Street Caldwell, ID 83605 Dear Michael, et al: I am a member of a consortium of academic professionals and consumer activists actively engaged in research and advocacy on distance education issues, especially the exposure of degree mills. We have been in contact with one ____________, have been informed of his history of involvement with Canyon College, and are in receipt of correspondence to __________ from Michael F. Storrs, copies of which were sent to John Denmark and attorney Bryan Walker. I have also reviewed __________'s contract, which is so convoluted that even a legitimately accredited school wouldn't touch it. This response is written on behalf of __________, but has not been reviewed by him in advance. I note for the record that it is not to be construed as a formal response, and the nature of any feedback with which I have provided __________ should not be construed as legal advice. With that in mind, Michael, grab a cup of coffee, plant your ass in a chair, and take your medicine. ____________ has never called Canyon College a degree mill on the Internet newsgroup alt.education.distance, I did. I submit, sir, that your institution is a fraud, a scam, a sham, a con, and a rip-off. Face it, sweet cakes, Canyon College is a fucking joke. Now let's get down to business. Kindly open your textbook to your letter of January 13, 2000, to __________. First, I submit that the contract between Canyon College and ___________ is null and void based upon Canyon College's misrepresentation of its programs, its legitimacy, and the acceptance of its degrees. Hell, man, Canyon is a fucking degree mill, and I'll testify to that in any courtroom in the nation - even one in Caldwell, Idaho. Then I'll invite judge and jury to a box lunch on the lawn of your luxurious campus - John Denmark's house. (A fucking house! I love it! Hell, man, even the Caldwell Fire Department was on the floor laughing when they verified the property information for me.) And you can explain to the court how you manage to fit a School of Business, School of Psychology and Counseling, School of Social Work, School of Health Administration, School of Theology, and School of Divinity into that cute little edifice at 521 West Maple Street. (Note to John Denmark: By the way, that was me calling Saturday night. Hell, man, if you're going to have a scam college operating out of your fucking house, you shouldn't answer the phone live on the weekend. I mean, if that isn't obvious . . .) Now, you referred to __________'s "recent unprofessional conduct and false or derogatory statements." Nonsense. __________ has exhibited far more patience with you wazoos than I would have at any time. He has not engaged in unprofessional conduct, and his statements about Canyon College were evenly tempered. Even if they had not been, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and shits like a duck, it's a fucking duck. And you guys walk, quack, *and* shit like a typical degree mill. I have reviewed the Canyon College web site extensively, and it's a joke. C'mon, dude, six courses for a master's degree? Six courses for a doctorate degree? Not to mention the lack of disclosure about your psychology and counseling programs, which would not qualify a person to sit for the professional board exams in any licensure-based state. Moreover, your FAQ contains misleading statements about the possibility of achieving licensure with a Canyon degree. (Am I wrong, sugar buns? Prove it - cite one student who was able to become professionally licensed in any state and in a mental health field with a Canyon degree.) I submit that you make false and misleading statements about the transferability of your credits, the possibility of Canyon's future accreditation by a legitimately recognized agency, and the compatibility of its degrees with those of other institutions. (C'mon, sport, a six-course "Masters in Divinity" degree? You're on my turf here, and I'm laughing my ass off.) Now let's get to the bottom line. _______'s contract is null and void (chorus join in, "now and forevermore!"). You jackasses wouldn't stand a proverbial snowball's chance in hell if you were to take legal action against him, and if you have been up front with your attorney (which I highly doubt) he has already told you this. (Incidentally, I loved the "we have sought legal counsel" bit. Bryan Walker certainly has solid credentials, right down to his J.D. from the University of Houston Law School. But if he's half the realist he should be, he wouldn't be bonkers enough to take this case on a contingency basis. And unless you're willing to spend megabucks on legal fees for a losing case, it's time to give this issue a rest.) So get off ______'s ass. You scammed him once, and he now has the support of a major group of educators and consumer advocates in distance education behind him. Legal action? Right, dude - I'll be delighted to have a jury laugh your sleazy little ass out of any courtroom in the country. Just as I'll be laughing if I have to place a call to my buddies at the Idaho State Board of Education (on State Street in beautiful downtown Boise, just a lovely 45-minute drive from Caldwell), the Idaho Attorney General's Office and, of course, The Idaho Statesman (which would have even more of a ball with this than I have had). In short, you swindling little charlatan, the matter is closed. Consider __________ out of the contract. And you will do absolutely nothing - I repeat, *nothing* - to hinder his ability to work, to damage his reputation, or to impugn his credibility, or I will go to town on you. Pro bono. Now, before you respond - if you have either the balls or the stupidity - be a good boy and check out my own qualifications and experience. You'll find my curriculum vita right on my home page at [my old web site, no longer in operation]. You'll find some of the books I have written, including two authoritative volumes on distance education and two law books that are still used as legal texts. So make sure that any response you send is eloquent as hell, because I can't be bothered with amateurs. And if I haven't pushed your buttons enough, I'm delighted to tell you that I have posted a copy of this letter right on the alt.education.distance newsgroup, where it will be available to potential millions of people around the world. Trusting that __________ will not hear from you again, I remain - With best wishes, kindest regards, and hugs and kisses, Steve Levicoff, Ph.D. cc: John Denmark cc: Bryan K. Walker, Esq. -------------------- [Note to alt.education.distance readers: If any of you would like information on Canyon College, call the number on their web site at http://www.canyoncollege.edu. Try it at, say, 3:00 A.M. What the hell, it's a business number, isn't it? I'm sure that Mr. Denmark will be delighted to assist you in your inquiry.]
The really sad part of all of this is that after Steve sent this letter and got the individual in question out of his contract with said sleazy institution, the individual went on to involve himself in at least one, maybe two, other equally unwonderful schools. I guess this goes to show that some people, in spite of solid, RA credentials, don't have a lot of common sense. (I must admit laughing out loud at rereading Levicoff's letter, which I hadn't seen since its original posting on a.e.d. Some day, we shall have to assemble an archive of all of Levicoff's in-your-face letters and messages.)
That was really, really funny. I'll have to save a copy of that letter to use as a template next time I don't get what I ordered at a restaurant or the right room during my next hotel stay.
Please put a parental warning on the archive file! It would be sad indeed to have some of Steve's "in-your-face" letters quoted in a 5th grade book report on distance learning.
