Prediction: 42 major new developments in next 30 days

Prediction: there will be at least 42 major, significant new developments in the world of distance learning in the next 30 days: new schools, new programs, closed schools, scandals, and so forth.

How do I know? Because the 15th edition of Bears' Guide went irrevocably to the printer yesterday, and even if Harvard announced an open-admissions, $300, 27-day on-line Ph.D. tomorrow, it would not be in the book.

 

Hummmm, I haven't bought one of your books since 1987. Back then it was called "College Degrees by Mail."

Sounds like I'll have to buy a newer edition this year.

 

How can I order an advanced copy? C'mon, we degreeinfo people should get a break on this
Jack

 

John,

Two questions regarding this new program:

1. Is the 27-day requirement negotiable?
2. Will Harvard give credit for life experience?

And I fully agree with Jack Tracey, DegreeInfo senior posters should get a discount on the new edition.

 

You guys are totally wrong, Degreeinfo members should pay double the price, after all the dialogue, bitching & research we do to and for each other. I would think to suggest that John Bear probably uses some of that info that we post as part of his book, and its a great way for us to support him and for he to make money from the site members, given he is the original Diploma-Mill detective.

I remember an earlier thread when he was asked why he would not donate a book as the prize of the week, and I think that his response was that he and his daughter made little money from his books.

So the suggestion again is to find out when the 15th edition book is going to be released and like all others pay the damn going price. No favors here, john is making his marketing pitch.

J.R(ic)

 

The Hall of Fame!

I was glad to see the Bear honored in John Kremer's Selfpublishing Hall of Fame.

http//:www.bookmarket.com/selfpublish.html

The list might be due for an update.

Roscoe

 

to ask the obvious

why 42? Is that like the richter scale? If Dr. Bear really wanted us to pay double price for it, maybe he should have said 4,200.

By the way, I would only be interested in the Harvard degree if it had the same rigorous level of difficulty that Bear endured to obtain his Harvard J.D.

To explain this, i refer you to the now outdated version of Bear's Guide, pg. 306.

 

Thing one: I really like the idea of DegreeInfo participants getting a special deal. Alas, I have nothing whatever to do with selling the book.

The economics: Cover price: $30. Amazon will buy it from the publisher for about $15 and sell it for about $25. From that $15, my daughter and I each get 75 cents.

There was some talk about DegreeInfo selling the book on line. I hope that will happen. I believe the standard wholesale price is 40% off if one buys 20 or more copies. That would make it $18. Book rate postage is $1.84. So there isn't room for heavy discounting, but some is possible.

I simply do not want, ever again, to get into the selling game. Sales tax. Credit cards. Advertising. Lots of work. (I hadn't known about the self publishing hall of fame listing; thanks Roscoe).

But if either DegreeInfo or indeed anyone out there wanted to buy and then sell books, I'd be pleased, and would be glad to autograph them, thereby adding at least 5 cents to their value at a yard sale.

Incidentally and relevantly, the people of DegreeInfo.com were deeply involved in the creation of this 15th edition. Mariah and I contracted with them (Chip, Nathan, Kristin, Bill G.) to bring the data base up to date (the biggest part of a revision), and the publisher agreed they should have (and do have) title page credit, albeit "with" instead of the "and" we wanted).

 

#1 of the 42, already

It begins. This morning, I got a confidential Email which I am not supposed to reveal for about 2 weeks, about a rather significant development for a rather newsworthy and controversial school.

So at this moment, in gossip columnist mode, all I can say is:

"Which controversial university in one country has decided close down there and to move, lock, stock, and barrel, to which other country (and to which surprising city within that country), and says they have already quietly hired all new faculty resident in that new country?"

Revelation, apparently, by year-end. But it won't be in the next Bears' Guide.

 

John,

You are legendary in self-publishing circles. Your name is mentioned all the time by the experts and gurus in the field. That's how I first learned of you.

We're all grateful for your contributions and the inspiration you've given other would-be writers and publishers.

Wow. And you thought you were only a leader in the DL field

Seems you have fans every where.

Roscoe

 

Did you get this one John?

http://www.gaolee.co.za/index.html

Cheers,

George

 

George, can you imagine 'GOALEE' in your link stating that they are an accrediting body..Duh; for the likes of Glencullen or some other Diploma Mills and putting them in the same category as Edinburgh (a royal chater institution) wow at that.
My..my, what will Gavin Kennedy have to say about this, who knows, my guess is that 'GOALEE' probably originates from Scotland, sounds Scotish dont you think?

J.R(ic)

 

It was John Bear's book "College Degrees by Mail" back in 1987 that taught me all about regional accreditation. It was instrumental in helping me to complete an undergraduate degree.

Prior to reading the book, I had no idea what RA was and when I tried to explain what RA is to others, they always looked like deer in headlights.

Even today, people will pursue DETC over RA simply because the U.S. Government will give financial aide for it.

 

John

Your weekend rest is distracting you. The web site name is "gaolee" and not "goalee" - I trust you are still taking the tablets and lying down in a darkened room for a complete rest - and that this is an uncharacteristic slip in an otherwise unblemished research record.

From the web site "gaolee" appears as a fraudulent 'accrediting' body, designed to catch the unaware with a mixture of names from legally established universities from the UK and outright degree mills.

Its web address is from South Africa not Europe, and adds to my concerns about the administration of, and the administration within, higher education in South Africa. In English 'gaol' is a 'jail' and comes from the ancient French 'gaole'. It is not a Scots word. It is called a 'jail' in North America.

However, 'goal' is quite often used in Scotland in connection with football (unfortunately often when foreign teams play against Scots teams to describe what they do when they beat us).

I will put my order in for John Bear's new book from Amazon when it is published. A mere '42' changes or omissions set against the thousands of facts and inclusions seems an error rate close to epsilon (er, a Greek word, John, meaning in statistics a very small error, 'vanishingly small' in fact).

 

GAOLEE and Cambridge International U. were discussed earlier in this thread.

 

A minor hint on gaolee is that most of the names of real universities (in its mix of, say, Mendel & Lysenko) are misspelled.

 

Gavin, if you had'nt figured it out..oh my, what does it take to bring out the best in people, the mere mention of Edinburgh with a reference to a misplled ficticious name. Who the Bloody hell cares if its 'gaolee' or 'goalee', everyone knows its crap by either name.

The idea was to stir up once again Prof Kenndy out of HIS armchair, the washing & polishing of his car on Sunday or out of the local to see if the bait would be taken..and it was.

Gavin, dont you see that site is becoming smarmy (not mispelled) and mythos.

I though we could start the week off with nice clean DL stimulating discussions, instead of we lstated again as we left off last week?

BTW, I thought the Scotish sounding name was more appropriate, and any reference similar to 'Geordie' (as in Tyneside) or Goalee (as in soccer player) would see who and if anyone could bite.

Have a pleasant week, and again on this pleasant -11C monday in Toronto, I should go back to my darkened room, take my tablets and dream about what is in Bear's new book of 42 changes to the world of detective epsilon.

C-YA, next monday, and I guess I'm faaling into the same heterophony as the others.

J.R(ic)

 

OK, I'll bite.
University #1: Kennedy-Western
Moving to: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
New Name: Mugabe-Western

University#2: Greenwich
Moving to: Mbabane, Swaziland
New Name: Royal Greenwich

University#3: Liverpool
Moving to: Newburgh, Indiana
New Name: Hogg Heaven

University #4: UNISA
Moving to: Adelaide, South Australia
New Name: University of South Australia

University #5: UniSA
Moving to: Pretoria, South Africa
New Name: University of South Africa

 

John Roberts: "...dream about what is in Bear's new book of 42 changes to the world of detective epsilon."

I think you may have missed my point, John. There are many many hundreds of changes in the 15th edition. I was referring to those 42 (or 3 or 79 or whatever) that would inevitably happen right after the deadline to make any changes.

 

Uncle Janko: OK, I'll bite.
University #1: Kennedy-Western
Moving to: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
New Name: Mugabe-Western
------------------------------------

That's funny. And brings to mind this question: Do we know which Kennedy Kennedy-Western is named after? Recall that when pressed, the proprietor of Robert Kennedy University said no, it wasn't that Robert Kennedy, but a banker of the same name, whom he refused to identify further. (I don't suppose you need any permissions if you just use a common last name.)

Still, one wonders: Ted? Jackie? John? Gail? Scott? Arthur?