Take a look at www.allamericanuniversity.org That is the best example of a degree mill I have ever seen. They do not even offer any courses. And you can pay to get a higher average! Regards Morten
Excellent! I've always wanted a higher grade point average....there's nothing like a transcript that has a 4.0 (A+). A great way to fool the sucker......errr.....I mean the boss at work.
Cat and pidegoens! Let me ask a question. If someone has all the skills, knowledge and academic and professional expertise, skills, etc, and can prove it all, why should s/he not be able to document it and receive a degree with no additional work if a university is able to adopt a system that enables a person to document and verify all prior learning, experience and skills? If a university does so, is it a degree mill? I think not, if a robust system of verification is in place. What do others think - without getting bogged down with, 'I did it this way (and therefore it has to be right!') syndrome! 'telfax' (PhD)-who did everything so very traditionally (and very badly along the way) but, had I listened to everyone 30 years ago, would have done nothing academically!
Telfax, There is nothing wrong with having your lifelong learning assessed and evaluated for credit (provided it is a legit form of evaluation and not a "pay your way to a diploma" tactic). Portfolio comes to mind when someone asks about credit for life experience. So, if you have any experience about virtually any topic taught in a school, odds are you can write a portfolio and get credit for it. Granted, it's not as instantanous as just paying to have your life experience converted to credit and then a degree, but it pays off in the end (...well so I'm told atleast ). Best Regards, Bill
In other posts I've attempted to point out, as Telfax does, that recognition of prior learning was around long before paradise (in the form New Zealand) was discovered. And that, in my case, working with an unaccredited (by the establishment!) university has paid real dividends in the conservation of the endangered NZ Brown teal. Sadly, however, my offer to email the Trinity College & University's PhD Dissertation requirements, as well as a copy of my TCU dissertation, to any interested Degreeinfo viewers fell largely on unseeing/uninterested eyes - only two viewers responded! I thank these viewers for their response and would mention that the offer is still open. The dissertation "NATURAL HISTORY, CAPTIVE MANAGEMENT & SURVIVAL OF THE NZ BROWN TEAL" has now been published in manual form and is available (in four lumps) by email. The manual has stimulated considerable world-wide interest amongst waterfowl people and I'd be happy to quote what some of the world's leading authorities had to say about it. On another topic, and for our Australian neighbours, we are looking forward to seeing Australia whipped in tonight's World Cup Cricket clash.
Re: Cat and pidegoens! Yes, they should be able to receive a degree if they can document their learning. A few procedures in place to do this in the U.S. system are portfolio, standardized testing (clep/dantes/etc), and challenge tests. I guess what most people would argue is that writing a ten page report on the latest Vin Diesel movie doesn't sufficiently document it. If some students go beyond that, does that mean the process is valid? No. Come on telfax, if you have spent any time reading these posts at even a CA approved level you wouldn't have even posted this. The reason most unaccredited schools (including all of the ones that give mass credit for experience) are thought of as mills is that it is hard if not impossible to verify if their process for evaluating prior learning is valid without a reliable third party to 'audit' them. Please just Telfax. Thanks, Tony
Hi Russel, I am amazed. I can get a diploma only 20 minutes from where I live. I guess that I ought to pay them a visit but has decided to write to the Ministry of Education instead. Can't wait to see their reply. Regards Morten
Morten, Please post the response you get. I know someone who obtained a Ph.D. from NIU and have often wondered what the "campus" is like.
That is an easy one to answer. There is none. The fax number they have belongs to a company called Regus which lease offices. And at the adress there are some IT companies and an accountant. I took a look at the map in the phone book and there simply isn't enough physical space to have a campus there. Besides education is tightly regulated in Denmark so universities here has to be found on the recognized list from the Department of Education. AAU is definetly not among the 11 universities on that list. When I get a response I will let you know. Regards Morten
Thanks Morten, but NIU only needs a 4' X 4' cubicle--enough to house a fax, copier and answering machine. This could be facilitated on the top shelf of a closet or beneath a bathroom sink. Seriously, I would be interested to know what you find out.
I looks like someone from AAU is reading these posts. The adress and phone number from "Contact us" has been removed since I last checked a few hours ago. Regards Morten
