Hello All: Great site. Glad you are here..... I'd like some feedback from anyone regarding Washington School of Law. They offer a PhD Taxation in which I am interested. However, they are not RA. Sometime in the future, I plan to teach. So my concern is that not having the RA will hurt me in obtaining a teaching position. What are your thoughts. Is this school a waste of time and money given what I plan to do with the degree? Thank you in advance for your feedback....
Much depends on where you might want to teach. Many community colleges look more at experience than degrees -- either for a probationary period (3 years, I believe, in California), or indefinitely. The fact that Washington qualifies graduates to take the CPA and other accounting exams in most states is a real plus. But I think nearly all regionally and nationally accredited schools would have a problem with accepting their degree. On another hand, if you already have an accredited Master's, that could well be enough for many teaching positions.
Please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe it's highly unlikely any of their programs would qualify a graduate for the CPA exam.
Don't know about the quality of the school, but they have a top-rated straight line for making up your own vulgar joke: Self-proctorial sheets
Claims to be the largest school of it's kind, as well as, accreditation. Is it legit?? Is the school legally State Licensed in UT?
According to their website:Washington Institute is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Higher Education of the National Association of Private Nontraditional Schools and Colleges. The Institute is an affiliate member of the Independent Study Division of the National Study University Continuing Education Association. It is formally registered under the Utah Postsecondary Proprietary School Act. The program has been registered or accepted for continuing education credit for Certified Public Accountants by the State of Utah Department of Business Regulation, and Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing. What is the "Commission for Higher Education of the National Association of Private Nontraditional Schools and Colleges"?? Is this a real agency??
The National Association is legitimate, but not recognized (despite 6 or 7 attempts over 20+ years) by the Dept. of Education. (For many years, California Coast University claimed their accreditation, but no more.) The literature WSL sent me says they have beenacepted forCPE credit by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (and virtuallyall states that require such approval), the IRS, the Dept. of the Treasury, and others.
Hawthorne I beleive is also UT State Approved, as is Washington. What is the UT State Approval/Licensure process comparable to (CA State Approved? WY? NY? HI?) in standards/academic rigor?
Wow. A name from the past.Hawthorne. Mr. or Ms. T seems to know about or keep track of just about every bad school in North America. The late founder of Hawthorne had a totally phony doctorate. The current version of Hawthorne has its accreditation from the dreadful Accrediting Commission International. Utah seems to have just a rubber stamp process. Title 53B Ch. 5 of the state code says they register schools, but do not supervise or approve them.
The Washington School of Law is one of those schools that provide a legitimate educational program and has reasonable respect but does not fit any accreditation niche. Doctorates - no DETC Totally distance - R/A resistance. Almost everyone who attends is already well qualified as a lawyer or accountant and the degrees are not any added qualification, just a thorough study of the tax system.
Thank you all for your responses. I'm pretty certain I won't be applying to WSL. It's a shame it is not properly accredited because other tax professionals say the education is pretty decent. However, these same professionals are not looking to eventually teach, which is why I would have pursued the degree. On the other hand, Dr. Bear makes a good point. When I complete the MST program from GGU, I should be able to still teach at the college level. Thus, the PhD, while helpful, lack of one would not hinder me in getting a teaching spot, at least as an adjunct. That's what I would want anyway, as I have a very good tax position right now. Again, thanks to all who responded...and thanks for the great work on this board.
