California Coast University's new Degree Program

I thought this information would be helpful to all since much have been discussed about CCU and its programs. http://www.calcoast.edu/programs.html
By excluding the doctoral degrees from their offerings, it seems to me that they may have applied for the DETC accreditation. If this is so, and if they consequently attain the DETC accreditation, is it a plus for those who have already obtained their doctorates from CCU prior to CCU receiving accreditation (if they get it)?

 

DETC

I hope they do. That would be great, and hope others soon follow their lead.

 

If CCU gets DETC accreditation (something that I fully expect will happen, if they apply), that would be a benefit for CCU doctorate holders.

However, the catch is that it is only a benefit as long as you're dealing with less competent people in human resources. Anyone who does their job could find out quite easily that the doctorate is still unaccredited.

I tend to think that basing life decisions on the incompetence of others is rarely a good idea. Gosh darn it, occasionally you do run into people that know what they're doing (and my luck being what it is, I *always* run into that person).


Tom Nixon

 

Good for California Coast U

That is good news for California Coast University.

I believe they will pick up more students in the long run who are looking for proper accreditation.

I don't think they can lose by going for the DETC. Something for the other good/legit state licenced schools to at least ponder.

 

DECT accreditation will certainly be a positive milestone for CCU since, for the nearly 30 years of its existence, has been unaccredited. When CCU was established in the early 70s (as California Western University), the myriad of options for postsecondary education now available via distance learning did not exist.

CCU did a good job of filling a gap (a quick way to get a legal degree when an accredited one was not required) for many years. The current availability of numerous accredited degrees via DL has obviously had an impact on CCU.

Whether DETC accreditation will ultimately hurt or benefit CCU remains to be seen (I hope it benefits CCU so that others will follow suit). In anticipation of their DETC bid, CCU appears to have dropped over half of its academic programs and all of its doctorates (which was a big "cash cow" for CCU), so CCU may be hurting at first. Of course, if CCU is unsuccessful in its attempt for DETC recognition, it can reinstate its other programs and doctorates.

Tony Pina
Faculty, Cal State U. San Bernardino

 

Why will DECT accreditation.....

...help CCU or any present or past students? Without being accredited by an RA, won't CCU still be looked upon by all but a very few as simply an upper level degree mill?

BTW: this isn’t a slam on CCU as I wish as much as anyone, to have a degree of CCU worth something, almost anything. I just haven’t seen it yet, and I’m not sure just how much DECT will change that.

 

Re: Re: California Coast University's new Degree Program

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Just thought I'd share an email response I received from DETC


"As of June 30, 2003, these are the applicants for accreditation for fall 2003. You never mentioned the name of the institution, so I can make no comment as to is status.

Applicants / Initial Accreditation

AHS Institute, (Association for Hebraic Studies), Suffern, NY
Central State University, Riverside, CA
Century University, Albuquerque, NM
California Coast University, Santa Ana, CA
Educational Correspondence Training School, Erie, PA
IMPAC University, Punta Gorda, FL
International Sports Sciences Association, Santa Barbara, CA
KLC School of Design, London, England, UK
Lansbridge University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Rescue College/Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, N. Kansas City, MO
Sonoran Desert Institute, Scottsdale, AZ
Southwest University, Kenner, LA
University of Philosophical Research, Los Angeles, CA
YorktownUniversity.com, Hampton, VA

Sally Welch, Assistant Director
DETC"

 

Thank you, Wes. I notice that Century University has applied for DETC accreditation. Have they dropped their doctoral programs as well?

 

Indeed, after a quick perusal of Century's website, it appears they are no longer offering doctoral programs.

 

Almost half of Century's listed faculty have Century PhDs but mostly good looking masters. The other half have good doctorates. This is a lot of home-grown talent, but ignoring the Century degrees still leaves reasonably qualified staff.

CCU, on the other hand, lists only one of their own doctorates, with the rest from better than average schools.

It would be nice if these DL pioneers both made it and succeeded. It would probably encourage others. Alternatively, I think we can say goodby to $3700.00 degrees.

 

Thanks to all for your feedback.

 

Re: Why will DECT accreditation.....

Having DETC accreditation--recognized by the US Dept. of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation--would certainly take CCU to a level far above "degree mill" status. While DETC (national) accreditation is not regarded as equal to regional accreditation, it is far above the state-approval status that CCU has had up to now.

In its early days, CCU did some highly questionable things reminiscent of degree mills but has since become far more respectable. (I'm thinking particularly of the awarding of a doctorate to a well-known religious figure in a discipline that the university did not offer, based on a few post-masters courses taken at another university and a "dissertation" that was, in reality, a book that had been published several years earlier. This was in the mid-70s, when CCU was known as California Western University and was only a couple of years old).

Tony Piña
Faculty, Cal State U. San Bernardino

 

Re: Why will DECT accreditation.....

DETC accreditation has some acceptance at regionally accredited schools. It also has a lot of acceptance in the workplace, especially if employers know what it is.

 

Which is good news for at least two reasons. One, they will benefit from DETC accreditation, if they get it. Two, they'll be out of the doctorate-awarding business, which their tiny and self-educated faculty never should've been allowed to do.