Interesting Read from UIU(Union)

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Vinipink, Jan 31, 2009.

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  1. Vinipink

    Vinipink Accounting Monster

    http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20090119/NEWS01/901190407/


    Michael Secrest was ecstatic when he discovered he could stay at home, keep his job and earn an advanced biology degree so he could become a professor.


    The Blanchester man submitted his application for a Ph.D. in conservation biology to the Union Institute & University in Walnut Hills and it was accepted. He enrolled in December 2002.

    "It was great. I could work on the weekends and in the evening and I had the summers to work on it," Secrest said.

    Secrest, 57, did the original research required for the Ph.D. - the impact of biodiversity management in three areas in Southwest Ohio - but never got the degree.

    That's because, Secrest contends in a Hamilton County lawsuit, the school was never accredited to offer such a degree.

    After he spent five years and $80,000 in tuition, the school informed Secrest it didn't offer a Ph.D. in conservation biology despite telling him for years it did, his lawsuit contends.

    "I could not believe what I was hearing," Secrest said.

    The school's lawyer and its president insist they said in 2002 he could get a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies, with a concentration on arts and sciences and a specialization in conservation biology.

    "We have worked diligently with Mr. Secrest to address his concerns, and are willing to continue to work with him should he want to complete his degree at UI&U. However, we will not compromise our academic standards and/or violate the guidelines from our regulatory agencies," Union President Roger Sublett said in a statement.

    Secrest and his Montgomery attorney, John Phillips, say they have documents that prove Secrest's case.

    Secrest chose Union because it was a "distance learning" university.

    The school, opened in 1964, has no classrooms, but its administrative center is in Cincinnati. It has 1,750 students from all 50 states and 20 countries who obtain their education by attending classes at other schools, online and in seminars.

    Secrest sought the higher degree because he wanted to become a tenured professor and do more research. He chose Union, he said, because he could continue to work as a middle-school teacher.

    He said he met with Union advisers who assured him he could get a Ph.D. in conservation biology.

    He was listed in documents for incoming students as a "biology/life sciences" Ph.D. candidate, made presentations to his doctoral committee about his comprehensive program, listed the courses he would take and then wrote his dissertation - the first of three he wrote while at Union.

    "They knew for four solid years that that's what I was working on," Secrest said.

    That's when the school told him, Secrest said, he could get a Ph.D. from Union in the more broad interdisciplinary studies - but only if he rewrote his dissertation.

    "I'm thinking, 'What is this going to do to me as a biologist?' " Secrest said.

    Union asked him to "hide some of my statistics and fudge or manipulate the data" in his dissertation," he said.

    Phillips, Secrest's attorney, said the school was forcing him to change the focus of his dissertation to "take the science out of it ... because they can't issue science Ph.D.s"

    John Greiner, Union's attorney, insisted Secrest knew before he enrolled the school didn't offer the advanced degree he sought.

    But Secrest and Phillips wonder why Union was accused of doing similar things to two other students who filed lawsuits accusing the school of misrepresenting information that prevented them from getting Ph.D.s.

    They are:

    Linda Hildabrand of Mechanicsburg, Pa., who sued Union in 2004. She sought a Ph.D. in clinical psychology beginning in 2001, but, 2½ years into her program, said she was told her Ph.D. would be in interdisciplinary studies. She spent more than $72,000 in tuition;

    Robert Connerley of Riverside, Calif., filed a 2003 federal civil suit against Union, saying it said it could award him a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. He completed his studies and then found out Union wasn't certified to award a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. He paid more than $75,000 in tuition.

    Greiner noted both Hildabrand and Connerley were allowed to sit for exams in their home states to become psychologists.

    Phillips countered that happened in Connerley's case only after Union changed his transcripts two years into Connerley's lawsuit.

    Union "habitually offers degrees that it is not authorized to grant," Secrest's suit alleges.

    Both suits were settled with no finding or admission of liability, Greiner said, adding the settlements are confidential.

    Secrest, now a part-time adjunct instructor at the University of Cincinnati's Clermont College and Southern State Community College, has an undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati and two master's degrees from Miami University.

    He retired from his middle-school teaching job and spent his retirement savings, paying all but $20,000 of the $80,000 student loan bill for the Union tuition.

    "I feel very much betrayed," Secrest said. "They covered up things that they should have very, very easily revealed to me."

    The case is next in court Feb. 4 before Common Pleas Judge Ethna Cooper.

    Secrest's suit seeks at least $125,000, but his attorney believes Secrest's injuries are worth far more.

    "This is not a case where somebody did a crappy job and then is trying to get something because they're lazy and didn't do the work," Phillips said.

    "What's five years of your life worth? I think Union needs to be sent a message."
     
  2. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    And what degree does Union Institute's School of Psychology offer?
     
  3. Vinipink

    Vinipink Accounting Monster

    Furthermore, I was pondering, what degree does Union Institute's School of Accounting offer?
     
  4. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    Looking at an archive of their website from 2004, at that time, the closest they could say was that "UI&U’s School of Professional Psychology (SOPP) offers a Ph.D in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in clinical psychology." Maybe they had been clear enough with these learners on that point, or maybe they had not?

    Today their School of Psychology offers, as its only doctorate, a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. A Ph.D. concentration in clinical psychology is no longer offered.

    No School of Accounting, but since you mention it, in their current more focused Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies, you can pursue a concentration in Ethical and Creative Leadership. I can't read that construction without imagining a program in "Ethical and Creative Accounting," and I go, wait a minute...

    And, update your bookmarks, everyone; Union Institute & University now makes its home at myunion.edu.
     
  5. Vinipink

    Vinipink Accounting Monster

    I mentioned before that I met someone that claims a PhD in Accounting from Union. Claims to have done everything. I asked the person about the school and faculty and still have not given a clear position about the accounting faculty or the accounting school.

    So, it seems they gave in to the TUI lawsuit! OIC!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 31, 2009

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