On August 25, 2002, our very own Rich Douglas made his 2000th post. Since I have only 1775 posts it is my responsibility, duty and privilege to offer congratulations to my distance learning colleague. From the DegreeInfo Gang, We Love You, Man!
what is a 2000th If a senior is 100, whqt is a 2,000. methusula? LoL Thanks Rich, for all your help over the years. All the best!
Just a gratuitous comment on Rich's predictability...er...consistency in relation to unaccredited schools. I will be good. Rich is certainly an asset to this and other sites he haunts.
Thank you, Dennis. I hereby retract my "common lament" remark. But "haunts"? With about 2,800 posts on three boards (plus who-knows-how-many on a.e.d), I'm not sure "haunt" is the word. Something to do with "excessive" would probably be right, though!!
Are you saying he should be UNPREDICTABLE about unaccredited schools? Why would anyone choose an unknown quantity when a high quality known quantity is available? I guess if a person wants to rebel and is willing to risk 1000s of dollars and years of their life, then MAYBE.
You post enough times, however, and you get it from all angles. I've been criticized for kind comments I've made about some unaccredited schools. I've also been held to task for being inconsistent about them. The reality is, my thoughts on them have evolved over the years. When I started reading and researching in 1978, almost all alternative schools were unaccredited. It was the accreditors that were the bad guys, keeping innovative schools out. (Especially short- or non-residency schools.) Well, the accreditors got a littlme more wise, and many of the accreditable schools became so. That left the rest. This had a profound affect on my thinking, along with the growing evidence that the only good an unaccreited degree will do for most people is (a) self-satisfaction (ego), or (b) in employment circles where no one asks and no one cares. A Ph.D. from International College in Santa Barbara meant something. So did one from Columbia Pacific. More so, even, than California Coast, SCUPS, and the like today. Who knew that Saybrook, CIIS, Sarasota, and others would get accredited? You couldn't tell the difference between one of them and, say, WISR, or even Heed. In current times, schools like Jones International, Capella, Touro International, and Northcentral can start, get accredited (or become a candidate, in Northcentral's case, or come under the umbrella of another school's accreditation a la Touro), and flourish, all while California Coast, California Pacific, Kennedy-Western, Century, and the rest remain unaccredited. It is enough for one to take pause and revise one's view. And it makes trying to distinguish between good and not-so-good unaccredited schools, for the most part, a useless exercise.
Rich and Russell, Just a suggestion, post one message a day -- you'll still be a leader on this NG, in terms of number of posts -- and donate the remainder of your time to a worthy cause such as St. Jude's Medical Center, Feed-the-Children or a local church.
I see that, at this writing, I only have 240-some posts. Of course, Rich and I only registered two days apart. I guess that means that those of us with legitimate credentials do not need as many words to be profound. (Okay, cut me some slack. In the not-too-distant future, I hope, Rich and I will have the same doctoral alma mater. Then I won't be able to trash him any more at all. ) Congratulations, Rich. Perhaps they'll create a new category in your honor: Fellow.
Re: Re: Rich Douglas' 2000th Post Oh, Steve. I'm sure you'll come up with something to trash me about. If not, I'll help!!