Pacific Western University

whats interesting is why they would keep the same incorporation/change name to california miramar university, with the result that all the bad press from pwu follows them.

why would they not just start a new 'clean' incorporation and start from scratch?

 

I believe that an institution must have been in operation for a set period of time before most (all?) accrediting agencies will consider accrediting the school. This could be one reason.

 

Visiting CMU sounds to me like it would probably be the most boring thing that I could possibly plan. Meaning if I tried to buy a doctorate they would probably say they don't offer doctorates. Then if I tried to buy another degree they would probably look at me like I was from another planet. The only interesting thing to me about CMU is what students from PWU are in their records that they going to verify degrees for. When they do verify a PWU degree, do they mention that PWU was never accredited?

 

I can’t answer that question. Perchance that would have been a question you might have presented to them. But it’s apparent you’re not going to stop by; and that’s all-right too.

 

Pacific Western--The Real Story

The true story of Pacific Western is a bit more complicated than indicated by the thread. Pacific Western's intention was to become fully accredited over time--it takes years of operation for a new college to become accredited. I knew people who went there in their early years, and while it was not Harvard, the classes did require a fair amount of work--probably as much as the average four year degree granting institution. One of the graduates I know who received a doctorate in their early years has authored over 100 publications. Unfortunately, another Pacific Western University opened in Hawaii, and this on was a diploma mill. There was some administrative overlap in the beginning, but ties between the two were severed early. As Pacific Western (California) worked towards full accreditation, Pacific Western (Hawaii) continued as a diploma mill. Eventually, Pacific Western--Hawaii was shut down. But everyone who researched "Pacific Western" assumed they were the same school. To avoid being tarnished by Pacific Western-Hawaii, Pacific Western-California changed their name to California Miramar University, and they did attain full accreditation. Remember also that when Pacific Western-California started, the rule was that "distance learning" colleges and universities could not be accredited--the concept of distance learning was not acceptable. As the world changed, so did that, and now many colleges and universities have accredited distance learning programs. In some ways, Pacific Western was ahead of its time.

 

I earned an MBA in 1980 from Pacific Western University which included my thesis which was later published & used as an Claims Handling Manual for a major insurance company. Although I was given some transfer credits for previously taken graduate level and law school courses, I did also receive some life experience credits for previous employment and company seminars attended. I agree PWU was ahead of its time in distance learning and the forerunner of what evolved into all these online universities. All I know is that I worked my tail off for my MBA, and that PWU was not a diploma mill back in 1980.

 

Is PWU where our long ago brother "Dr Duck" got his Ph.D. or was that Kensington? Only old timers need answer!

 

Oh man..Dr. Duck...wow..that brings up ancient memories..lol

 

The quality of an individual graduate's work is not a fair measure of the quality of the program--or the university.

Legitimate graduate programs do not do this.

With whom do you agree? No one is stating such a thing authoritatively.

Pacific Western University was, at that time, a run-of-the-mill, unaccredited, unapproved school operating under absolutely no outside scrutiny regarding the quality of its operations. Back then California had a "three-tier" system: Accredited, Approved, and Authorized. ACCREDITED schools (accredited by a recognized agency) were left alone by the state. PWU was not accredited. Schools could have one or more of its programs evaluated and APPROVED by the state. This was particularly valuable in the licensed fields (like psychology and marriage-family counseling). PWU had no approved programs, including the MBA you did. Finally, the State AUTHORIZED schools to operate by having them submit an application describing 13 areas of their operation and attesting that they had at least $50K in assets towards running the school. But no one actually evaluated the efficacy of these affidavits. In other words, you could operate a diploma mill legally in California, and many (MANY!) of the schools that fell into the Authorized category were, by anyone's definition, diploma mills.

Was PWU a diploma mill? Because there is no set standard for that term, it is hard to say definitively. They didn't just sell degrees, we know that. But we have no way of knowing to what extent their graduates had to actually work to earn their degrees. Your anecdote, unfortunately, does not ease that dearth of knowledge.

You may know that, but no one else does. A degree is a proxy; it speaks on your behalf when you're not present. When you attend a university, you have an exchange of capital; you give two and receive two. You give your academic effort and your tuition while you receive an education and a degree. But in your case, your degree is massively flawed because it represents nothing. YOU represent something, as you've tried to do here. But the degree does not, except for the fact that you will likely go your whole life without it being questioned. Not because it is not questionable, but because most people assume the claim to be genuine. But if they read the story I just posted, reactions to your MBA might change. Luckily, no one will.

When California eliminated the Authorized category, unaccredited schools had to become approved institutionally (not just programmatically). A few accomplished this (like California Coast University, which was the first non-residential university to get all of its programs Approved at all degree levels before the system changed). Others, like Kensington and many others, did not. PWU was bought up, with the new ownership using the assets to launch California Miramar University, which is accredited by the DEAC. (DEAC has always taken a blind eye to the shenanigans of certain schools prior to their accreditation.) But I do not believe PWU alumni moved over to CMU--they're not considered graduates of the new school. So, they're even denied the reflected glory of seeing their unaccredited alma mater go on to accreditation.

None of this is to be perceived as an affront to you. I doubt anyone here even knows you, and I'm not interested in evaluating a 40-year-old decision you made. But when you bring it to this forum, please don't be surprised if a few people with some insight into the situation might have something to say that is contrary to your assertions.

 

Knightsbridge, a fake school run from the owner's home in Denmark while pretending to be something else (many things over the years). Apparently, that kind of thing was legal in Denmark--or, at least, not explicitly illegal--as long as you didn't claim to be a Danish university.

Knightsbridge was the second fake school Neil Hayes turned to with his book on the brown teal in order to receive a PhD for it. But the first was ridiculed in a hard way when he began discussing it in this community. (On the old alt.education.distance Usenet forum, IIRC.) So he went shopping for a new one, a very unusual action.

Hayes' work is real and his QSM from New Zealand is quite prestigious. His work with the brown teal was impactful. I'll leave it to others to ponder this conundrum.

 

Rich Douglas - Who the hell are you - Some kind of self appointed academic guardian ?
Obviously I ruffled your feathers. And you know what they do to feathers - they pluck them. So pluck you !

 

No. Just a member of this board, not unlike any other.

Of course not.

Please let us know where I got anything wrong.

 

First - I thought your rant was unnecessarily long - intellectual yes, but a rant is still a rant. Your writings have the distinct tone of an academic snob cloaked in a "Board" membership.
Second - The new member I was agreeing with was Dansbooks 2/9/13 post about PWU being ahead of its time in distance learning and that it was in my opinion what evolved into the present online learning craze.
Third - PWU was conceived at the start of the distance learning movement. Its goal was to provide a means for working people to seek and obtain an advanced degree. These were people who did not have the ability either financially (by quitting their jobs) and/or geographically (by moving their residences) to be able to attend in person. It was designed so working people could stay in place at their jobs while seeking their advanced degree.
Four - The movement received much resistance both from the State of California, and nationally from other states as well as from the mainline college community - who perhaps saw it as competition and/or a "dumbing down" of the system. Therefore any accredited, authorized or approved designations became extremely difficult or impossible to obtain.
Five - Regarding your comment on life & job experience credits being bogus....
Today many highly regarded colleges and universities offer Executive MBA programs. These programs are specifically designed to give credit for work experience to students advancing their careers while maintaining their employment.
Six - Obviously the market exists today for distance learning & online education. It has morphed into a major industry that needs control and regulation - particularly the for-profit schools and those claiming phony job placement numbers.
I trust this fills you in and will end this exchange.....

 

I'm sorry. I've had such little practice at it, plus such little experience in this field. I will try to do better. But I've never been an academic, so I'm not sure how to avoid sounding like one. And no, I have no membership in any "Board," other than being a poster to a few (including here.) Again, I'll have to work on that. Thanks.

Thank you. Responding to a post that is 9 years old is a bit unusual. It was hard to follow it.

When did this movement begin? Was it the University of London awarding degrees by examination all over the British Empire--in the 19th century? Or the Carnegie Report in the 1960s? Perhaps the onset of the "Big 3" in the early 1970s?

PWU arose when California began licensing anyone--including a guy who didn't even have a PhD (like Philip Forte)--who wanted to run a school for a profit. I'm not sure that was the "start of the distance learning movement," but okay.

This was the goal of many ACCREDITED DL programs and schools back then as well.

As were many ACCREDITED schools at that time. In fact, the second-largest private university in California was started in the mid-1970s explicitly for that purpose.

Ummm...yes and no. Yes, there was a lot of institutional resistance to distance learning in the beginning. But there were options available even in 1980 to earn good graduate degrees nontraditionally. Those options were on the rise and have never looked back.

Please provide examples of accredited graduate programs who give credit for "work experience." I contend that this is a very unusual practice, except among diploma mills and other unaccredited operations.

Obviously. (Well, for the first statement, anyway. Self-regulation--in the form of accreditation--has been going on for more than a century.)

Well, it fills in nothing because most of what you posted is either irrelevant, unresponsive, or both. Also, you've added nothing to change anyone's perception of Pacific Western University for those of us who know about it. And Kensington. And Golden State. And Central California. And Frederick Taylor. And Summit. And Sierra. And Kennedy-Western. And CULA. Plus a plethora of other for-profit, unaccredited, institutions awarding unrecognized degrees in a multitude of areas and at all levels with no residencies...and often no instruction at all. But you went to a good one. Okay. Good. But whatever you actually did to earn your PWU degree, I can assure readers that you could have done an awful lot less and still received the same degree. Provided the check cleared, of course.

 

Rich is back! Exciting.

Ted, Rich really is an expert on the topic and only speaks the truth. PWU was a degree mill. Or at least I would call it one. Of course, PWU wouldn't mind if people worked for their degree, it just wasn't really a requirement and how hard you worked was more up to you. PWU just wanted your money. There should be lots of old threads on this topic. PWU seemed to get more than its fair share of space on this board because they were not a place that just sold diplomas but instead liked to push the "life experience for credit" scam. So there seemed to be a fair number of "graduates" from PWU that were completely convinced that they had earned a real degree.

 

Look my long winded non friend, your categorically styled responses to anything and everything presented proves you are both knowledgeable and a frustrated historian with not enough to do.

However no matter how hard you try your comments are irrelevant to my claim that PWU was well intentioned at the beginning of the distance learning movement and was not a diploma mill at that time. Only later on did PWU become frustrated and get into trouble.

I'd be interested in the name of the Accredited DL school that you say was "the second- largest private university in California was started in the mid-1970s explicitly for that purpose".

Finally all knowledgeable one - you need to study up on exactly what Executive MBA programs have been doing and are doing at present.

 

What are you - some kind of Rich Douglas "sickophant" (word humor), or just his echo?
You too - can have your opinion. As the saying goes "opinions are likes a-holes, everyone has one".

 

Thank you for your judgmental opinion. I shall take it into consideration!

 

Bill can decide if and how to respond to this. But please, show some manners. Thank you.

 

Ted, your lack of civility doesn’t speak highly of...