More on Breyer State University's Faculty

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by Rich Douglas, Jun 8, 2007.

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  1. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Yes, most of us have heard about the Oregon law; I'm referring to the way it has been been implemented over time. There are a few useful resources on the ODA website now, but in the beginning there were many iterations of a list that seemed indicate that the authors were astonished that every school in North America did not immediately seek their authorization. Rather silly activities. Criticism not largely misplaced.

    Dave
     
  2. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Yes, you're right about the change in degree characterization. I still think DBA (Alabama State Licensed / Not Regionally-Accredited / Unaccredited) or not listing the degree is the way to go.

    Dave
     
  3. back2cali

    back2cali New Member

    If I recall, there are just as many regular posters on this site that also have either earned a degree while it was unaccredited or in controversy.

    If perhaps Breyer State does seek to go after accreditation, which I can hardly see happening due to the vast amount of course offerings it would need to be evaluated. Literally hundreds, then this could be a different story in the future.

    I know many of you on here are so knowledgable on not only the accreditation standards, but also if you happen to have inquired with DETC, or a RA accreditor, you should know that there is not only a cost per each degree program to be evaluated, but also a fee per course itself.

    My last recollection from a review of DETC is I believe $1000 per actual course to be evaluated.

    With the many courses and programs a school such as Breyer State would need to have evaluated, it would most likely come into the $1 million range I would presume.

    That is quite alot of available cashflow needed on hand I would think.

    In either case, perhaps they will choose to narrow down the offerings substantially and attempt to seek evaluation of only a hand picked few.
     
  4. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Really? Who? And it matters because.....?
    Doesn't this point to the millish nature of this "school"? They've got a faculty that is largely self-credentialed, and then they award degrees in so many different areas. Where's the credibility?
    Not so. While the scope of a school's offering might impact the cost of an accreditation review, it is hardly a driving concern. This sounds like it's leading to a typically millish argument, that accreditation is just too darn expensive.
    Do you have a source for this? Even if it was true, that represents a tiny amount compared to the enrollments experienced by such operations.

    I've been in contact with several DETC-accredited schools. None have complained that the costs of obtaining and retaining accreditation have been onerous.
    This is an amazing argument. Hey, if they were really enrolling students in so many courses, then a million bucks wouldn't be a big deal.

    Stop making financial arguments when you don't have the actual figures.
    It is substantially dumb to defend such an operation. I mean, we are talking about Breyer State, the school that has "moved" from state to state, seeking one degree mill haven after another. But to argue that the barrier to accreditation is expense is a joke. It is a pittance in the operation of any legitimate school.
     
  5. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I'm not sure what you're talking about there.

    I don't expect to earn any more degrees in my lifetime, but I still like to study. To tell you the truth, most of the educational things that interest me at the moment aren't accredited. I like them because they offer unusual features and subject matter, along with low cost and few hassles. In each case the academic level is stimulating, or else I wouldn't be interested.

    I'm interested in this stuff for my own reasons and don't anticipate telling strangers about it. The only people that I might tell are people interested in the same things who would be able to appreciate the courses. In other words, accreditation isn't particularly relevant to me.

    That happy situation would start to change if I (hypothetically) earned an unaccredited degree. I suppose that I could always keep the thing to myself. I rarely have any occasion to mention my two RA degrees, after all. But if I wanted to use the degree, if I wanted strangers to think more highly of me because of the degree, then I'd have to pay close attention to where I used it. In my case it would be a very specialized degree and I'd probably only reveal it in situations where people would already be familiar with the program.

    And I'd probably have to give some thought to how I'd defend my degree and my decision to earn it if any enemies or rivals tried to use it "time bomb"-fashion to discredit me. I don't think that would be very difficult for me, but it might be tough in other cases.

    That's not really a bad rule for prospective students in general: if you can't defend the degree that you propose to earn against skeptics, then it might be best to choose something else.
     
  6. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    For me my thought process would probably be something like, "Hmm, he claims a Ph.D. from Breyer State University, yuck. I need to avoid this guy." Alternatively, I might burst out laughing out loud and then blurt out, "You actually believe that you could make a significant contribution to academic knowledge through Breyer State? What a pathetic joke!"
     
  7. back2cali

    back2cali New Member

    Please feel free to address me as Doctor.

    Thank you very much for your input.
     
  8. RobbCD

    RobbCD New Member

    Why should he? You aren't a doctor.
     
  9. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    You're a Doctor ?? Wow, that's very impressive. Where did you study for your doctorate ?


    ...tick...tick...tick...
     
  10. back2cali

    back2cali New Member

    Breyer State University ,Alabama

    Thank you
     
  11. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Breyer State ?

    Hmm, let's see, I've heard of about Alabama State in Montgomery, and Jacksonville State. Oh, and Athens State. But I didn't realize that there were other state universities like that in Alabama.

    Where is Breyer State located?
     
  12. carlosb

    carlosb New Member


    You are going to give a presentation to a group of business people for your company. Someone asks you where you received your doctorate. You tell them Breyer State University ,Alabama. They reply that they saw your school on the following list:

    Again "Degrees from these
    institutions will not be accepted by the Department of Civil Service as satisfying any educational
    requirements indicated on job specifications."
    Not very encouraging, is it?

    An attempt to claim that others have unaccredited degrees from other places such as California Pacific University will not help. They are on the list also! Keep in mind there are other resources that say basically the same thing.

    So, how will you reply if someone questions you? It is a challenge to your credibility. It is a very realistic possibility that this questioning will happen.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 18, 2007
  13. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member


    Why not? John Bear used to do this all the time in his books, referring to self-titled people like this as "doctor." Who cares? But such a statement reveals much about your relationship with BSU, doctor.

    (You can just call me "Rich.")
     
  14. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    These are two different things, but they fail for the same reason. First, no one knows your hard work, or how hard you worked. Because BSU isn't really a university, there is no way to tell. As for the accomplishment, that one is obvious, sadly, for the same reason: BSU isn't a university. It is a business pretending to be one. Sorry.
    Hope it doesn't blow up on you, there or somewhere else.
    Most likely, no one will. They will assume your doctorate comes from a real school. And you will cheat them into believing that.
     
  15. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    You were asked "where." BSU isn't in Alabama, just like it wasn't in the other places from which it operated.

    Hope your BSU thingy works out, doctor.
     
  16. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Ummm, on second thought, not yet. Here are my questions.

    1. Doctor Who? What is your name? I'm not accustomed to calling anonymous people on the Web "doctor."

    2. Under whom did you study? Who was your dissertation advisor? Who were the rest of the committee members?

    3. What was the title of your dissertation? What was your main thesis?

    4. Where might we find a copy of the dissertation to review?


    Here, I'll go first, even though accreditation brings the assurance such things are in order:

    1. Dr. Rich Douglas

    2. My core faculty advisor was Chris Hables Gray. The other members were Dr. John Bear, Dr. Mary Hawkins, and Dr. Majorie Bell Chambers. I also benefitted from two other members, Dr. Dick Crews and Dr. Willson Williams.

    3. My dissertation was titled, "THE ACCREDITATION OF DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTIONS AND ITS ROLE IN THE UTILITY OF COLLEGE DEGREES IN THE WORKPLACE." The main thesis was whether or not degrees from unaccredited schools were acceptable to employers, and to what extent. The main conclusion was yes, until they find out about diploma mils and unaccredited schools. Then the answer is largely "no."

    4. My dissertation, like all dissertations from accredited U.S. universities, is available from Proquest. Non-electronic version only.


    And you? If you decline to answer, surely you won't mind if I and others decline to call you "doctor."
     
  17. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Funny. I thought it was going to end this way... The Breyer State DBA (unaccredited) holder insisting to be referred to as "Doctor" in an academic context.

    Also, we have the anonymous NoCentral U shill, carlosb, who ostensibly holds a bachelors degree, talking about doctorates again and accreditation standards, instead of completing his MBA assignments.

    Finally, we have Rich Douglas, the only RA Ph.D. in this discussion, trying to get this Breyer State DBA (unaccredited), to realize what an RA doctorate is all about.

    No surprises here!

    Dave
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 18, 2007
  18. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Well, legally, he (?) earned a doctorate in AL, but it is unaccredited and from a school that might have to suck in some air to aspire to the less than wonderful category, so the deferential custom doesn't apply. He achieved something (perhaps) but we just can't figure out what it was... Of course, a doctorate represents an understandable contribution to knowledge. He should just admit that his doctorate is unaccredited and not try to press the issue. In sum, you might want to consider that he has earned a masters degree, which is higher than your degrees, but you've certainly committed no social gaff, in my opinion.

    Dave
     
  19. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    Kaboom! You over hear behind you. "psst pss ... <snicker> pss psst doctor <muffled laughter>"
     
  20. back2cali

    back2cali New Member

    The ironic and honest view is that in our society, those with a knowledge of accredited to unaccredited degrees is like a single grain of sand on a long and open beach.

    Those that actually understand accreditation are but only a micro segment.

    I think you for your viewpoints.
     

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