Opinions about a New Online College with State Approval, but no Accreditation [yet].

OK, so if your professor holds a PhD from UoP, Capella, Walden, etc you should run and register. A very good sign of quality.

 

Bumpity.

Those posts about Excel College accreditation were almost two years ago.

(1) When is the deadline you referred to?
(2) Do you expect to make it? Any news you can release?

J.

 

BIG Red Flag

I'll go on a limb here and say that this school appears to be a mill.

The faculty listings are inconsistent in terms of listing everyone's credentials, especially those of the founder and CEO (who appears to be the OP of this thread):

Notice that the source of Rod's alleged degrees does not appear. What does appear is his membership in a notorious credential mill. For what it's worth, here's what I wrote about NCCA many years ago in NIFI:

BTW, notice how few faculty members are listed? One for most of the subject areas, a whopping two for business. And they appear to be heavy on Capella students or grads. Bottom line: This alleged school is mickey mouse at best, and looks very millish to me.

Oh, note to Rod, if he's still monitoring this thread: Before you respond to this post do your research on me. I now demand that anyone who wants to be my adversary be worthy of being my adversary. If you think you can cut the muster, then let's rock. We can even bring my buddies at the Minnesota OHE into the discussion.

 

According to his LinkedIn the MBA is from Ashworth. Undergrad isn't specified but he notes that he was Delta Epsilon Tau Honor Society so, if not also Ashworth, then another DEAC school.

No school listed for the MA in Christian Counseling.

Let me just say that if you are willing to claim a degree you should be willing to own the awarding institution. If you earned a UofP degree then wear it loud and proud. Heck, if its from a diploma mill then wear it loud and proud. Don't go halfway and say you have a degree while trying to obscure the details. If you're ashamed of your school then don't list your degree. This, I feel, should apply for any school regardless of accreditation, profit status or ranking.

That said, the MBA isn't exactly from a top business school. It isn't even from a bottom business school. I'd probably argue it isn't actually from a business school at all. But it's legitimate. And, especially for these purposes, the RA/NA debate doesn't impact utility though I can understand it impacting perception.

I agree in some standard uses for the word "diploma mill." Non-degree credentials, however, are in a much murkier water. Most operate without any sort of external oversight. Some are hard to obtain. Some are easy to obtain. Some are respected. Some are not. But the rigor rarely impacts the respect level.

For me, I thought the PHR was so obnoxiously easy that we should be embarassed even calling it a certification. Anyone with ANY level of HR experience can pass that exam likely without cracking a book once to study. I, personally, passed the exam using no study guides. I relied on my HRM courses at CTU and a CD of practice exams to get me up to speed.

Without accreditation there is no objective way to view certifications. If we rely solely on rigor then many mainstream credentials fail. If we rely solely on reputation then many substandard credentials pass.

None of this is a defense for Excel College, mind you. I believe I heavily criticized the OP in another thread concerning his high school, in fact. I think that the last thing we need is more mediocre online associate programs.

But I think we're seeing an incredible evolution of the term "diploma mill" to mean, as Steve Foerster puts it, mean any institution less prestigious than my own no matter how slight.

If Excel is earnestly working toward accreditation then they are likely "legitimate." I doubt that I can just purchase a degree from them for a set price. But, perhaps more importantly, I think schools that walk the path to accreditation generally deserve a little bit of slack. If we label them as "mills" right out of the gate then they have no opportunity to make meaningful improvements.

I hate to think I'm going soft but I was pretty positive Nations was not actually intending to become accredited with the way they were carrying on. Then that changed. I softened my stance on Nations only because, upon closer examination, I felt that their offerings filled a niche that was underserved by other institutions in particular their prison program.

I'd hold schools like Excel to a higher standard. What contribution are you offering to the world of education? Why would I pay $6k for an MBA from your unaccredited school when I can shell out an extra $3k for an MBA from Ashworth and have the same credential as the founder of Excel with the added bonus that it will have more utility than an unaccredited MBA?

I'm not saying a new school has to offer programs to prisoners or refugees to be legitimate. But offering a different path to the degree or an underrepresented study area makes sense. When you start offering the same old programs with no innovative flair it comes off a bit like an attempt at a "safe" business investment than truly trying to innovate education or serve the public.

Also, "Inexpensive Online College" is a terrible thing to appear in my browser tabs. And "Excel College" sounds like a fun name for a YouTube channel that teaches me how to work spreadsheets. These are the things that strike me as red flags were a candidate to come in with a degree from a school I've never heard of (because I will always google it).

 

"Born under a bad sign,
Been down since I could crawl.
Wasn't for bad luck,
Wouldn't have no luck at all."

(Albert King)

You guys are all over this one - except Rod, for some reason. And he's the person I need to hear from.
I noticed Excel College is now accredited by QISAN. Know what that is? I do.
Suffice it to say, it is not recognized as a RA or NA accreditor for US schools.

J.

 

Yet I find this Internet comment by Rod:

"Excel College is an accredited American College offering Certificate, Associate, Bachelor and Master degrees entirely online.."

Accredited? I suppose so, by QISAN. Accredited by a recognized NA or RA accreditor for US schools? I'm guessing "No."

It's here. See for yourself: https://webaworkshops.ning.com/profile/RodClarkson?xg_source=profiles_memberList

J.

 

Dr. Levicoff said people should do their homework on him. I've done that - long ago, so I did some on Rod instead - not very much really. I'm not positive, but I think the Christian Counseling degree may well be from Global University, a fully-accredited RA school in the Pentecostal tradition. I do know he studied there. Rod can correct me if I'm wrong. As Neuhaus says, he should tell people either way. Why I always have to ferret this stuff out is beyond me. OK, maybe I just like to. :smile:

J.

 

I believe QISAN and the ubiquitous UK accreditor, ASIC are related entities. Excel College is ASIC accredited (I just checked the ASIC site) and also a QISAN member. Thought it was an ASIC school -- although strangely, there's no such info posted in this thread. ASIC accreditation is not recognized as RA or NA for US schools. CHEA lists ASIC - as an overseas accrediting organization. We've been through this how many times now?

Levicoff, stick a fork in me - I'm done. :sad:

J.

 

Interesting. He lists two degrees in Excel’s online catalog (which is dated 2015-16, making me wonder if this sham school is active at this point).

Not all of their faculty have degrees listed, but for those that include degree references, the schools are always spelled out. Except for Rod’s, as quoted above.

There is no website for a wnu.edu, and a Google search lists only World Nuclear University and Wilmington National University. The Wilmington school looks like just another degree mill.

PBU? Could be Patriot Bible University, an ACI-accredited correspondence mill in Colorado. Could also mean Philadelphia Biblical University, a legitimate RA school that used to be the Philadelphia College of Bible and changed its name a few years ago to Cairn University. I taught in the counseling program at the old PCB Graduate School, but that program led to an M.S. in Christian Counseling, not an M.A.

But since Rod is the only person at the school who lacks the balls to spell out the source of his alleged degrees, methinks that he is altogether full of what the Bible calls “salt not fit for the manure pile.”

So I’ll go the distance: Excel is a degree mill, and it’s owner/founder/CEO is full of what I like to call, in bastardized French, merde de boeuf.

Since the online catalogue is outdated, and since Rod has not responded to any recent posts, this operation may be dormant. But it may not be, and he may simply lack the cojones to post a response now that everyone is onto him.

 

I just couldn't help myself.

 

Oh yes, same people, same address.

ASIQUAL is also on 13 Yarm Road.

 

Yes, I did attend Global Univeristy, Ashworth University and I am currently at Capella University in the Ed.D. program. All of my credentials are legit and accredited by agencies recognized by CHEA and the US Department of Education. You don’t get to where I am in life by not having your act together. My business partners hold an Ed.D. from Capella University and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

All of our instructors hold at least a Masters degree from a regionally accredited college and a State teaching license. This is required for licensing and accreditation.
Some of you are a negative basket of deplorables’.

As far as “how big my balls are” they are quite big. If you are ever in the Minneapolis area, look me up, and I will show you just how big they are. I am a very public person, unlike many others that keep hidden by posting in a form.

You can whine and call every school a degree mill, but it doesn't make it so. You’re “research” sucks. I answered the other matter in the post: Excel High School.

 

Rod, bubaleh, I believe the credentials I brought up were the ones you listed in your own online catalog: specifically, “WNU” and “PBU.” Care to explain them?

It’s nice to know you “attended” the other schools. But “attended” usually means that the person did not graduate from them. Did you? Keep in mind that this is catalog information and not subject to the Buckley Act.

That may be true for secondary and primary school teachers, but a state teaching license has never been required for those who teach at the college level or higher. Haven’t you learned anything in your education curriculum at Capella?

So much for your Hillary imitation.

And your point is? Even those who do not use their full monikers in this thread are long-time members who are known to us. And they do not show up here to sell people on a degree mill like Excel.

By the way, you should learn the difference between form and forum.

Cool . . . so you’re running a degree mill and a diploma mill. None of us calls every school a degree mill; indeed, there are specific criteria that are applied to a school when making such an evaluation. I have applied only a few of those criteria to your sham, and to say the least, Excel fails. In short, sir, you are a fraud who managed to snocker the Minnesota OHE. Which, of course, makes you very good at what you do – rip people off. I’ve often said that the greatest con artists are those who stick to the con, even when they’re caught dead to rights. You appear to be a shining example of that theory.

 

Rod,

First, Im not sure why, but I feel like seeing someone publicly offering to show Steve Levicoff their balls was the highlight of my week. I'm not sure if that just means I'm having a crappy week or what.

Here's the deal...

There are people here who jump to "diploma mill" with relative ease. There are others who try to exercise a bit of restraint and essentially give schools the benefit of the doubt. When a school administrator doesn't list their degrees and their source, or does the same with faculty, it's a millish thing to do. That doesn't mean that you are operating a mill but it is something that a lot of mill operators tend to do.

You earned degrees from Ashworth. Cool. You earned them. Claim them. If you are proud of having an MBA then be proud that it came from Ashworth. The fact that we had to draw this out of you, and you still haven't told us what WNU and PBU stand for, is oddly evasive.

Think of it like this...

You go to a doctor and ask where he went to medical school. He says "HU." Is that Harvard University? Howard University? Herzing University? Halliburton United? Then when you ask for clarification he gets a bit defensive and still more evasive. You going to stick around to see if his eye surgeries make up for this weirdness? probably not. It's a red flag. It might not be anything. It might be everything.

But Excel College is also closing so it's kind of a moot point.

Best of luck in your studies at Capella.

 

I apologize. My research did indeed suck - not anyone else's, though. I read the Excel Brochure months ago. My eye was on the school, not the owner and I never questioned which schools WNU and PBU were, although I saw them mentioned. I just went ahead and forgot them. My bad.

Good catches - Steve Levicoff and Neuhaus.

J.

 

Those who have not done so should check out the thread on Rod's high school operation. It's at:

http://www.degreeinfo.com/high-school-education-via-distance-learning/35559-excel-high-school-3.html#post492164

In that thread, Rod announced the closing of Excel College:

Golly gee whiz, why would you not make that announcement in this thread, which is more relevant to this so-called college? Why put the announcement in another unrelated thread?

I should update my bastardized French. If Rod is full of merde de boeuf, then Rod himself appears to be merde de poulet.