Accepted to Cal Coast's PhD!

Just found this board and I am so happy! I ran to the mail today when I saw the postman holding a large envelope from California Coast University. In the envelope was a letter from Dr. Barcroft at the school stating I was admitted into the PhD in Psychology program - YEA!!!

Thanks Dr. Bear for the great book that I purchased last year. After doing all sorts of research, I decided on Cal Coast because I live in L.A. and the degree qualifies me to sit for the state psychology exam.Internship won't be a problem with my current employer. Not interested in Fielding or the others when CCU fits my budget and needs. Gotta run now and call my kids in Florida and friends. HAPPY NEW YEAR AND GOD BLESS YOU JOHN BEAR!

 

Congratulations!

 

Good luck, Dan. I hope it meets your needs.

Curious that you live in Los Angeles, but your profile (from today) says Chicago, IL ??

 

I live in Chicago but just transfered to L.A. with the health care company I work for. Thanks!

 

You mean you want to leave the cold? Good luck with you new degree and I am happy for you.

 

Congrats!!!!!!!!! I am starting my phd at Capella on Monday so we'll be at about the same place moving through the next couple of years.

Good luck on the move too -- hope you get a chance to get settled in from the move and into your new job before starting all that studying and writing
Leslie
[aka Sunnie]

 

Thank you, DanKline, for asking God to bless me. I'm confident that She already has.

Since taking the state boards seems to be your goal, you might want to look at DWCox's post here of 12/12 in which he wrote, CCU's Psy.D. program is not approved/eligible for CA psychology licensure. CA Approved psychology doctoral degree programs implemented (Approved by the BPPVE) after January 2001 do not qualify graduates for licensure. CCU did not offer this degree prior to January of 2001.

Incidentally, I just checked the most recent exam results (http://www.psychboard.ca.gov/index.html) and note that of 20+ schools that had five or more people take the exam, CCU was the only school that failed to have even one person pass. Among distance programs, even the not-so-wonderful Newport had a 40% pass rate.

So even if Mr. Cox is wrong, and you can take the boards, are you confident that this is the place you want to get your training?

Final point: you've just made an interstate move. Are you confident you will remain in California forever? To the best of my knowledge, only one of the other 49 states will even consider a California-approved degree for licensing, in the case of psychologists who wish to move there.

 

Mr. Kline stated that he was enrolled in the Ph.D. program in psychology (rather than the Psy.D.). I don't know if that makes any difference. I would also like to ask Mr. Kline if he ever planned on changing employers, in or out of California, or planned to teach someday. I would also like to know what concrete advantages that the CalCoast degree has; as a doctoral student, I'm sure he will be able to explain this.

 

She?

 

Nooooooooooooo! Go back! Go back!!!

What can one say, but that Mr. Kline's naivete is charming. Or that he's a plant. Or that he has never *really* read this board.

 

I am an alumni of California Coast and the information being provided here is false.
First, according the California Coast and the State Board of Psychology website, the only change that has taken place is that unaccredited schools must warn students of limitations to their degree. Also, the website shows 9 people passing the state exams since 1997 as 9 people. Here is the link to the State of California's Board of Psychology Website: http://www.psychboard.ca.gov/unaccredited.htm

 

Originally posted by SWest:
I am an alumni of California Coast and the information being provided here is false.


Unfortunately, it is quite true. Go to
http://www.psychboard.ca.gov/examstats.htm and

and look at all of the exam statistics all the way back to 1997. You will see an absolutely dismal pass rate for Cal Coast graduates.

Over the 15 administrations of the exam since 1997 (combining oral and written), 74 Cal Coast students have taken the test, and only 24 have passed it. A cumulative pass rate of 33%... and a closer look paints an even more dismal picture.

In April, 2001, 7 Cal Coast grads took the exam and all failed.

In October of 2000, 6 of 8 Cal Coast people failed.

7 of 8 failed in 10/99
5 of 5 failed in 10/98
6 of 7 failed in 4/98.

Only once in all of the exams where more than one Cal Coast grad took the exam has the number of Cal Coast grads passing the test exceeded the number of people failing... in 1/01, when 4 took the exam and 3 passed. (Followed 3 months later by all 7 people failing the April exam.)

So you have a school where after earning your degree,

-- You'll never be able to practice other than in California (and maybe one other state)

-- You have a better than 2/3 chance of failing the exam for licensure

-- The degree you earn is unaccredited, and you'll constantly have to defend it, and

-- There are tons of quality RA DL programs (including a couple of APA accredited psychology programs) that offer the same degree, where you'll never have to worry about your credentials being challenged, and you'll be eligible to sit for licensure in just about every state.

It doesn't take a genius to see that choosing Cal Coast for this degree is probably about the most unwise and/or imprudent decision an individual could make.

 

There are two days where unaccredited degree holders are happiest:

(1) The day they are admitted into the program.

(2) The day they figure out a way to solve the problem / pain of having earned an unaccredited degree - like getting a refund from the school in exchange for the diploma, or going back to school are re-earning a degree. Or just leaving it off their resume.

Then there are three other days when unaccreditd degree holders are the most unhappy:

(1) When they discover their unaccredited degree is not portable or acceptable to many schools and businesses

(2) When they try to defend their degree on boards like this and are shamed/angered into never posting again.

(3) When they are talking degrees at work and their peers (with RA degrees) wonder what matchbox cover they ordered their degree from.

The "faster-cheaper-easier" crowd just keeps growing. How discouraging!

Barry Foster

 

He was accepted!!!!!, and so excited. Just for the heck of it --------- what is the statistical probability that he would NOT have been accepted?

------------------
Howard Rodgers

 

Attending a non-RA school needs much soul searching. Attending in a field such as psychology or law, which all of North America requires meeting state or province standards for licensure, is another whole level of concern.
Questions to ask oneself for one's own good,
1) In 10 years will this provide the credential I need for my career? (career advancement, prestige, earning power)
2) What are the professional practice liability issues in attending a school not a recognized in my field? (Cost of liability insurance? Chances of prevailing in lawsuits?)
3) Will the professional fund of knowledge obtained be equivalent to an RA school with APA recognition?
4) Will I be eligile to take the professional tests in my field?
5) Will I be able to pass the professional tests required to work in my field?
6) Have I verified these answers through the licensing boards in my state/province?
7) Is the expense of resources (my time, my money, my status, my future) a reasonable expense compared with other options which would meet or exceed the first 5 criteria?
All the best!

 

Chip: "...and look at all of the exam statistics all the way back to 1997. You will see an absolutely dismal pass rate for Cal Coast graduates".

Reponse: The question that needs to be clarified is whether the high failure rate is due primarily to some deficiency in the school's curriculum and/or preparation for practice in this profession or is it due to an admissions policy which is not selective resulting in the acceptance of a large number of students who do not have the necessary academic potential or motivation to pursue rigorous doctoral level study in psychology which is consequently reflected in a high rate of failure on the state exam?

Chip: So you have a school where after earning your degree,

-- You'll never be able to practice other than in California (and maybe one other state)

-- You have a better than 2/3 chance of failing the exam for licensure

-- The degree you earn is unaccredited, and you'll constantly have to defend it, and

Response: In addition, the degree will preclude employment opportunities for a large a number of federal jobs, hospial and medical facilities and in academia. Furthermore, many managed care companies will preclude participation for third party reimbursement with a non RA doctoral degree in Psychology.

 

Dr. West,

Thank you, as a CCU alum, for stepping forth; I have a few questions I’d like to present.

1) From my review of the California Psychology Board website it appears that the EPPP was taken 56 times by CCU grads and nine licenses were awarded. This suggests that the average graduate takes the EPPP six times prior to earning a license. Can you help us interpret these data?
2) What sort of applied experience do most CCU students obtain? From my review of the California code it seems as if 1:1 supervision is acceptable in lieu of an internship. Is this accurate? Did any of your cohort secure internships? What I’m trying to get at here is whether the internship is a bottleneck for CCU students?
3) The informed consent disclosure statement on the website sounds ominous. What sort of practical limitations do graduates of California approved programs encounter?
4) Have you been able to secure a license?
5) With so many regional and APA-approved programs available in California, what draws folk to CCU?

Background: This is meant to share with the group why I ask these questions. 1) The EPPP is a tough exam; I took it in the early 80s at which point it was difficult and the lore is that it has become more so in the interim. I have no data to support this notion but it has been my anecdotal observation that persons with especially strong backgrounds in academic psychology have the easiest (relatively speaking) time with the exam. By this I mean persons whose BS, MS, and Ph.D. are all in psychology as many students transition into the profession from other majors. On the other hand preparatory programs are available, much like the law review, which are widely held to be tightly wired into the exam. I used one of these and I’m not sure I would have passed otherwise, and with a good score, the first time. 2) Most states, I believe, require that the student complete an organized internship. This has been a bottleneck recently with more applicants than spaces available and some students have had their training interrupted by failing to secure a berth. The alternative, where an internship is not specifically required, is supervision by a licensed psychologist for a given number of hours. Personally, I’m very glad I had an organized internship as it afforded different rotations and weekly psychology seminars as well as the opportunity to attend offerings like grand rounds with medical students/residents. I might also add that many states require a year of post-doctoral supervision, which many students find to be yet an additional roadblock. Due to market forces it can be difficult to find a job when upon completing the internship you still don’t have a license to practice. Many take post-docs to meet this requirement. 3) Denial of access to HMO panels and hospital staff memberships, etc. 4) & 5) self-explanatory.

 

Since Mr. West ---ooops, sorry, Dr. West is an "alumni" could it be he has multiple personality disorder.

------------------
Howard Rodgers

 

You hit the nail right on the head. The Ph.D. in Psychology will qualify a graduate for the CA psychology licensure exam but the Psy.D. will not.

Regards, Wes

 

This seems odd, as the Psy.D. is supposed to be the practitioner's degree. It must be tough to be a practitioner when you can't practice.


Bruce