I came across in the internet about the Vancouver University in Canada. Does anyone have experience with it? It seems to me that the university has both internal and external students. It also mentions in their website that they are the oldest external degree institute in North America. I would be grateful if anyone could give me any comments on the university? The website of the university is: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/wunicols
Look in Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada especially at Directory of Canadian Universities which lists all the recognized colleges and universities in Canada. Under univeristy descriptions for British Columbia (gee I hope all these sub links work ) you will note a lack of a certain school.
These folks sued my publisher (but not me) a couple of years ago, because they didn't like their writeup (which was, essentially, that we didn't know enough to write them up in any detail). The suit, claiming that their business was devastated by not having a proper listing, was for US$6,000. It turned out that you can't sue for such things in small claims court, so that was the end of it. Raymond Rodgers, proprietor, Ph.D. Columbia, and authority on Cajun languages, seems very sincere about what he has been doing for 30 years, but my observation is that most Canadian and US academics generally don't take him seriously. As I understand VU's argument, Canadian law regulates schools that offer instruction and award degrees, but they are exempt because they don't offer instruction, they just award degrees. The instruction, they would argue, comes from other schools.
Stay away from this operation, this is a one man business "Raymond Rodgers". If you call the university, chances are very high that he will answer the phone, and he is not a very pleasant person to talk to either. When I asked for references to the minister of education of BC about this university, I received a letter from them telling me that they don't have authority to award degrees in the province of BC. A degree from Vanvouver University is useless in the complete Canadian territory.
By the way, if you notice the university website is attached to a free website provider (http://www.vcn.bc.ca/), and the website is very amateur looking (probably made by Mr. Rodgers too). Plus the complete website is a complete thesis to defend the legal status of the university. Nothing positive in my opinion, why the Canadian authorities allow this individual to operate? I guess the Canadian authorities don't have time to waist with this guy or just trust that all these bad signs are enough to keep students away.
I just visited the website, and now it seems that Mr Rodgers is awarding degrees to students in Singapore, Pakistan and Bangladesh through local institutes. This is very serious, it is always the poor foreign student that is the target of this kind of fraudulent operations. The Canadian authorities should prosecute this since it is attempting to damage the Canadian educational image that is considered one of the tops of the world.
I see... Another nebulous network of world class scientists, professors, artists, and administrators embarking on a new educational enterprise so forward-looking, so new, so experimental, that it can hardly be defined. The self-serving educational establishment can't see the purpose of this new kind of institute; they don't understand its purpose. Well, sometimes this is true...but if I gather anything from the angry, self-confirming tone of the (text only?) website, this is not one of those times. Craig Happy Easter and Blessings to all
Pathetic Take it from a Canadian. Prosecuting this guy will do next to nothing, rapists and violent maniacs usually do not do more then 30 days in jail here, So I doubt this white collar character would do half of that. Hmmmm Maybe that is why I am moving to New Zealand? *S*
So in essence, he is claiming you are getting your degree based on a "technicality". That's hardly a good recommendation for a program.
More infomation about Vancouver University Here is an article that talks about this and other diploma mills http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/News24/text003.htm Also Oregon state lists it as one of its illegal degrees http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html
I received an M.Phil. from Vancouver University a couple of years ago. It was granted after I compiled 17 of my published papers under one cover and submitted in lieu of thesis. A short preamble ties the papers together with respect to relevance in the field. They also assessed my teaching experience for credit. I do list it on my resume,my current position does not require an M.Phil. but it has not done any harm. Not so far at least. Apparently I would not be able to use this degree in Oregon,and Canadians would pay no attention to it. Because Oregon does not allow it's use, does that mean that the remaining 49 states do? Or does each state have it's own regulation? Also,is VU tenuously legal,just barely able to operate since it appears they have been around for a long time? Best Wishes PCap
PCap asks, "Also,is VU tenuously legal,just barely able to operate since it appears they have been around for a long time?" Tenuously legal is a good definition. Each US state does its own thing, with regard to recognizing, tolerating, ignoring, or prosecuting degrees, sometimes the schools, sometimes the users. So there could be a time bomb element here, since VU has gotten a good deal of bad publicity. For instance, Kevin Paul, then Director of Admissions at the U of Victoria, and author of two fine books on Canadian higher education, wrote very harshly of them. (I posted his comments to alt.education,distance a few years ago.) Still, if BC hasn't done anything other than wring hands for something like 30 years, one wonders if they ever will.
Hey PCap You are taking a big risk listing it on your resume. An unaccredited degree in itself has a tendency to be viewed with distrust and in many cases rightfully so. You could have a time bomb on your hands.
Thanks. If you do Google or Yahoo searches for Vancouver University or Raymond Rodgers you pick up not only the VU website but also a bunch of stuff related to Rodger's publications regarding the prediction of the internet and his expertise in Cajun culture etc. Sometimes you find announcements and information regarding the court battles VU is in over it's right to grant degrees. The last one I read indicates that a judge recently refused to hear the case against the school. So the question now is, with all of that seemingly in limbo, is the degree also in legal limbo awaiting confirmation of it's legal or illegal status? In other words is it a time bomb, or not, while things get hashed out in court?If a prospective employer wanted information I would likely explain the external nature of the credential and the legal battles which seem to be occasionally waged and let them decide what to do. This so there is no deception on my part as I did/do beleive that Rodgers thinks there is some legal basis for his school to operate,and the State of Oregon website article does indicate that there is some,albeit vague,charter which allows them to operate. I would be interested in reading the posts which Dr.Bear mentioned from a few years ago. Can I still obtain them? All Best Wishes PCap
You can get old newsgroup posts by doing a Google search using the Groups tab. For example: VANCOUVER UNIVERSITY COLLEGE/VANCOUVER UNIVERSITY WORLDWIDE Vancouver University?
