My Own Timebomb (sort of)

I think that you guys may be missing Dave's point. CLEP/DANTES is credit by evaluation. It doesn't matter whether the knowledge was gained from an unaccredited school, the library or whatever.

http://adulted.about.com/cs/creditbyexam/

You can turn knowledge into accredited college credits. It isn't magic like the degree mills will try to tell you but it can be done.

 

What about all the accredited schools that are still not so wonderful? I'm talking about NCA accreditation of some tribal community colleges. I have attended a local one twice over the past 5 years for classes and have had horrible instructors with poor teaching skills. The classes, from my point of view, were then “self taught.” I also know an instructor there that bent the grading scale to give students A's and B's because they whine and want A’s! One of my instructors actually apologized to me because he didn’t give me an A but gave me a B instead. I hadn’t done very well on our one and only test (it was a take home.) I actually took it very quickly, as an experiment, right before we were to swap and correct them, to see just how much I absorbed in 13 weeks. My gosh, for college credit, I have usually had to earn/work for the credits. I have only taken 2 three-credit courses there and that’s it! If I’m taking classes, I want to feel good about the credits I earn. There are students, now graduated from this “accredited” institution, with AA degrees that will be more qualified for certain jobs then I, although I know the emotional intelligence of these classmates, have read their “papers” and heard them interact in class. It’s totally bogus! I have the equivalent credits accumulated (all from accredited schools) for an AA and job/writing/grant experience for a BA. I have been a library director for 11 years as it’s sole administration. People think all I do everyday is check books out and read! I wish.

 

Dear Mr. Lyons:

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. There are three (possibly slightly more) colleges that specialize in granting Regionally Accredited degrees to people who can prove that they have accumulated the required amount of knowledge. These colleges accept as proof standardized exams, college credits from RA or ACE-reviewed courses, or Portfolio reviews. The Portfolio review approved by one of the colleges may also be accepted at other colleges; I have no idea how many other colleges, but I doubt it's many. (Anyone care to educate me as to how many? )

It is not the least surprising that AMU didn't accept your CA-State approved college degree/courses. I never suggested that they would. I never mentioned them. I suggested -- or at least am now, clearly suggesting -- that you head over to www.cosc.edu and see if a portfolio review & a subsequent COSC (or TESC, www.tesc.edu; I think they accept COSC's portfolio reviews) wouldn't be a quicker & cheaper way for you to get a RA degree.

I might also add that I'm not suggesting that one pursue a unaccredited degree with the intention of trying to get, later, a RA degree by portfolio review. I am only suggesting that, if you have lemons, you ought to at least consider -- if only just casually, and for the briefest of moments -- making lemonade. <g>


Cordially,
Richard Kanarek
Marching bravely towards a COSC BS. Graduation date: 2036 (est)

P.S. Slightly off topic: I don't understand your stated embarrassment over your current CA-State approved degree. If you did legitimate work for the degree, I don't see what you have to be embarrassed about. Perhaps some at your job (or here <g>) might disapprove of your degree, but look at some of the things they likely do approve of: prime-time television, socialism/the democratic national party, gas wasting cars larger than some (NYC) apartments, etc. Clearly they are not an ilk to put much stock in, except as practicality demands.

 

RA vs. DETC

To build upon what RKanarek said, I think that you should pursue a regionally accredited (RA) degree. He has listed several good schools for you to consider.

If you have a RA degree, then it will be accepted everywhere and by everyone. If you get a DETC accredited degree, it won't be universally accepted by everyone.

Before you get too deep into AMU, I would re-consider the schools that RKanarek suggested. He conveniently posted their links too!

I'm assuming that AMU is not a RA school.

 

Re: RA vs. DETC

AMU is not a RA school but DETC. I looked around carefully before enrolling and am very happy with the entire program they offer.

 

James,

Twenty five years ago I made a poor decision in the form of taking a degree that, while RA, was not approved by the professional association. I was, very fortunately, given the opportunity to remediate by taking a degree from an approved program that awarded credit for my previous work. I know *I* have had moments where I felt foolish about my choice yet the feedback I received from the boards in the states where I've been licensed was always very positive and the satisfaction I eventually derived was worth the effort. Of course, your mileage may vary.

David

 

Re: RA vs. DETC

I'll third this motion. COSC is very easy to work with. They did an eval on me prior to my going to Regents. (My previously earned credits didn't translate well into the General Education degree that COSC was offering at the time ... which was fine ... Regents (now Excellsior) was a far better fit for me.

From what I've read you are an ideal candidate for COSC or even TESC though.

You've got very little to lose and perhaps a lot to gain by checking them out.

 

Re: Re: RA vs. DETC

OK, I am not trying to be rude to anyone here but I am very happy with American Military University.

 

Re: Re: Re: RA vs. DETC

Best of luck to you !

 

Hi James

If AMU is the program for you, you may be interested in their CLEp policy. From their web site, "AMU accepts CLEP/DSST exams towards all general education and elective requirements at both the lower and upper division levels. There is no limit on the number of credits accepted from CLEP exams as long as the total number of transfer credits does not exceed the allowed maximum for each degree; 45 credits towards an AA, 90 credits towards a BA. " http://www.amunet.edu/TransferCredit/Undergraduate.asp In any event good luck in your program.

 

Thank you!

 

One last RA thought...

It is nice that you are happy with AMU, but it is still a limited degree, just as CCU is.

I know I'm coming across as being pushy… But you entered the CCU curriculum with positive thoughts, only to learn at a later date that not everyone will recognize a CCU degree, to include your present employer. In the same vein, not everyone will recognize a AMU degree. DETC is not universally recognized. Consequently, its functionality is limited in the United States.

If you receive a RA degree, then it will be universally recognized by everyone, in case you decide to leave your present employer. Wouldn't it give you peace of mind to know that all employers will recognize your RA degree? Wouldn't it be a nightmare to get rejected for a second time because your degree is not RA, but is only DETC accredited?

It is your call, your money and your life. I wish you the educational best.

 

Re: One last RA thought...

Your advice will serve as food for thought for the original poster. Mr. me again, your advice to James Lyons is one of the best that has been given to anyone in this forum. I hope that he will listen to you.

 

Re: Re: One last RA thought...

I do not want to be rude to anyone here, but I am about to leave this board. This is the third time I have been very polite and told people that I am happy with AMU. No offense, but I honestly do see how some people think degreeinfo.com is a RA board only.

I did some checking around before I enrolled in AMU and decided the program works just fine for me. I have also been working with Capella University and they have told me that they will allow me to enroll in thier graduate program, once I am done with my AMU undergraduate.

 

Re: One last RA thought...

I agree with what you say but it is also true that the acceptance of AMU will likly be very much greater than CCU.

 

Re: Re: Re: One last RA thought...

There should be no reason to be upset. Both sides are correct. You're happy, and the utility of your degree is considerably lower than if it came from a regionally accredited school.

It is important that many people will read this thread, not just you. While your degree may very well meet your present and future needs, it could be an academic and professional disappointment for someone else. The reasons why have been elucidated here, without attacking you or your motives.

No one of knows whether or not the degrees we seek will always meet our future needs. But you increase the probability of it by earning your degree from a source that is as widely accepted as possible. There is a distinct gulf between degrees from nationally accredited schools and those from RA schools. You might not have to breach that gulf, but others who earn less-acceptable degrees will. And that should be noted. Also, you don't know if, down the road, your AMU degree might prove to be less than helpful in some situations. Covering it with an RA degree is a good strategy, though.

(NB: Of course, not all RA schools are created equally. I'm doing my Ph.D. at Union. It ain't Stanford, but it is a far cry from Century, K-W, CCU, and the lot.)

(NB2: I'm a fan of DETC. I think they've done a lot to promote distance learning in the RA community by their efforts with the degree-granting schools they now accredit--all but one they didn't accredit 20 or so years ago.)

It is equally easy to see why the line between discussion and working a personal agenda can be so easily blurred.

Admissions officials have shown a distinct and real reluctance--as a group--to accept degrees and credits from nationally accredited schools. You might find your degree very useful in pursuing a higher one. Others earning a degree from the same school might find their academic progress blocked because the school is not regionally accredited.

While there is no empirical evidence regarding the acceptability of nationally accredited degrees in the workplace, there is anecdotal evidence that there is less acceptance of them. How much less is yet to be determined. We've heard and read about situations where a nationally accredited degree wasn't acceptable while an RA degree was. But the reverse is never, ever true.

Don't go mad. Don't go at all. But do recognize the difference between your individual satisfaction and extrapolating that to a larger population. And even if you do, please allow others to point it out, too.

 

Why aren't you suggesting it? I've made that suggestion myself repeatedly, although noone has ever responded to it.

I realize that they are fighting words on Degreeinfo, but I have serious doubts about the quality of the education one receives by solitarily cramming for CLEPs and other exams, especially if that's just a matter of using a study guide to beat the test.

But if you combined that examination mode with actual faculty instruction and guidance, including real assignments and exercises, then you have something approaching a more traditional education. To me, that's a more credible education.

Using non-accredited schools for the instruction wouldn't hurt, since they aren't the ones granting the accredited course credit, which comes from passing the exams.

And using non-accredited schools would give you options that might have lower cost and more flexibility.

You could combine the freedom of non-accredited schools with the social recognition of earning an accredited degree at the end of the process. That's a win-win situation.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: One last RA thought...

C'mon, Rich! Why must you always pick on Century?

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: One last RA thought...

Actually, that was a slip. I didn't mean Century. I meant some school with fake accreditation, whose president doesn't have an earned doctorate, whose operates from a state whose approval it couldn't get and doesn't have, whose tiny faculty--half of whom hold their highest degrees from the school--have graduated more than 10,000 students, and who will award a doctorate in 9 months. I just can't think of the name right now....

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: One last RA thought...

Well Century does meet the above criteria.