Scups

Just a little message to find out if any one out there has taken any courses with Scups. Even though it is a SA school the programs(Master's in Psychology) seem to be interesting and meeting my goals . Anyone who has taken courses or have had dealings with scups? I would like to hear from you.
Thanks DD

 

Greetings. Just out of curiosity.....

I am glad SCUPS is meeting your needs. Why did you choose them over an accredited program that by definition would have had more utility. I do not want to put you on the defensive, I am just curious.

North

 

A friend of mine enrolled in SCUPS's DBA program. He received his degree in 9 months flat and now calling himself "Dr."

He told me it is quite easy and an open book kind of thing (no dissertation or comprehensive exams). The cost was around 8K (few years ago).

It is worth mentioning here that both of us started our doctoral programs at the same time. While he is enjoying his (unaccredited) DBA degree... I am still struggling with my (accredited) Ph.D. Nine months vs. Forty Two months (estimated time of completion of my Ph.D. degree)!

Things started changing for me when I was accepted for a teaching job at one of the local colleges (adjunct faculty). My friend tried to apply for the same job and was rejected because his DBA and MBA were not regionally accredited.

The rationale... stick with RA.. you never know when your degree will come in handy.

PS: Try Capella University. They have an excellent program in Psychology.

Eli
ABD, Touro University International

 

Re: Re: Scups

Not to worry though, at least he can call himself "Dr."

 

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An 8K title with limited utility. May a purchased Knighthood should be in order so he can go by "Sir."

John

 

A story that indicates to me that SCUPS is probably run by dishonest scum bags is that a few years back they used the description from Bear's Guide as an advertisment. The problem was that they misquoted what it said.

 

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However, SCUPS' PHD has exactly the same structure as the North Central PhD. I wonder why the first is considered a bad program while the other is considered worth to pursue. If you like the Degree from SCUPS you will probably like the one from NorthCentral since they have exactly the same programs and course structure, but the first one is the ugly sister because it is not on the accreditation track. Go figure.

 

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I am not an expert on SCUPS's so called "Ph.D. program." I know that the least a person could do is to work toward an accredited degree. Non-RA schools (in particular state approved) seems to be extremely lax in their program. Degree Mills are a different story..

The question I would like to raise to those who are in favor of non-RA or non-GAAP educational institutions:

If it is up to you would you advise your child to join non-RA/GAAP or RA/GAAP educational institutions?

Eli
ABD, Touro University International

 

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I think the more appropriate question is why has SCUPS never sought regional accreditation, while NCU, barring disaster, will most likely attain RA shortly?

Without knowing much about either school, I would hazard a guess that it has to do mostly with academic rigor. I could write out an academic program that is identical to Harvard's on paper, but in practice the two can be very different.


Bruce

 

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@@@@@@@@

You see, it is the mixed up, messed up world of higher education – a SCUPS graduate is a very legitimate “DR” in California (in its own right, one of the top 10 economies of the world) but an “outlaw” in neighbouring, “less significant” Oregon!

How many overqualified genuine “Doctors” from Indian and other Asian nations are driving taxis in the USA, Euroland, and Australia because their RA-equivalent (& probably superior) Masters & PhDs are not recognised?

CFr

 

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If Indian/Asian degrees are superior, then why are these people driving taxis?

More importantly, it should tell you something that these people can earn more in the United States by driving a taxi then by teaching in their home country. Think about it.


Bruce

 

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This is incorrect. While NCU may have been dervied from SCUPS, the requirements of the two institutions are substantially different. A SCUPS Ph.D. requires only 72 hours past the Bachelors; NCU requires 96. In the Business Administration Ph.D. program, NCU has far more requirements related to research - a required course in research methods, another in statistics, and a six semester sequence of dissertation research preparation. SCUPS has nothing like this. Equivalent differences exist in the Psychology programs.

Bottom line - there is no comparison between SCUPS and NCU.

 

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I've known a number of people who fit into this category (althouth they aren't taxi drivers). Their difficulties with obtaining PhD/MD level jobs derive from 1) Lack of mastery of the English language, which leads to, 2) Inability to take necessary licensing exams. Also, 3) Their lack of familiarity with American organizational structures such as are found in healthcare, academia, industry/business. Where I live there's no lack of MDs or PhDs. The letters after your name only get someone to look at your resume. If you don't have the other qualifications you'll never get hired, regardless of where you earned your degree.
Jack

 

Reminds me of a posting that I made about a month ago where I received an application from a guy that had an MBA from the American Graduate University. In checking I thought well at least it's DETC approved so therefore it must be an Okay MBA?

That is before I checked with Bill G, on this site that advised me that the MBA run at this particular school was prior to it getting accreditation.

The person that applied for the job is currently holding a department head position in the Business school at a UK University.

Now, if someone has a degree from SCUPS and several years later it decomes accredited, wont everyone forget about the earlier years where someone attained their degree prior to the accreditation date..Likely right?

If SCUPS is recognised in California and the graduate (MBA or Ph.D) finds tenure whats the problem, after all 6 months ago we would have said the same thing about Northcentral?.

I wonder how many SCUPS MBA's/Ph.D's are driving Taxi?

J.R(ic)

 

May be SCUPS should open an MBA in transportation management, at least you will be able to work in your field of study

 

When I had completed my Ph.D. coursework at Michigan State and returned to San Francisco to work on the dissertation, I was 23 and the job market was tight. To help pay the bills, while providing time to do research, I became a night cabbie for Yellow Cab. I lasted about 6 weeks and then I was fired.

Reason for firing: the call went out for cabs to go to the docks, where a cruise ship had just arrived. The fur-clad woman who flagged me down said, as I was putting her luggage in the trunk, "Oh, I'm so glad they didn't send one of those awful Negro drivers." I removed her luggage, told her that those awful Negro drivers were my brothers, and drove off. She reported me. My career in transportation management was over.

 

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I think that part of the answer to that question is the fact that WASC (California's regional accreditor) is rather reluctant to accredit DL-only institutions. The North Central Association on the other hand, has done so repeatedly.

I doubt if it ever came to that. Delivery mode alone would have made WASC suggest that an application to DETC or to another accreditor might be more appropriate.

 

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How do we know this? It's been stated several times here on Degreeinfo, but as far as I know, no credible examiner has ever done a comparative examination.

I'm an agnostic in the theology discussions and I'm an agnostic here too, Valve.

Concerning utility, the superior value of degrees from accredited institutions is clear.

But things are less clear if our criterion is something more abstract like "educational quality". The problem is that if a school never undergoes any sort of credible outside evaluation, then unless we are personally acquainted with the school in question, all we have to go on is faith.

On one hand, SCUPS might be academically adaquate, but WASC won't consider them because they are DL-only. Or SCUPS may not be academically adaquate at all. We really have little way of knowing that for sure.

In my opinion, ignoring the utility issue, lack of accreditation doesn't mean that a school is *bad*, necessarily. (I believe that a small number of non-accredited schools are at least decent.) What it does mean is that the school is a question mark, a cypher.

So if you choose it to certify that your education has met the expected standard for your degree, you have an obvious problem. The only exceptions that I can see are if you are operating in a restricted context (like a religious group) that's already familiar with your school, or when you have had to pass standard certifying examinations like the bar exam.

 

But John, you still have your integrity. Had a somewhat similar situation in 1968 --- to help with college I joined the Bham, AL police department --- the Law Enforcement Education Plan. Was asked to join the FOP and was told I would need three letters of recommendation from other policemen. Asked the guy who worked the beat next to me for a letter of recommendation...he looked shocked and said, "Rodgers, they don't let us in the FOP." I threw the application away, and was looked at with suspect until I finished my degree a couple of years later and moved on into the world of accounting.......So, John, I applaud you!!

 

When I began doctoral studies, to help pay the tuition, I took the bus driver training program for North Carolina, and drove a route for grades 1-6. This lasted one year. No, I wasn't fired. I willingly and with much forethought gave a three month notice and quit.
Never again!!!

Even though my "Yellow Cab" was actually orange and somewhat larger (58 passenger) than John's, I feel honored to have followed a similar path.