So, you think regional accreditors have high standards

Re: WOLI

Middle States CSS is obviously a highly respected accreditation. I would wonder, however, if Excelsior would accept credit from a non-degree granting institution absent an articulation agreement. U of Phoenix, for instance, has a policy of only accepting credits which were earned in the process of pursuing a degree, unless the school has an articulation agreement.

 

Re: Re: WOLI

Give it up, you're fighting a losing battle. Legal Educator is intent on deflecting and ignoring the issue. He will not deal with it, because to do so might be to admit that his institution is not the model of perfect undiluted integrity.

You can show him all manner of proofs, you can rub his nose in them, yet he will go on pretending that no one else notices the body shots he's taking, as if somehow by ignoring them, he will overcome. I've never seen it work in court; it doesn't work here, either.

He is the type of person who will defend his institution based on passion rather than reason, like a mother animal with newborn young, but I suspect he's also the type who, if he's ever crossed by said institution, will turn upon it in an instant and become its greatest detractor. It is just a certain type of person, I don't know what makes them tick psychologically.

And it's funny, because were he to merely say: "Well, I teach there, I've been an attorney for years, I know my stuff, and I can say without qualification that WOLI offers a superior education. I don't know about this accreditation claim stuff, but if someone over in marketing got overzealous and administration overlooked it, then shame on them, but I still stand by my statements that WOLI's the bomb", the whole controversy would likely have died away and we wouldn't be headed towards 50 replies. Oh well.

 

WOLI

First of all, I am a "she", not a "he". I have children, so perhaps I do have maternal instincts toward WOLI as well. I have taught hundreds of students over a period of a few years at WOLI and at other schools as well, both online and "bricks and mortar." I have nothing bad to say about WOLI, its administration, its ethics, or whatever else you want to pinpoint. If you want me to plead mea culpa on some point on behalf of WoLI, it is not going to happen. The issues that animated this discussion a priori have been discussed satisfactorily above; if you don't appreciate or agree with the points made, then there is little more I can add. I choose not to run in circles.
I will say that the people I work for at WOLI are among the most ethical, conscientious, and straightforward, sincere people I have ever met. They have wonderful ideas. Their educational product is superior. The WOLI model has been copied by several other online schools, who can't seem to come up with an original approach of their own.
I am amused by the pop psychology being bandied about on this board, but I must say I don't quite recognize myself as described by my detractors.
All the best, fellas.

 

Re: WOLI

That's not true, no where on this thread have you addressed the issue of WOLI advertising accredited programs without having any actual accreditation.

 

Washington Online Learning Institute (WOLI)

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this point, Robb.

 

Re: WOLI

Golly, just wish you'd tell us where you hashed this out so well above and satisfied all our curiosity. Just one little quote?

And FYI, you are an interesting psychological study. But of course, ylou're perfectly sane and objective and everyone else here is completely mad, I guess we hallucinated the shaky claims made on the website.

 

After the above two posts, you declared victory and said as much as things were settled--you'd explained everything vis-a-vis false accreditation claims. Would you care to show me which language above does this in a manner that would satisfy say, the average eight year old?

To this point, you have been utterly decimated in this argument and have done nothing to either allay suspicions about your school or be an ambassador therefore. You've gone about this with all the tact and candidness of H.R. Haldeman and John Erlichman. You can still extricate yourself with a bit of honesty and a little less defensiveness.

Question is: are you wise enough and fundamentally honest enough to do so?

 

Re: Re: WOLI

I can now answer this question and clear up a lot of argument on this old thread. The answer to whether or not Excelior will accept credit earned at WOLI without an articulation agreement is NO. TESC will not accept it either.

Yes, WOLI is accredited by the CSS-MSA, but the CSS-MSA is not recognized by CHEA. The advertising on the WOLI website as being accredited by the MSA is misleading. Yes, they are accredited by the MSA. The MSA consists of three divisions: 1 accredits elementary schools, 1 accredits high schools and non-degree granting postsecondary schools, and 1 accredits colleges/universities. The only division recognized by CHEA is the MSA-CHE. Credits earned at schools accredited by the MSA-CHE (like TESC and Excelsior) will easily transfer anywhere. Credits earned at schools accredited by the CSS-MSA will not transfer easily. When Excelsior told me they would accept WOLI credits they too were under the impression that WOLI was a candidate with the MSA-CHE.

The CSS-MSA statement on the WOLI site is extremely misleading:

"The Washington Online Learning Institute is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools (MSA).

The Middle States Association is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)."

This makes it appear as though the accrediting body that recognizes WOLI is recognized by CHEA, thus presenting itself as one-in-the-same with the MSA-CHE, when in fact it is not. The CSS-MSA is the same regional accreditor that accredits Penn Foster at the high school and Career School levels. Is it a good thing? Yes. Is it the same as RA in the way we think of RA on this board? No, it is not. The WOLI Paralegal Certification will have the same utility as the Penn Foster Paralegal Certification, maybe even less because Penn Foster is also accredited by the DETC, but the WOLI certification will cost you about $6100 and Penn Foster's runs just over $800.

That's all I have to say about that...

Pug

 

Washington Online Learning Institute

WOLI offers certificate programs, not degrees. Some colleges have in fact accepted WOLI credits towards their degree programs upon transfer, but you need to check with the college in question. WOLI has an articulation agreement with University of Phoenix. It may be in the process of entering into additional agreements with other schools. You should contact them and ask them if they would consider entering into such an agreement with the school of your choice. I know they are very responsive to requests from students and do what they can to reasonably accomodate requests. Such an agreement will probably have a retroactive effect, which would be very beneficial for you.

 

Gentlemen, ladies.....based upon exhaustive debates on many other threads that oh so many of you have participated in - I simply don't understand the beef? I mean...they are a not-for profit. What else do you need to know? Have you already forgotten the secret formula that so many of you utilize to determine credibility? If so, as a service to you, here it is in full - NFP = good, wonderful, high standards, orgasmic; FP = evil, greedy, no standards, lousy. <wink, grin>.

 

Re: Washington Online Learning Institute

I agree that WOLI is very responsive. My "beef" is not with their service or program quality, its with their misleading accreditation statement and the discrepancy between clock hours/semester hours...and the cost of the program for its ultimate utility. regarding articulation agreements, Ispecifically asked TESC if they would be interested in an articulation agreement with WOLI. their response, "No." If they get one done with Excelsior it would certainly improve the utility of the certification. Having an articulation agreement with UoP, one of the most expensive and ill-viewed programs out there, does not help most.

Pug

 

This is a very old post, and I could never speak about the previous ownership of WOLI. As the CEO of the corporation that currently owns WOLI, Excel Education Systems, Inc., I can say Washington Online Learning Institute is Licensed by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, Regionally accredited by the Middle States Association until the renewal in 2028, and listed with CHEA. Also, Washington Online just submitted 22 courses to the American Council on Education for approval, which includes many general ed courses, legal courses, and business courses. ACE approval should be solicited sometime in January 2020. Press releases will be forthcoming regarding ACE and additional articulation agreements. Statements made here on DI are not intended to sell or promote any service, but I do feel compelled to clarify the status of WOLI as of 2019 as related to WOLI being a regionally accredited institution.

 

I have called Rod a sleazeball in the past, and it's nice to see that he's living up to that reputation. ("Very old post" is an understatement at the least. He has just necromanced a thread that is 13 years old.)

But note what he says in his latest post about "regionally accredited" by Middle States. Here on DegreeInfo, we would interpret that to mean a college-level accreditation. But on Middle States' web site and on the actual WOLI web site, we learn:

In other words, WOLI is accredited by Middle States' high school and trade school division," not by their college or higher education division.

So when Rod states that his sham is accredited by Middle States here on DI and does not specify which division of Middle States is involved, he is being a downright ripoff artist.

I guess that some things never change.

 

There doesn't seem to be any attempt here to connect this to anyone's possible benefit. I thought this board charged people to advertise....

 

Rolling my eyes in disgust.... What Levicoff fails to acknowledge is that Middle States Association CESS is recognized by the US secretary of Education/CHEA as a reliable source for accreditation and a gatekeeper for Title IV. The facts speak for themselves. Levicoff is a has-been and over the hill. Again, Levicoff brings no value to the conversation.

 

Since I happen to own Washington Online Learning Institute and other regionally accredited schools, I absolutely have a say about the current state of WOLI regardless of age of any post. Clarifying the matter of accreditation is not advertising. Nice try though. The amusing aspect of the likes of you and Steve L. is you make false assertions and community at large can easily verify all my claims to be 100% true. You are the fools. You're like a bully on the playground, and we all know what happens to the bullies when they meet their match. Get a life.

Comical. absolutely, comical.
https://www.chea.org/washington-online-learning-institute
https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/institution-profile/189431

 

Rod, the only assertion I made is that while you claim that WOLI is accredited by Middle States, you conveniently neglect to point out that it is Middle States high school division.

However, both of the web sites you cite here list WOLI's accreditation as "Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools" (emphasis added).

Since DegreeInfo is a higher education forum, I rest my case.

As you said, comical. Absolutely comical. And, as I said, sleazy. Absolutely sleazy.

 

With you being a CEO, surely you understand public perception? While I understand wanting to stand up for something you own, you may do so in a more tactful manner.

 

I'll leave it to Steve to explore why you're touting an accreditation that applies to non-degree-granting institutions on a forum about distance learning degrees.

As for your post, I made no assertions. I did, however, draw an assessment, which I will stand by. I would, however, appreciate that you did not call me names. I do not recall ever doing the same to you. Thanks.

 

Rich is quite correct, Rod. He never called you a sleaze - I did. Rich never called you a con artist - I did. Rich never called you a ripoff - I did. Like Rich, however, I did draw an assessment, by which I will stand. (Sorry, Rich, I have a think about not ending sentences with a preposition.)

But seriously, Rod, I happened to Google WOLI after you updated this ancient thread, and found the most interesting statement your own web site at https://exceled.com/washington-online-learning-institute/:

Combining that with your statements in this thread, people would naturally conclude:

• WOLI is the college division of Excel.
• WOLI is accredited by Middle States.
• Therefore, WOLI is an accredited college program.

It's only when you look past your blatant misrepresentation that they find out that WOLI is accredited by Middle States' high school division. It is, in fact, not an accredited college program at all.

Therefore, I continue to maintain that you are a sleaze, a con artist, and a ripoff. And a sham, fraud, and swindler. But the good news: If you continue to respond to this thread, it will end up in Google searches on Excel and WOLI. And instead of you being able to bait people with free advertising on DI, this thread will end up educating people on your con.

Actually, I do acknowledge MSA-CESS' recognition by DoEd. They're quite credible. And even when you take their recognition and misrepresent it as a college-level accreditation, they are still credible. It's your operation that ends up looking like a scam.

Again, Rod, there is something about which you're correct: I am a has-been. And definitely over the hill. I retired from higher education many years ago, and have not updated my last book on nontraditional education and degree mills for almost 25 years.

But at least I am a has-been as opposed to you, who is a never-was. And seriously, I think I do bring value to the conversation - in the form of consumer awareness and protection. I am well aware that I hold to a higher standard than most people here on DI, many of whom are mediocre twits, especially when it comes to institutional integrity. If I make people even think about the ramifications of signing up for a program at your WOLI sham, I will have done my job.

Anyway, that's my final word on this. Nice to see you again, Rod.