Know anything about Atlantic International University?

Yeah, right. How often have we heard this? "But I worked SO hard for my (bogus) degree."

I'm not opposed to ALL unaccredited schools, but there are a lot of bad ones. In recent years, the degrees of most unaccredited schools have seen their utility decrease rapidly; with today's opportunities, there are very few reasons left to attend most of them.

That said, I believe there is a special place in HELL for the huckster who gets a quickie unrecognized degree and begins to treat people for physical OR mental problems. That's one of the worst offences against humanity I can think of. I can't believe that people with unrecognized degrees are allowed to practice psychology "in most states" as Rob1 says. They certainly can't be psychologists here in Canada!

Before Hell kicks in, I believe in a special place for them while they're still alive -- it's called JAIL.

J.

 

Bircham is, or was, accredited by AAHEA, the American Association for Higher Education and Accreditation, and is also accredited by IARC, the International Accreditation and Recognition. It may be worthless, but Bircham is accredited by some accreditation bodies, somewhere. Atlantic International is accredited by ASIC, for what it's worth. As to the second sentence, is that a question or a statement?

 

I'm not speaking for Rob1 here - but I should have said "I'm not opposed to ALL unaccredited schools, or ALL those with non-mainstream accreditation..." However, I'm often more comfortable with the former, than the latter.

J.

 

I just don't know what kind of acceptance one would get from other U.S. schools when coming in with an ASIC accredited degree. I'd have to think there would be some challenges.

 

This is not true.

 

Some challenges? At least. ASIC has accredited and de-accredited at least three schools linked to the Axact scam (Pakistan) in the media: University of Atlanta, Orlando University and Paramount California University.

Web-references re: Axact for all three schools here: Fake degree scam reaches Kuwait - Kuwait Times | Kuwait Times Man spends Dh250,000 on fake degree | GulfNews.com
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/23/world/asia/pakistan-widens-inquiry-into-fake-diplomas.html?_r=1

J.

 

Indeed. I would hope not!

J.

 

Is Atlantic International University a viable option for someone with a RA master's degree, who simply wants the experience of doctoral studies, but without the high costs of most RA doctorate programs? More specifically, for someone who is not planning to use the degree for career purposes, but for personal enrichment and development. By way of background, I have a RA master's and completed all of the coursework, comprehensive exams, and even the dissertation proposal at a NA school. Unfortunately, I ran out of funding and am considered ABD, which feels like "A Big Dummy...lol." Anyway, I considered an ASIC school as an alternative, mainly because I want to complete my research.

I realized that my DEAC doctorate would have limited, if any, utility. I did the program for personal enrichment. Based on my situation, I'm considering alternatives. However, I don't want a bogus credential. I want to complete substantial research and earn a degree, but only for personal satisfaction. I would never list it on a resume or bio, especially since it's not recognized in the US.

With all of that said, is an ASIC accredited program a viable alternative for people wanting to complete doctoral studies for personal enrichment?

 

You'd be better off going to a school like UNISA.

 

I would normally never recommend AIU to anyone - it's a sham. But since you already admit that you're "a big dummy," I am happy to recommend it to you. After all, since this is already a four-page thread, if you have the gumption to still inquire about AIU, then you deserve what you get.

I highly suggest that you review the desire to get a doctorate (of any type) in the first place - it sounds to me like you're simply one more troll that merely wants a doctoral title. And if you get one from AIU, you will deserve the ridicule to which you will be opening yourself. And you will be opening yourself to ridicule. But hey, that's okay - some of us like making fun of people like you.

 

I appreciate your response and respect your opinion. I'm going to look into UNISA. Thanks again!

 

I'm going to make an editorial point - strictly my opinion and not aimed at anyone in particular, even though our new friend fbufor01 has precipitated the thought. It's kind of a 2 part deal. Part 1 is that I really don't believe in the whole idea of "I'm only getting this doctoral degree for personal enrichment." It's too much work for that. I think that people have in the back of their minds, some little idea like "Maybe when I retire I could teach a course or two." or "Maybe I could write that book or an article in a magazine" or even "Maybe then my brother in law will finally shut up about his PhD" I think there's some other motive buried in there but it's not going to be stated out loud. Instead we're going to call it "personal enrichment." My second point is related to the first and it's simply this; if you don't have some other motive for doing a doctoral degree then it's highly unlikely that you'll ever finish. It's just too hard. Too much work. Too much time, aggravation and there are too many alternatives for your time, energy, money, etc. "Personal enrichment" even if it is the real motivation, is unlikely to be adequate to get you over the finish line.

 

All the "big dummy" stuff aside (I loved Fred Sanford, lol), I guess I don't understand why someone concerned with utility would go from an acceptable Doctoral program (DEAC) that will have some utility, only to look into a Doctoral program (ASIC) that is going to have zero utility outside of the few people who may be fooled and not know better about what ASIC's standing (or lack thereof) is in the United States. And how does running out of funding equate to finishing your Doctorate someplace else? It's not going to be free at the new school, so... am I missing something?

I don't like to call people out as trolls because sometimes genuine curiosity can come across in unintentional ways, but this one doesn't seem to make any sense at all.

 

I'll try to clarify. I have a RA master's degree and was teaching at a local campus of University of Phoenix. At the time, I decided to enroll in a DEAC accredited DBA program. I completed all of the coursework, comprehensive exams, concept paper, and dissertation proposal. The school ended up hiring a new DBA program director, who made several changes to made it financially unfeasible to continue, mainly because they changed the direction of the dissertation research. I made the decision to withdraw from the program and have been exploring other option, such as ABD completion programs, which are few and far between.

I recently became aware of ASIC accreditation, which I thought was equivalent to NA in the USA. Nothing could be further from the truth. After reading more reviews on this board and looking at their website, I understand what it is and it is certainly not the direction I want to go in. What was somewhat confusing is that ASIC is a member of CHEA's International Quality Group. I thought that ASIC was a CHEA approved accreditation provider until I looked at CHEA's website and read about the CIQG and what it actually does, which seems more about information sharing. So, ASIC accreditation seems pointless for a US school.

I appreciate your response and your respect. BTW...Sanford and Son is my favorite 70s show, hence the "big dummy" reference. I didn't think it would be used against me...lol

 

There are many candidates for "best tv show from the 70s," Mr. Roger's Neighborhood might be on the short list although clearly it was primarily aimed at little kids. MASH was a very popular show as was Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. All in the Family was extremely popular too. Lots of choices, depending on your likes, dislikes and certainly depending on your age. I have gone back to watch some of them here and there (thank you, internet) and based on my limited exposure I'm going to say that my favorite is Mission: Impossible

 

I'm not sure what you want. Graduate level coursework? You can find very good DL classes, both credit and non-credit, in most subjects.

It sounds like about the only thing a doctoral program like this would offer you is a diploma that might only end up discrediting you.

I'd say no. What you seem to be looking for is an experience of intellectual value. So regardless of accreditation, you need to be looking for a school that has some kind of research profile in your subject and some kind of reputation in its professional community. ASIC adds nothing to that in my opinion. Investigate Atlantic International University's reputation in your subject and then make up your own mind. Look at their faculty lists, at publications, at collaborations with scholars at other universities and so on. (It should be pretty obvious.)

My advice would be:

1. Complete your DEAC degree. (Even if your DEAC school has no academic reputation, the accreditation will lend it a minimal level of credibility.) Or...

2. Lose your doctoral degree objective and then just do your research anyway. It's not like people can't have academic interests unless they are enrolled in a graduate program.

If it was me though, I'd steer well away from Atlantic International University. (And ASIC.)

 

I agree 100%. I've given a little background on a different response. I didn't originally enroll in a doctoral program for personal enrichment (as that would be a huge waste of time and money). I was teaching undergraduate courses at a local campus of University of Phoenix and wanted to earn a DBA because the campus director told me that I would qualify to teach master-level courses, even if the DBA was from a DEAC accredited school. At the time, UOPX was planning to expand the on-campus program in Appleton, Wisconsin to include MBA courses. Of course, as we all know, instead of expanding the programs, UOPX ended up closing most of the smaller campuses around the country. By the time our location closed, I was almost done with all of the coursework in the DBA program. I also took a different position with my primary job, which made teaching part-time unfeasible. Since I don't need a DBA for my career and have no interest in teaching in the future, I was content with walking away from the DBA program due to some of the changed made (that's a long story in itself). However, since I completed the coursework, comprehensive exams, and dissertation proposal, I've thought about finishing the process for personal reasons, mainly because I would love to complete the research I proposed (this is what I meant by personal enrichment).

I explained my misunderstandings about ASIC accreditation in my reply to LearningAddict, so I won't repeat myself. However, I asked my initial question because I wanted to know if an ASIC-accredited school was a viable option. After looking more into it, I know it definitely is not a good option. As Steve said (I'm paraphrasing), getting a degree from an unrecognized school will open you up to ridicule, which is certainly not my intention. I was asking an honest question and looking for honest feedback.

I appreciate your responses and respect. I've been reading this board for years. I think I originally signed up back in 2010, but rarely comment. I mainly read for information and insight. Thank you once again for responding. I think I'm going to comment a little more. Maybe then I won't be called a troll...LMBO

 

Absolutely! The more I read, the more sketchy they appear. I will definitely leave them alone.

 

All of these were good shows. 70s TV was great IMO. I still watch the Rockford Files and Barnaby Jones...lol.