Is it Worth Getting an Unaccredited Degree

There was also a time when it was not.

On the upside, CCU was the first unaccredited DL school offering degrees at all levels to have all of its programs Approved under 94310(b).

I'll leave the downside to history.

 

Nostalgia.

 

Indeed. And there were the others - the straight-up mills "Born in the USA" e.g. LaSalle University (the Mandeville, Louisiana one) Columbia State U., Monticello University... more like nostalgie de la boue.*

*nostalgie de la boue - nostalgia of mud. The kind of nostalgia where you miss BAD things. Like mud. And degree mills.

 

The stories:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Pellar (Columbia State U.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kirk_diploma_mills (LaSalle U. Louisiana)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monticello_University

Those were the days...

 

Michael,

If a sufficiently large number of prominent evangelical seminaries opt out of the accreditation system, I could see how that might initiate a counter-accreditation trend in conservative Protestantism. Another factor might be the election of Trump and the implementation of some kind of decentralization agenda in higher education. But I’ll believe it when I see it. So far, the seminaries are more likely to be closed than provided with new life outside the official quality assurance system. Conservative evangelicals have always differed from fundamentalists in their insistence on scholarship and interaction with the broad world of academia. Cutting off the accreditation pipeline that connects this movement's scholars to academia (which is operating on the assumption of agreed upon quality assurance) would likely hamper this effort to a great degree.

In Canada, a provincially-provided degree-granting charter was nice solution for theological institutions, as it provided them with full recognition without the necessity of incurring extra accreditation costs. Some went on to get completely voluntary accreditation through ATS or ABHE, but others remained fully satisfied with the charter alone, as it provided them with the practical equivalent of accreditation. The result was much better than a religious exemption in the States, because you could take such a charter-only backed degree and still have it recognized the world over, even if Bible college education was viewed as in a different category from university education at home. But I am also noticing that these charters aren’t given out frequently in our day. It is unclear whether this has to do with the lack of applicants for such a charter or the fact that this policy represented a different Canada, one that welcomed expressions of conservative religion, morality and belief.

 

Why is mainline Protestantism having such a hard time these days? You see something similar in the shocking fade out of Conservative Judaism in the U.S.

It's not like science answers religious questions. I find it hard to believe that people aren't asking those questions anymore. So what is going on?

 

There are some cases where an unaccredited degree might be necessary like in the case of naturopathy, most schools at least in Canada do not have university accreditation but they are accepted to become a naturopath. There other cases like in the case of religion, if one belongs to a denomination that is not being offered by a traditional university you might need to take unaccredited. There are also fields that are not offered by traditional universities, I remember the case of a person asking for a degree cryptozoology that is not being offered by traditional universities so unaccredited might be ok if it serves the purpose of the person.

However, in general, there are so many options for business, engineering, IT, etc that there is no need to take unaccredited as mentioned before.

 

Of course. Cryptozoology is not a valid science, so you need an invalid degree. Fake for fake.

Wiki: "Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, or the Mokele-mbembe."

 

Naturopathy? This Canadian school is accredited by Naturopathy's own accrediting body - and has full permission to operate from the Provincial Ministry of Education and award Naturopathic Doctor degrees.

https://ccnm.edu/
https://ccnm.edu/about/accreditation

Accredited? Differently, perhaps - but legitimately. I note the.edu domain. You get to write the Board exams and practise, if successful. There's a licensed Naturopathic Doctor a couple of miles away from me. Not for me, I think - but his degree is not unaccredited hocus-pocus like the defunct Clayton College of Natural Health.

 

I have read many scientists are aggravated that Naturopathy has gained traction with legislators since they see it as lacking evidence based support (pseudoscience). As you note, there are accredited schools that produce Doctors of Naturopathy.

Naprapathy is another discipline (like Chiropractic but soft tissue manipulation). It has had a few studies that support it but I am not sure it has solid scientific support either (but then does Chiropractic?). If you graduate from the Chicago school you can get licensed in Illinois (perhaps some other states but there aren't many that license them). NM and Nevada do but not sure if they require the DEAC accredited school in Sante Fe (ie accreditation).

 

Or psychiatry?

 

That's one of the reasons I don't go to either. Accreditation was my only point. I feel the same way as you do - regardless of accreditation and legitimacy, both of which these two professions have earned.

 

Done with that. Don't get me started...

 

I've been going to a chiropractor for over 40 years. I go once a month. If I miss an appointment my back reminds me I need to go. I get backaches if I miss. I have found though that seeing a good chiropractor is critical. There are many chiropractors that I've seen that don't seem to help much.

 

Sounds good .Anyone know the cheapest place to get a Cryptozoology degree? I want to know more about those searches for and studies of unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, the Mokele-mbembe and Canadians.

 

I have had both experiences. One that did nothing to write about and another who adjusted me and increased my mobility (even in areas I didn't realize it was lacking).

I like that warm towel and electric shock on the lower back.

Where Chiros go wrong is when they go outside their lane and claim to cure all sorts of things or claim special knowledge of immunology (anti-vaccines), give babies Chiropractic adjustments, etc. Some even get into Iridology.

 

Hmmm - I know someone who might like to meet you. Want her phone number?

 

Yeah - some of them call expanding into those areas "Practice-building." I wonder what their Professional Organization calls it?

 

Saw it. You're on your own. Permanently, from this end. I'm sure you can live with it. I certainly can.

Yours truly,

The Mystery Creature (There are over 38,000,000 of us.)

 

Absolutely! The good chiropractors that I've been to have me lay on my back on top of heating pads. They also put the low shock charge on my back. These two things help relax the back muscles. Then when they work on my back most of the time is spent getting the back muscles to relax further. This allows effective adjustments.