Kennedy Western refund HELP!

Rich - "Even a "free" degree from K-WU is too expensive. "

Me - I can't see how a KW degree combined with an accredited degree could be a liability.

KW is high profile and the 1 % of the people, who would care, would see an accredited degree besides. Indicates progress and initiative.

After analyzing a sample of 1, I have determined that most people wouldn't know the difference between KW and the U of Phoenix. They both promote themselves a lot.

As a stand alone degree KW is lacking because of no accreditation.

 

OK! So Saddam SHOULD enroll! Everyone else has MUCH better alternatives!

 

Not lacking simply because of a lack of accreditation. It is fundamentally lacking because it is bereft of any academic integrity. An institution dedicated to education as its core objective must have as its fundamental driving force academic integrity or it is simply a business masquerading as an educational institution. And if the completion of a degree is done so under the glaring lights of a bankrupt academic process, then the diploma, by definition, offers no value as an academic certifying document.

You say you can't see how a K-W degree combined with an accredited degree could be a liability. I'll tell you how it is. If I were to have an opening for a position and a candidate applied with a BS from Northwestern University and an Executive MBA from KW, I would throw the application in the trash. While the Northwestern degree shows the applicant was able to complete a respected BS program, the K-W "degree" indicates that the applicant is also willing to cut corners and participate in a sham of academic pretense in order to put forth that they have earned an MBA.

K-W waives full courses (and many) based on nothing more than a resume and an online application form. It is completely impossible to discern if an applicant has equivalent knowledge of MBA level courses through the review of a resume and a few questions on an application. This is not even debatable.

Let’s say we all agree that offering credit for existing skills, knowledge, and competencies were acceptable. In order to determine the level of what to award, one would have to have a legitimate process for assessing the actual knowledge and competencies against some known base. You might take a specific course description and learning objectives and compare a portfolio, assembled by the applicant for this purpose, to see if the applicant does in fact already meet the specific course learning outcomes.

But K-W doesn’t even come close to this. Not even in the same universe. A resume and an online application is a far cry from a legitimate attempt to assess equivalencies to MBA course learning objectives and expected outcomes. No testing out or developing a portfolio for specific courses - just a resume and an application.

With the right resume and online application, K-W requires 4 courses and a thesis paper to "earn" an Executive MBA. Compare that to the following random basic RA Executive MBA programs:

University of Arkansas at Little Rock requires 16 courses

University of Delaware requires 12 courses

Marshall University requires 13 courses

Now, you tell me which 8 courses from any of those programs might K-W legitimately waive on the basis of a resume and an online application. When you say you have an MBA on your resume, you are implying 12 – 16 courses of study. But your K-W degree is screaming – “Hey suckers, I did mine in four courses”.

The process is an academic fraud. It is masquerading as an MBA program, of which it is barely a fraction.

So, how might it be a liability? It is a huge neon billboard that speaks to the character of the applicant. K-W orchestrates the academic pretense and the "student" is happily the willing accomplice.

 

PaulC

The order of the degrees in question would be BS KW followed by BS R/A. Just a bit different than BS R/A followed by MBA K-W. The first indicates accepting greater challenges, the second indicates the reverse.

Of course K-W is a poor choice for most people.

 

Re: PaulC

The first may indicate accepting greater challenges, but not the challenges you mean. The real challenge in the first is finding an RA school that will accept the K-W degree in transfer. It is an interesting hypothetical but rhetorical, as it will not manifest itself as reality. You could go RA to K-W, but you are not likely going to go K-W to RA.

 

PaulC

Have you read any of the former posts? The KW money was a write-off. I was just offering the opinion that completing the KW degree wasn't so bad. I would suggest that using the knowledge gained at KW to CLEP etc a TESC etc R/A degree , as suggested by others, might shorten the process.

Of course no KW coursework would be directly tranferable.

 

Re: PaulC

I did read the post, and I’m not arguing with you. Simply disagreeing with one suggestion you are making. It is my opinion that claiming any degree from K-W, whether for $6000 or for free, will end up as a blotch on any resume or application upon which it is used.

I would suggest that learning whatever you can, however you can, would indeed be a good thing. Just so long as at the end of that learning experience you don't tarnish your reputation by claiming you have earned a degree in the process.

I am saying I would offer that he read his textbooks and study the lessons and take the exams and do what he can to further his knowledge. But I am not extending that to mean that, upon completion of this process, he should claim a degree from K-W.

Where we differ is that you are saying he should complete and take the degree along side his RA degree. I am saying complete the learning process if he likes, but don't make the mistake of claiming a degree out of the process. The process, as it relates to the granting of a legitimate academic degree, is a sham. I am recommending he not participate in that sham.

 

Kurt 1970;

What was your degree program at K-W?

Nosborne, JD