Accreditation/State Authorization

Tom,

I bet you would look real cute in those plaid shorts.

Colleen

 

BillDayson writes:

I think this really hits the nail on the head. Since Century offers PhDs in Computer Science (my field) and other technical areas, I decided to do an institution search in Current Contents, the leading index of current scientific and engineering research articles. I searched the database for 1994-2001. As a control, I queried for the institution Columbia University (where I am a part-time student) and got a list of 17,445 research papers. I queried for my employer (a large US corporation with significant R&D group) and got 5,880 research papers. (Searching further, I found that 10 of the papers listed from these two institutions have myself as an author.) I then queried for Century and got 2 for New Century College and 24 for Century City Hospital, but NONE for anything like Century University. I looked through all the citations that listed the word "Century" anywhere in the research institution field, and found nothing that could be interpreted as an abbreviation or alternative form for Century University.

How does one explain this if Century University is issuing legitimate research degrees in technical areas?

 

My take is this: I have nothing against unaccredited schools per se, I just have something against *any* school that tries to pass itself off as something it isn't. For example, I think California Coast University, which makes no accreditation claims, might be a viable option for some people.

However, Century has consistently claimed accreditation from a sham accrediting agency, A.C.I. The stories about Arnold the Pig may be old, but they are very telling. The only possible reason why a school would claim A.C.I. accreditation is to fool people into thinking they are enrolling in a legitimately accredited school. There can be no other reason that I can think of.

Century is unquestionably legal, but I personally think it has no legitmacy whatsoever because of its "accreditation" claims. Of course people are free to enroll in Century, but they shouldn't delude themselves into thinking their degrees are even in the same zip code as a legitimately accredited degree.

Bruce

 

Sorry -- the quote from BillDayson that I wanted was:

Maybe I need to go to cut'n'paste school...

 

You bring up some interesting questions concerning honesty, whether individuals are misled or victimized, and academic rigor. But really, how many unaccredited schools are very clear about their lack of accreditation, faculty, etc. to the point that no one is misled? I can’t think of any.

Dishonesty (and particularly hypocrisy) offends me as well, but I believe academic rigor is indeed an issue as it goes directly to the heart of the matter. It is precisely because of the lack of rigor and standards that so many of these institutions cannot achieve proper accreditation, and must resort to bogus accreditation and other means of misleading prospective students, to encourage them to enroll. The mere promise of a less rigorous program would be useless without, at a minimum, the potential to deceive someone that the degree (and by inference, the knowledge gained) is equivalent to one earned at a properly accredited institution, otherwise it would have no utility at all.

It is not human nature to pay money and do any amount of work (even if only for 9 months) for a degree, to simply stuff it in a drawer and never mention it to anyone or put it to some kind of use. And it is hard to conceive of any kind of use one could put an unaccredited degree to that would not involve trying to pass off such a degree (even if one fully disclosed that it was from an unaccredited institution) as the equivalent of one from a properly accredited school. The utility of unaccredited degrees are not just in proportion to the ignorance of the evaluator (witness the complete lack of acceptance in academe), they are also in direct proportion to the willingness of the degree holder to act dishonestly (ranging from a wink and a nod, to lies of omission, to outright fraud).

Moreover I do not regard academic rigor simply an aesthetic matter. In fact, schools that have lax or substandard academic rigor many times cause more harm and victimize more people than those who have none at all.

Schools (and I use the term very loosely) that require absolutely no work whatsoever, or such a minimal amount of work that anyone can discern that they are simply purchasing a diploma, focus their marketing efforts on those willing to become co-conspirators rather than students. I would not consider those who purchase these degrees as victims. In fact, an alarming trend among some of these schools is “honest” marketing. They blatantly tell you they are a degree mill, and you’re simply purchasing the degree and their verification services.

On the other hand, much more damage is caused by the many schools with a lengthy tradition of deceiving prospective students (and I think here the word students may truly apply) concerning their accreditation, the members of their faculty, the credentials of their faculty, the value of state approval, the acceptance of the degree, etc., for the sole purpose of convincing a prospective student that a degree conferred by them would have the same validity and utility as one from a properly accredited one. Once a student is enrolled, the only way the illusion can be maintained (and additional tuition fees received) is by requiring some amount of coursework. This sets up an interesting scenario whereby the more work a student does, the more he or she is being victimized and yet the more they are justified in feeling that this could not possibly be so. It’s an educational Ponzi scheme, and those being deceived truly are victims.

But not all the students of unaccredited (or claiming bogus accreditation) institutions are victims. Some are fully aware that the degree is not equivalent to one from properly accredited school and that the programs, requirements and coursework are frequently substandard, yet they do not care. In fact, these were major factors in choosing to enroll! Their intentions are to get a degree with a minimal amount of effort, and later on count on the apathy or ignorance of an evaluator to provide their degree with any utility. It is these individuals that most fiercely defend their institution and degrees. Their familiar refrain echoes that of practically every individual who is exposed with degree mill credentials, “But I did a lot of work for my degree!”

I have no doubt that are indeed, individuals who have done work for an unaccredited degree of sufficient quantity and quality to merit a degree at an accredited school. Unfortunately, we only have his or her word for this, and as a society we have had to make a decision to either accept every individual’s assertion as to the academic rigor involved in earning his or her degree, or establish minimum standards. And in the United States, the minimum standards and the oversight of these standards has been delegated to the regional accreditators (and a few others organizations). Like it or not, these are the standards for equivalency.

Unquestionably, there are unaccredited, non-traditional institutions that fill important niches particularly in regards to distance education, but these niches are becoming fewer every day. Over the years, as the better unaccredited schools sought and were granted regional accreditation, and many traditional schools developed distance learning programs, the only niches best served by unaccredited schools have become increasingly more esoteric. Regionally accredited (or their foreign equivalent) institutions are offering the overwhelming majority of degrees and programs being sought by distance learners. For most programs and degrees offered by unaccredited (including schools claiming bogus accreditation) schools, there are programs from regionally accredited institutions that are just as flexible and have similar costs. In fact, the degree titles from an unaccredited school cannot differ substantially from those issued by properly accredited schools. If they did, what little utility they would have (being that their utility is dependent on being mistaken for a properly accredited degree by ignorant or apathetic evaluators) would evaporate.

Being that a degree from a regionally accredited school offers infinitely more utility and security, why would anyone settle for an unaccredited school over a properly accredited one? That is the simple question that is never addressed by the students or “graduates” of unaccredited schools, because they cannot state that they wanted easier courses, unproctored exams, or to complete the degree in significantly less time (and consequently with significantly less work), and yet honestly maintain that the degrees are equivalent to a properly accredited one.


Gus Sainz

 

Colleen:

Thanks for the information.

Russell

 

Cheers,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

co-author, Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning (Ten Speed Press)
co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)

 

<snip>why would anyone settle for an unaccredited school over a properly accredited one? That is the simple question that is never addressed by the students or “graduates” of unaccredited schools, because they cannot state that they wanted easier courses, unproctored exams, or to complete the degree in significantly less time (and consequently with significantly less work)<snip>

I'll be glad to answer your questions. I was in the Master of Divinity program at Earlham School of Religion, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana. I was there on the G.I. Bill. My funds ran out; the classroom milieu was one of blasphemy, crudeness and outright immorality. So, I transferred to a school I could afford and one that held to fundamental Christian morals and ethics, Bethany Theological Seminary, Dothan, AL. The courses were very difficult and some of the exams were, in fact, proctored. I worked nearly two years on the degree. I had to intern in a counseling center. The center was a certified RAPHA clinic and my counseling sessions were supervised as I was counseling. I had papers returned to me stating I needed to engage in more, thorough research and documentation. Let's remember, unaccredited schools have the same problems as accredited schools, namely students who will cheat, get by as easily as possibly, do just enough work to pass, have others take exams for them and turn out unethical, immoral graduates as has been witnessed by the unethical therapists, social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists who engaged in the repressed memory debacle of the 1980's and early 1990's that saw literally thousands of innocent lives ruined by such highly esteemed accredited graduates as Rene Fredrickson, Margaret Bayog-Bean, Claudia Black, John Bradshaw, et. al. Many of these have lost their licenses to practice; so much for accredited education.

 

So much for accreditation??? This is clearly an illusory correlation. You can hardly attribute the behaviors of Rene Fredrickson, Margaret Bayon-Bean...to the accredited education they received. But if you're to believe so, I can easily name dozens of graduates of accredited schools for their contributions to their fields.
I'm also certain that this will outnumber any mickey-mouse suspect unaccredited school graduates.

My 2 cents also tells me that it's absolutely foolish for someone to pursue a suspect unaccredited degree simply because "I don't have the money for an accredited education," or "I'm doing it for self-esteem," or "I wanted a Ph.D in 9 months because I don't have the time and committment for a dissertation and defense." First, I don't see how a degree from, say, Century, can elevate self-esteem. Second, sometime, someday, somewhere, someone, will know the true recognition of an unaccredited degree. If one can't announce their unaccredited alma maters loudly, and proudly, (measure your heartrate too)then one shouldn't go for such degrees.

Regards,
Byran

 

Now I'm all confused...

 

Methinks someone forgot they were operating under a nome de plume.....

Bruce

 

<snip>You can hardly attribute the behaviors of Rene Fredrickson, Margaret Bayon-Bean...to the accredited education they received.<snip>

I won't belabor this any longer after this reply. I was not implying such. I am simply stating that it's not WHERE one gets educated it's the INDIVIDUAL that matters. For instance, before Luther Rice Seminary became accredited by TRACS, former President of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Charles Stanley, graduated. Not ONE hint of scandal from him in his dealings with his church, denomination, ministerial or counseling career. On the other hand, former President of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., the Rev. Henry Lyons, was convicted of swindling more than $4 million to fund a lavish lifestyle that included mistresses, jewelry and Florida waterfront property and stealing $250,000 donated to rebuild burned Black churches in the South. The Rev. Mr. Lyons is a graduate from the highly acclaimed AND accredited Morehouse School of Religion (Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta). This is all I am trying to get across.

 

First the person with User Name Torry writes:
By the way, my name is Torry, not "Torry."
thus stating, indignantly, that putting his/her name in quotes is wrong.

Now the person with User Name Torry ends a letter:
Regards, Byran

Well if this person isn't named "Torry Byran" or "Byran Torry," then perhaps he/she might want to consider one of Century's on-line ethics courses. Or something.

 

Torry-signed-Torry says: "I'm a student at Century ... I realize the shortcomings of Century University. I'm learning something, and I am, and will never simply buy a degree. I will stay at Century, because I find their coursework to be legitimate. "

Torry-signed-Bryan says:

My 2 cents also tells me that it's absolutely foolish for someone to pursue a suspect unaccredited degree simply because "I don't have the money for an accredited education," or "I'm doing it for self-esteem," or "I wanted a Ph.D in 9 months because I don't have the time and committment for a dissertation and defense." First, I don't see how a degree from, say, Century, can elevate self-esteem. Second, sometime, someday, somewhere, someone, will know the true recognition of an unaccredited degree. If one can't announce their unaccredited alma maters loudly, and proudly, (measure your heartrate too)then one shouldn't go for such degrees.

Interesting.

------------------
Kristin Evenson Hirst
DistanceLearn.About.com

 

Apology withdrawn. "Liar" and "weasel" reinstated. Case closed.

Rich Douglas, who call's 'em as he sees 'em.

 

Okay, I think I owe everyone an explannation.

First, I have nothing to do with Torry. We share the same work station. He has his own ISP service, while I have mine. I do not like Century, even though he's a student there.

It's obvious that nobody will believe me now. Agreed. I've been posting here since last yr, and everyone's welcome to check my old posts. I do not like unaccredited schools except Calcoast. Here in Vancouver, BC, I've taken some pictures on Senior University International long ago and offered them here to those who are interested to see.

I knew someday this would happen. But it is a legitimate case of the problems of sharing computers, since Internet Explorer auto saves the previous posters' passwords and ID.

Byran

 

I wouldn't worry about it, Byran. If any institution ever were to begin offering a doctorate in Jumpingtoconclusionology, many posters here (and indeed, many people in general) would immediately qualify for earned degrees.

--
Quinn

 

Byran:
To avoid further surprises, please list the names of any other posters with whom you share the workstation.

 

As a fellow Internet Exploder user, I can completely understand how this might happen--when I post a message, my username ("Tom Head") and password already show up in the relevant fields, and if I were using a shared computer, I'm sure this sort of thing would happen to me sooner or later.

Don't sweat it. We needed the comic relief anyway!


Cheers,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

co-author, Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning (Ten Speed Press)
co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)