Central University of Nicaragua Degree Scheme

I honestly wouldn't recommend anyone get a foreign degree to compete with a local candidate at the same degree level. I would only use a foreign Ph.D. or other programs of sorts to dress up a resume and bring traction to my resume to focus on all of my credentials as a whole. It's best to use these programs as a tie-breaker and/or life-long learning.

 

I agree. At some point I was interested in a PhD from Nicaragua, Azteca or Costa Rica to qualify for a school counsellor license. I work in education and it looked like an attractive part time gig but a local Masters degree in Counselling from a private school is 40K compared to the 10K for a PhD from these options. However, after further research, as you mentioned, the licensing requirements call for specific coursework and supervision so the foreign degree was a very risky option. There is also the risk that you cannot get a local equivalency as all these options are very low profile so you are subject to the criteria of the foreign evaluation credential service.

Even the adjunct gigs might not so easy to get with these options, most call for a license or certification that you cannot get with these foreign options. If you are not certified or licensed, then you have to compete with the hundreds of PhDs from local schools and the PhD from Nicaragua might never make it to the interview with the so many PhDs from University of Toronto looking for an adjunct gig.

I believe these options might be OK for a professional adjunct already working with a Masters degree and just want the PhD tag to get more attraction to a CV or for an already licensed therapist or psychologist that just needs the PhD tag to attract customers.

 

But again, someone can get a University of Sedona PhD in Psychology and legally use the title too. The prospect customer might think that the UoS degree is better than the Nicaraguan one just because it is an American degree. If the person is already licensed, the PhD from UoS is just icing. Some of the Religious schools are starting to grant PhDs in Business Theology, someone can get an MBA from a traditional school and then do a PhD in Business Theology just to get an adjunct gig. Credential inflation is a problem so people look for cheaper ways to inflate their CV with a low budget and without breaking the law.

 

Indeed "someone" can. And that "someone" is unlikely to hold any license, except one to operate a motor vehicle. Too dang many totally unqualified people operate in unregulated loophole areas, and get these Mexicostaraguan or Cali-wine-country "Doctorates" just to impress, bilk and bamboozle unfortunate people who can't afford, or "don't trust" (i.e. are in fear of) qualified professionals, who could help them. "There oughta be a law," but there doesn't seem to be.

 

Hey, it turns out that the Spanish word for "placebo" is "placebo." I wonder if they print that on the diploma somewhere?

 

Funny!! Mexicostaraguan degrees are popular in this forum because we are into distance learning but I searched once and very few people in the US or Canada hold degrees from these schools. The average person will not do it. Most people will just get a federal or provincial loan and pay the 40K for a local distance degree that will not raise eyebrows.

 

You can also just skip all of that and call yourself "doctor," "PhD," or whatever. As long as you're not defrauding someone or lying under oath, you're in the clear.

You would not believe the look of relief on Julius Erving's face when I told him that.

(NB: You can also get in trouble misrepresenting a real degree, too. But people who've earned their degrees tend not to do such things.)

 

That's because it's a purely Latin word - neither English nor Spanish. "I will please" is its exact meaning.

 

Most of those schools are either accredited or gone. The few remaining (and I advise one) are trying to hang on.

 

I think it just says "Titulo propio not officially recognized". I got mine for 100 bucks from CLEA University In Mexico in Yoga and mindfulness and it says this in the degree. The Azteca is way more expensive than 100 bucks but it is technically the same thing, a non officially recognized degree.

 

That is exactly what a Clinical Social Worker said who earned a CalSouthern PsyD. It was for marketing (appearance and credibility). It made no financial sense to give up his practice to do the PsyD internship and become a Psychologist. This way he could use "Dr." and hopefully get a boost in his professional profile.

 

Sarcasm....

The point is the fake pill being used as a real one.

 

I'm in the minority on this point, but I think it is deceptive. In the mental health world, "doctor" has a specific connotation: psychiatrist or psychologist. (The PsyD really, really does this.) But associated with that degree is a level of licensure--psychologist--that the mental health counselor does not have. In a clinical setting, using the degree and the title is deceptive.

 

I tend to agree. If I see someone doing mental health counseling and they have a PhD (DMin, EdD, etc) I look closer to see if it is a PhD or EdD in Counseling or Counselor Supervision (eg Liberty) or Pastoral Counseling. When I see someone listing a PsyD and practicing Psychotherapy and calling themselves "Dr." the automatic assumption is they are a Psychologist because they hold a "Doctor of Psychology". Even more so if they say they earned a Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology. There have been one or two I looked at that I really had to search to find that they were Licensed as Social Workers or Counselors.

Kind of like when Chiropractors call themselves various types of Physicians and allude to the fact that they studied medicine in various articles and marketing. Some hold forth great expertise (eg anti vaccinations) in a number of subjects and then it turns out that they are Chiropractors.

 

In Canada the "Doctor" title is regulated but the not PhD title. One can use the PhD title without legal consequence. In the mental health care field, the customer normally expects the provider to give an insurance receipt and hold a liability insurance. If you are not qualified, the prospect customer most likely will not use you as you cannot provide any receipt.
There is the market of life coaches, spiritual guides, etc that do not need specific qualifications but these go with word of mouth and they might use different titles to attract customers including the PhD title.

 

Didn't you say before that they do get these degrees? And even endorsed the procedure - saying it's legal and OK for some mountebank to flash a PhD like these, to get a leg up on the next unqualified guy, who doesn't have one - and thereby earn a minimal living. If they don't get Latin American-orbit or Sedona degrees - where are they getting them from - Pakistan? You can get one of those for no work - even better. Axact has over 300 schools to choose from.

Wherever these unlicensed non-professionals get degrees - I don't like the practice.

 

But what about the other benefits of earning a doctorate? Establishing or furthering one's professional identity. A contribution to one's academic and/or professional field. The learning. Aren't those valuable? Or are they even experienced?

I'm still not clear what distinguishes this from a degree from an unaccredited school. In both cases, they work unless someone looks a little too closely. I guess it helps that the school is recognized, even if the degree is not. Perhaps that's a layer of this onion not frequently peeled back.

NB: When looking at degrees from South Africa and Australia, you can check to see if the school--and the degree--is part of their national qualifications framework.

 

Yep - you just said it again. They're NOT the guys who get $40K degrees.

 

In Ontario, the only exception for licensing requirements for counselling are ministers of religion. But you cannot become a minister of religion by just sending 20 bucks to an online church. All religious institutions are closely monitored by the government and they need to provide educational programs that have some rigor.

One can call himself or herself PhD in Psychology but not Doctor of Psychology or Psychologist without a license. Again, most insurance companies will only pay you if you issue a receipt from qualified psychologists so a PhD in Psychology from University of Sedona is going to have a very hard time getting customers if he or she cannot provide receipts. Most people use insurance for mental care.

 

Most professions that require contact with the public require licensing nowadays. If the person holding the Mexicostaraguan degree is able to get the Canadian equivalence from a recognized service, it is technical ethical and legal to use it in public. But the practice of a profession that requires licensing as a counsellor, social worker, psychologist, naturopath, etc requires the person to satisfy the requirements with Mexicostaraguan degree or other training or degree. It is also up to the customer to ask for the degree qualification information when using a service although most people are satisfied only with the license.

The non accredited religious degree causes an ethical problem as it is questionable if the person has done the equivalent of a Canadian PhD but there is no legislation that prevents the person to display it. I think it would be ethical for the person to use the religious title of reverend or minister of the religion granting the degree or use a religious designation of the degree like Master of Divinity and avoid professional designations like psychology or counselling.

The ethical issue as you described before is deception, if you abuse the religious degree into making yourself a psychologist or mental health professional, then there is a potential issue of harming someone with unqualified professional advice.