degree mills

I'm not saying it isn't possible, of course. I suspect this was much more common when nontraditional doctoral programs really got going in the late 1970's. Back then, it was hard to tell which programs were going to grow into accreditation and which weren't. (It didn't look like any of them would, considering how reluctant the RA's were in addressing the issue.)

Rich Douglas, missing the good ol' days.

 

Hi there:

I'm not a fan of CCU but I must say that there is evidence of moderate acceptance in the academic field. After two minutes of google searcg I found some CCU DBAs teaching at some RA universities:
http://www.technetronics.com/mastersdivinityschool/admin&instructors.html
http://www.morrison.edu/faculty.htm
http://216.207.47.88/pages/AcademicPrograms/FacultyBusinessAdmin.shtm
http://goldey.gbc.edu/faculty_staff/teachers.html

 

Frankly, I find it almost inconceivable that a Cal Coast doctorate would hold up in a competitive university hiring situation where the doctorate was a critical variable.

So most likely this wasn't a competitive hire. Or if it was, the individual was competing on the basis of something besides the doctorate. Perhaps he was an insider who knew somebody, or perhaps he had outstanding practical experience that the school wanted to capture.

 

But my friend, 50% of the times you get a job for the reasons you mentioned above. I know that very well, I know of some people teaching at the community college level with no degree at all and people teaching at the university level with just a bachelor’s because of the same reasons. I think people here put a lot of emphasis on the degree when reality tells you that is just a small fraction of the reason for hiring.

 

Just for curiosity I have done some research about full time faculty holding PhD from CCU and I was surprised to find even more, one faculty member teaching full time at a very prestigious Brazilian university and one at Chicago state university as an associate professor. Like I said I don’t endorse CCU but there is evidence of acceptance of it in the academic community.

Regards,
http://www.fgv.br/ebap/mestdout/dout/corpo.htm
http://business.ubalt.edu/entrepreneurship/aboutus/faculty&staff/
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/1559/home/home.htm
http://www.hlg.edu/personnel/byalpha.htm
http://www.csu.edu/MMIS/sanders.html

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say that. The Chicago State faculty member joined the CSU faculty in 1973, and Cal Coast didn't even come into existence until 1974, so clearly the Cal Coast degree is pure window dressing. Ditto for the guy on the Geocities page, he's never taught above the community college level, which requires at the most a Master's degree (he has an RA one).

You have to keep in mind that just because something is listed on an "official" webpage, doesn't mean it is either legitimate or official. When John Bear was looking for "time bombs" for Good Morning America, I submitted the webpage of a physician at a major US teaching hospital, who has a legitimate MD from McGill University. However, this guy couldn't leave well enough alone, and also listed a Ph.D. in Public Health from....drumroll...Columbia State University. This was listed on the "official" school/hospital website. Although he didn't make the GMA cut, the Columbia State listing disappeared immediately after the GMA segment. I would have payed to see the look on the physician's face when he saw that one.

Anyway, my point is that a webmaster will put almost anything on your listing you want them to. Rarely is the listing checked by anyone who would have an interest in its accuracy or credibility.


Bruce