Degrees for work experience

Re: you did not pay attention

Hi Michael

I think I understand your frustration. It is important to realize that the NASD exams you are talking about clearly are not academic credit exams. It also seems the people who sponsor them have no interest in changing that. It puts you in a tight situation.

If you can get credit through Nova or another school great! If not , I wouldn't waste too much time. With the Big Three you can get a RA Bachelor's for under $3000 and less than a year's time. I would go the testing/transfer route and not worry about the portfolios.

Other options like Nova are likely to cost much more and take much longer. It sounds like you want to get on with life and not take too long. I would go the Big Three route.

 

Re: you did not pay attention

It doesn't seem that there's an option that will meet all of your requirements - accept your NASD credit, be cheap and require minimal additional effort.

I wonder - if there are many requests per week to ACE, why doesn't ACE let the NASD know, and why doesn't the NASD take action? I doubt the ACE evaluation service is so expensive that it wouldn't benefit its members, right? Maybe a petition on your behalf?

However, you do have options to take advantage of the knowledge you've gained over the years - via standardized tests. Lawrie Miller's http://www.bain4weeks.com site outlines how you could potentially do a degree in a short amount of time. If you're located in NYC there are numerous exam sites located in Manhattan so it's just a matter of getting it done.

You mention that schools would not consider the exams you have taken for portfolio credit. Did you try COSC? Did you put your proposed degree program in context of your experience?

I can see someone declining general business credit (e.g. like operations management) based upon NASD exams, but again, if you looked at a major/concentration based upon brokerage it would seem that your 15 years of experience combined with the NASD exams (the standard for the industry) would allow you to portfolio the credit, if there are already accredited college-level courses that this could map to (e.g. brokerage 101).

As Ultimale said earlier, we all share your pain - it's not exactly fair to expect someone in the workforce to have to take introductory classes in something you already have expertise in. However, unless there is a yardstick to measure by, colleges will likely refuse credit. So, I chose to take the lemons and make lemonade, and mapped out my plan. In my case, I decided to start from scratch (despite a workweek similar to yours) and have accumulated over 90 credits in about 7 months. The reason I could do this so quickly is simple - I already HAVE the relevant knowledge so the exam is the way to prove it.

Cheers,
Mark

 

Re: you did not pay attention

Why, of course that work hasn't been ignored. Note the tremendously successful career of which you speak. Apparently your supervisors have noticed it. Unfortunately your success is difficult for a college to quantify in a manner that would work for all applicants.

Given your knowledge base, if you couldn't be completely finished in 4-6 months, you're not working hard enough. Time to bite the bullet. Do it and move on.



Tom Nixon

 

Nothing is easy my friend.

Also, the US Military does NOT pay ACE to approve of their courses for college level credit as you so eloquently stated.

"The problem with this practice is that ACE only evaluates for organizations that will pay them. In my case all of my exams are from the NASD, and they have no interest in paying"

Being angry at your mistakes in choosing a certain educational pathway (NASD) does not give you the right to disparage ACE evaluations.

FYI: In the US Military, you have to PHYSICALLY sit in a classroom, (sometimes for several months at time-FULL TIME) take written tests and pass with a 75-80% depending on your service. If you fail, you start the whole class over again. Fail a second time and your out!

With all your work experience, and if your smart enough, "testing out" should be a breeze.

Good luck

 

Dear Michael

I understand you and I agree with you, but unfortunatly as someone said degrees have nowaday more importance than what they should have and most of the time it doesn;t mean that the person who has a degree really deserve it. I'm italian and I live in Qatar since some years, in Italy if you have a title you are someone otherwise not but is not so important how you got that title. Here in Qatar most of my students to my question" why did you enroll in this university?" answer " because it was my only chance or because I need a degree to get a senior position (here in qatar if you have a degree it leads to senior (regardless age or whatever and to benefits like very high salary, house free, and many many other OF COURSE IF YOU ARE QATARI!).

Anyway I allways try to let them understand that to study is important ONLY if you digest, understand and make yours what you study. In my opinion degrees are as important as life experience.

Now I would like to ask a question as I'm new in this forum and since some time I 'm trying to find out a way to get a master based on work experience; is there any university which offer a master in tourism management using work experience?

Thank you for all your suggestions and advices

Lorenza

 

No. There is no recognized university in the world that would do this.

 

Thank you Rich.

I was almost sure about it... pity I have 21 year experience in tourism industry, I own a T.O. since 10 years, I'm lecturer and head of the Tourism Management faculty, had reward as best teacher etc. etc.

Anyway I don't add anything else because I know I would create a lot of unecessary discussions, that's all what I wanted to hear (even if I already knew.)

Thanks
Lorenza

 

check with Université Francophone Robert de Sorbon ....

 

Michael,

I can understand only a certain amount of credit for the Series 7, 66, 23, etc. being given. They are rather focused.

However, if you have your CFP or the ChFC (and they are relatively new), you may be able to get additional credit for those. The educational requirements are strenuous, cover a wide area of finances including personal and business, and my be more palatable to academic institutions.

Another alternative is the MBA form Heriot-Watt. It didn't require a bachelors last I heard.

 

Basta! Listen, Lorenza, you need a degree mill like some rattletrap outfit in the Comoros like you need an extra bucket of sand. Use the search function to look at posts by an older poster named John Spies. He did much investigation toward a degree in tourism management and recently completed it, I think. Best of luck to you.

 

Which is a degree mill. Nice recommendation Michael.

 

I don't think he was interested in a degree mill where he could throw away his money and then become an academic fraud for claiming a bogus degree that wasn't really earned. This kind of deal only works out well for the fellow that sells the diplomas.

 

Ok basta va bene, ho fatto solo una domanda e ringrazio per le gentili risposte.

(for who doesn't speak italian) Ok that's all I jus asked a question and I thank for the kind answers.

Thank you Michel about the suggestion, after I read the exchange of mail between Mr. Alain (Univeriste Robert de Sorbonne) and this forum, I don't think that is a good idea, anyway as I'm a very curious person and I need to put the nose everywhere before believing in something, I contacted the France embassy here in Qatar..... I keep you inform asap.

Ciao a tutti Lorenza

 

tourism/hospitality management

Lorenza,

Since you're in the Middle East, have you looked at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management? They are accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education of the UAE, so would have GAAP status.

http://www.emiratesacademy.edu/

 

I know about the UAE University, aarbrooks, I teach since the year 2001 tourism management at CHN University Doha - Campus (CHN University of professional education Holland) and as these are the only 2 university for Hospitality and tourism management in the Guld area, we are competitors.

Consider that it would be also a bit strange for me to join the UAE one no?

Ok someone can suggest to join the main campus in Holland Leewarden but I have some collegue 24 years old master's holder who join CHN Doha campus and ...... believe me uhmm .. how to say, the knowledge and skills they showed are not the one I need to learn.

Sorry for not beeing so clear but I don't feel saying more than this.

Anyway thank you for the suggestion.

In case I don't hear from someone of you anymore in these 2 hours, I wish you all a nice week end (as here week-end already started today I go to Dubai).

Ciao Lorenza

 

I thought that they were a degree mill too, but I called AUAP, member of the American Council on Education (ACE) , The American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) NAFSA and NAGAP... They told me that the school meets their requirements through their evaluation processand they qualify as a legitimate school... Check it out yourself, don't just assume...

 

Did AUAP also let you know that they co-mingle their bank accounts with UFRS? As any investigative reporter will tell you, follow the money. Did you ask AUAP the name of a few schools that have accepted UFRS degrees? Peter French did a nice investigation of UFRS that exposed them. Unfortunately, they are just another degree mill.

 

If this is true, then why have they not lost their membership in organizations like ACE and others??
are you claiming that these other organizations are not legitimate??

 

I've asked some important questions you don't seem to have the answer to. Let's add a couple more. How long has UFRS been in existance? How many US students have they graduated? What gaduate schools accept their diplomas? What does membership in ACE and AACRAO require? Do we have ANY real proof of UFRS's legitmacy?

 

I have found that all you are trying to do on this forum is to be argumentative. You don't answer ANYONE'S questions and throwback questions that you know nobody will have the answer to. You turned my other thread on elitism (which was a legitimate point about how people are treated on this board) into an argument about how I am being intolerant racists and got it closed. You seem to try and start trouble and pretend that you are superior to others. I will no longer participate in ANY discussion with you. You are an example of the elitists that I was talking about in the other thread. Good day to you sir.