Doctor of Management (DM) - 42 Credits/TRACS - about $16K USD

This is a California BPPE school that was unaccredited - then TRACS saved the day, as they did for a few schools facing possible extinction -i.e. "accredit or die." Yeah, it's nationally accredited --just, as I see it. YMMV. Do you REALLY want to spend $ 18,000 on a doctorate from a school that only alumni will probably recognize? One that has no programmatic accreditation or anything else to distinguish it.

As I see it, this might sell to overseas students, who think ANY American degree is "prestigious." We (and many foreign students) know, of course that this is not the case.

Don't expect it to land you a tenure-track job . Colour me unimpressed.

 

Why would I? Why would anyone? They're not collectibles. Shouldn't be, anyway. (Says the man with 8 guitars.)

 

They also offer a DBA but it's more credits (54). It costs $375/credit too. However, I'd rather pursue a doctorate at the University of the Cumberlands for $375/credit.

 

I suspect this thing above is a big driver of enrollments in this thing. Not everyone who wants to partake in this program can/wants to do an IT-related program or can/want to go with Cumberlands. Some people consider these programs distasteful, but I think it's OK as long as their degree program is genuine/properly accredited AND they can follow all the regulations. Of course, just like with (in theory, legal) maternity hotels designed to help paying client get birthright US citizenship, the path is rife with corners companies/schools sometimes cut, getting clients/students into the world of trouble. Caveat emptor.
Also, this is not much of a brand kind of school, but anyone who signs up with them to scratch that doctoral itch (or even genuinely trying to engage in advanced study and supervised research) does not do anything illegal or, for that matter, unethical.
Is it a good option? You and I have little to gain from immigration aspect of this, having access to a Treaty National status for sponsored legal employment in US. While TN is not a substitute for a green card, it is a more robust opportunity than CPT/OPT. That leaves picking it as a distance learning graduate program. I can see that, but there are better options. For people in a target makket for this thing (Asian or Indian market)? I don't know, don't have enough information.

 

Yes - and about the only driver this place has. If it weren't for that - I think it would close. With it - a gold mine. Find a loophole and exploit it.

 

那是真实的 Nà shì zhēnshí de (It's true.)

Vancouver est une ville bilingue - anglais et chinois. Pas de français. Vancouver is a bilingual city - English and Chinese. No French.

 

Right. But you could probably save a LOT of money by living in Revelstoke and commuting to Vancouver.

Average detached house price in Vancouver - $2,093,600
Average detached house price in Revelstoke - $417,000

You could probably save enough to buy your own plane for the commute! It's about 400 miles each way.

 

Membership is non-evaluative. Their accreditation, which this school does not have, is meaningless.

 

How much for a 3 br 2 ba apartment? Asking for a friend.

 

Maybe.

It would depend on the educational experience. Because it has TRACS accreditation, it would not embarrass you. And if you don't need an RA degree for your career and/or personal purposes, I don't see why not. It's no different than getting a professional doctorate from a DEAC-accredited school, something I've written about (and recommended as an option for some) on this board.

 

Rich, you can tell your friend:

Average 3 bedroom apt rental in Vancouver is $4,175 /mo - avg. varies by district from 2,950 to 7,500
Average 2 bedroom apt. rental in Vancouver is $3,300 /mo. - avg. varies by district from 2,750 to 3,900

Downtown Vancouver is highest avg. rental district.

Lots of numbers charts etc. here: https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/vancouver-bc

 

Yes it would embarrass me. TRACS accredits Christian schools only - it's in their name. I'm an atheist. These schools are required to show themselves as Christian in various ways - per TRACS. I don't want have to pretend to be a Christian or accept or express those beliefs in any way. That's hypocritical. So I WOULD be embarrassed to have gone against my stated principles and graduated from a TRACS school. And to tell you the truth, I'm not sure how valuable their accreditation is. See why, below.

I maintain it IS different, earning a degree from a DEAC school that has taught science, tech, etc. for years - a school that is accredited by an agency with much experience in assessing schools in these fields. TRACS was founded by a bunch of "creationists" - i.e. anti-scientists. I'm not sure TRACS should be accrediting institutions that teach science of any kind. I think TRACS is out of its depth, nowadays.

But I'd certainly consider a DEAC school....

 

I'd like to see TRACS accreditation confined to the schools of its original narrow, hard-line religious community. I think that's were it belongs. YMMV, of course.

 

As I read the “statement of faith” required by the TRACS accreditor, I have to wonder if schools are so desperate for accreditation, they will jump through those hoops with or without sincerity. IAU has a statement of faith but only offers a handful of religion courses. I realize the accreditation process has numerous other factors to consider, but I thought the “uniqueness” comes from being a non secular university focused on christian viewpoints integrated into the learning process. At the end of the day, I tend to believe it’s just another business.

 

This is a pattern. IAU was a California unaccredited school. BPPE required it to "accredit or die." The clock was running out and funds were likely limited, so TRACS represented the only feasible hope. So, as other schools did, IAU suddenly "got religion" to the extent required by TRACS. Hallelujah! Salvation!!

 

I find it to be a narrow view of the comparison of IAU to VUL by the OP. The OP basically makes a comparison of the dollars and cents value. VUL was founded in the late 1800s as a christian school and is a well established HBCU with a rich history. The brick and mortar school opened up DL programs to the world during the Covid pandemic as a promising pathway for financial salvation. VUL has kids on campus and athletic teams that require money to continue. I fail to see the need for comparing VUL to IAU.

 

Ah, language, you can be so imprecise.

I wasn't talking about YOU or any particular individual and their values. It is common on this board to talk about the "time bomb" effect, where including a dubious degree in one's credentials could have negative effects later on. In my opinion, most graduates from TRACS schools would not be embarrassed publicly based on accreditation since TRACS checks the block. In that way, there is NO material difference between TRACS and DEAC.

Now, that was a lot of words to explain something that wasn't particularly confusing to begin with.