Last call for advice before I commit to an unaccredited university!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What Makes Me Laugh

Yes they do. I've got the info somewhere in my STACK of stuff DL's all over the world.......let me find it..

 

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If you are confident that you do not desire teaching than a CA Approved program will meet the VAST majority of your needs. The exception is that you might run into an employer who requires an accredited degree. In theory the CA Approved programs are accredited in that a QA process applies to the CA Approved institution. I have found that educating the employer regarding the CA Approval process (referring the employer to the BPPVE website) has resulted in 100% acceptance of the CA Approved degree. Granted my research was a small sample (not randomly drawn) of 28 employers in North Central Tennessee and South Central Kentucky. BTW, I was assigned this task (contracted) by the US Dept of Labor. You see the USDOL sponsored an injured worker for retraining and needed to know if the degree earned (distance model, BTW) would be accepted. The answer was yes. Since I and my client had to personally conduct this research I decided this would be a good opportunity to determine if these employers required an accredited degree versus just discussing the distance model. Those that do require an accredited degree agreed that the CA Approval met this requirement since all they [the employers] really wanted was to be assured that the degree was earned by way of real study versus a purchased diploma, if you will.

Accredited institutions rarely hire a doctoral (unaccredited) degree holder to teach because they want to protect the accreditation process and by permitting hiring of unaccredited degree holders is in essence devaluing their very process.

A CA Approved degree will ALMOST ALWAYS meet employment needs.

Good Luck!

Wes

 

Re: Re: Last call for advice before I commit to an unaccredited university!

I couldn't agree with you more. Someone who finally is speaking in realistic terms.

 

Re: Re: Last call for advice before I commit to an unaccredited university!

I'm just curious. What was the educational level of retraining that was being sponsored by the USDOL? Was it Vocational, Bachelor's, Master's or Doctoral?

 

Re: Re: Last call for advice before I commit to an unaccredited university!

Wes:

I have, of course, the utmost respect for the Office of Workers Compensation Programs. Staggering workloads, lots of headaches, not enough money, and very little thanks.

That said.. does it strike you as odd that, despite your findings, the agency which contracted you to do this research WILL NOT accept a CA state-approved degree as meeting educational requirements for any position within the agency which requires a bachelor's degree? Nor, for that matter, will any other Federal agency which is bound by the guidelines of the Federal Personnel Manual (read: most of the Executive Branch, the largest employer in the western hemisphere.)

I'm as pro-DL as they come. I'm also a realist.

 

Re: Re: Re (ad infinitum): What Makes Me Laugh

Oh. I must have mistaken them for some OTHER place named Calamus, being run from a mail drop in some OTHER Caribbean country with no higher educational system-- or regulation of higher education--whatsoever. Or did I?

By all means, do. But five-to-one that it'll take you longer to find it then it took them to create the material, "establish" the institution, or begin awarding bogus degrees.

 

Re: Re: Last call for advice before I commit to an unaccredited university!

I realize that you qualified it with "Almost". Others are right about issues surrounding Federal Gov't employment. The army would not recognize it. The state government here will not recognize it for employment. They will recognize DETC. Several of the state regulatory agencies will not recognize the degree as meeting standards for areas they govern. That is part of the problem. If you are going to spend 5,000 on an MBA from Cal. Coast why not spend the same amount of money on an Andrew Jackson (DETC accredited) MBA. You have far greater utility with an accredited degree from what I have seen.

North

 

What are your opinions about this?: I know of 2 RA universities that have branch (off-site) campuses (many miles apart from the main campus.) One person was working on her MBA part-time which was only a few miles away from her job. When she had only 5 classes left to complete, this RA university told her that she and the other students at the branch campus would have to attend those classes at the main campus. The main campus was 90 miles away from the branch campus. It took her 11 years to get her MBA. However, it cost her. Her marriage ended in divorce and now she is separated from her 2 young children. No DL progams are available from this university.

A similiar story about another RA university also took place. In this case, the entire branch campus relocated 30 miles away from its original location. Once again, many students were left out in the cold.

This is one reason why people seek DL education even from established, solid and state-licensed unaccredited universities.

Agree or disagree, such scenarios do happen. Of course, an RA degree is better than a degree from a non-RA university.

Your thoughts are appreciated. Thank you.

 

Welcome, but that is awfully weak support for an unaccredited degree:
1) What school was this, please? I doubt the anecdote because I'd be surprised if any university would allow someone to continue an MBA program for 11 years. Most limit the time to 5 or 6 years.
2) No one is divorced because of a degree program; people are divorced because they give priority to school over the marriage.
3) Unaccredited universities, too, can disappear in a blink, so there are counter-anecdotes for those schools.

 

Good points Bill.

With the affordability of RA MBA programs it is unecessary to earn an unaccredited MBA. On the old aed there was someone who posted that they spent 4000 and some dollars on a Cal Coast MBA. AJU's DETC accredited MBA was the same cost with greater utility. I believe there is an RA DL program around the same cost. If you want a DL Management Masters there is RA South Missouri State (?? I may have the name botched up) that charges in state tuition for DL learners.

I think consumers need to be aware of the myriad of accredited (RA & national) opportunities that exist.

North

 

And of course Maven and Wes are forgetting that the state approved degree, depending on which school it is from, may be illegal to use in any way in the state of Oregon. State approved but unaccredited equals one step away from degree mill.

 

Being that Oregon is a Liberal haven I am suprised they contradict their very nature of acceptance and diversity. Actually, I'm not. Typical hypricritical mumbo-jumbo.

 

Maven

Your last post again shows your lack of acceptance of reality. There are a mixture of liberals and conservatives in Oregon just like many states. If I had to guess I would think Oregon has a slight conservative bent. An unaccredited degree is truly one step from a degree mill. It is something that the holder will spend a lifetime defending and often won't even know why a potential employer never calls them back.

 

If Oregon is supposed to be a liberal haven, how come Bush and Gore each got 47% of the vote?


Cheers,

 

The reality is most of us with nonRA's have never had to defend. An unaccredited degree is one step from a degree mill as much as hell is one step below heaven. Your catagorizations are weak at best and only supported by an uncommon point of view, not fact. You spend more time thinking up creative ways to criticize rather than using facts to back up your arguments. All I have ever said is that education is a choice. It is the human condition that puts education into a catagory. Depending on your point of view you will either point fingers and compare your education to anothers or you will allow others to follow their own desires. Here's a thought...Have an "original" thought. You fall in line like little lost sheep all spouting the same ism's. Say something inspiring.

 

Maven,

You stated in a previous thread that your BA & MBA degrees are RA, while the Ph.D. is not. Is the Ph.D. from a state approved school, and if so, which one? Is your vocation in business, academics, etc.?

Even John Bear states that if a non-RA degree will meet one's present and future objectives, then it may indeed be a viable option. Of course, this refers to credible non-RA schools, not worthless degree mill credentials. The percentage of students for which this would be an option is probably very low--and more relevant at the master's and doctoral level, given that so many RA options are available for undergrad studies.

Apparently you have done quite well with your non-RA doctorate, and if so, great! I have perused literally hundreds of CV's/resume's where the person had RA bach/mast degrees and a non-RA (but credible) doctorate. This was mostly in business, technology, ministry, etc. So, for some this route may be an option and one may do well.

I think the issue which has been lifted up is the utility of the non-RA degree. While some contexts may accept the credential, allowing one to function in a productive manner, there is a higher percentage of contexts which will not. To think that a non-RA degree has the same utility as a RA degree is not realistic. Even if one received an exponentially greater educational experience in a non-RA program, the degree itself will not enjoy the utility of the RA credential.

 

Engaging in endless hyper- intellectualizations and ad hominem debates re: this contentious issue will not result in its resolution.

There is a bottomline: If one is ingenious and has the creativity and marketing capability of a John Gray, the nature of the degree may be of less significance. Moreover, if one is in their own business or wishes to validate their life accomplishments, an unaccredited degree may do as well.

However, for the vast majority of individuals, who are confronted by the realities of an extremely difficult and tight labor market it is in their interest to carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages in obtaining an unaccredited degree. In addition to not having nearly the impact of an RA degree, it poses a risk in being stereotyped as a "get over" or having purchased a "match cover diploma"! Such stereotypes may have no relation to the actual difficulty involved in obtaining such degrees but the stigma may persist nonetheless. So the question remains as to how much risk an individual is willing to subject themselves to. Yes, in some instances an unaccredited degree may allow an individual to succeed and do well but the primary issue is in how many cases will it serve as an albatross!

Therefore, for the majority who wish to proceed more fluidly in their lives with less potential for misunderstandings, wrong impressions and potential stigmatization, it is in their best interests to take the RA route. It may not guarantee a successful career but it will at least provide the universely accepted baseline to evolve into whatever pathway one is capable of achieving.

 

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Therefore, for the majority who wish to proceed more fluidly in their lives with less potential for misunderstandings, wrong impressions and potential stigmatization, it is in their best interests to take the RA route. It may not guarantee a successful career but it will at least provide the universely accepted baseline to evolve into whatever pathway one is capable of achieving. [/B][/QUOTE]

Major disagreement. To use how you "feel" about your degree to achieve success is a cop out and a major problem with society in general. People are so worried about feelings they compromise their true beliefs in order to "get along". "Oh, how might I look in someone else's eyes"? Come on now, if we all had that attitude we'd still be living in the stone ages.