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

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by pbocij, Mar 7, 2002.

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  1. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    One thing that has changed since this thread was active is that a number of states have passed laws making unaccredited degree use illegal, at least one state even singling out the unaccredited doctorate degree as illegal. Similar legislation is under consideration in multiple states. So be aware that you could end up with a degree that has no utility outside of your own self satisfaction.

    Good luck
     
  2. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Dang, my stuff reads just as good today as it did back then... :) As Bill notes above somewhere, with an unaccredited doctoral degree, you run the risk of hypothetical illegality, but you also might face misunderstandings and lack of economic utility. Some people are just plain stupid and will pretend that you didn't earn a degree at all. If cost is an issue, I really think you should look into the South Africa offerings. CA State Approved schools such as cpu.edu and wisr.edu are legitimate and cheap, but why do all that work and then have fools try to look down on you? In the end, I think you should spend the extra money and do an RA degree here in the States or the equivalent overseas. Cost is not the primary issue; the doctoral process and institutional recognition are primary issues.

    Dave
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 7, 2007
  3. ShotoJuku

    ShotoJuku New Member

    Thanks Dave - For me (low-lower-lowest) cost is a primary issue and I would prefer to stick with USA schools too. I've looked at cpu.edu already and they have a really attractive cost but they don't offer any Psychology programs; the search continues - thanks again!
     
  4. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Brian, if you don't plan to seek CA licensure, a school such as UNISA should work for you. Unaccredited (e.g., CA State Approved) schools have a role in higher education, but if a regionally-accredited school or the equivalent is available at the same price, the reasons for pursuing said unaccredited school seem muddled, at least to me. My thoughts...

    Dave
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 8, 2007
  5. ShotoJuku

    ShotoJuku New Member

    I'm sure UNISA might work, but is their cost comparable with say cpu? I take it you're not a fan of preston.edu either? Thanks!
     
  6. RobbCD

    RobbCD New Member

    Costs for UNISA doctorates are $1623.00 per year:

    http://iaci-canada.com/fees.php

    You cannot seriously be looking for less expensive than that.
     
  7. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Preston: I don know, but baseball been bery bery good to me...

    Dave
     
  8. buckwheat3

    buckwheat3 Master of the Obvious


    #2 Yes they would only laugh because we had just recently traded our derby in for a top hat.

    #5 soooooo tttttrrrrruuuueeeee.
     
  9. ShotoJuku

    ShotoJuku New Member

    Thanks Dave (I think?). I'm not quite sure what to infer or how to reply to that one? :confused:
     
  10. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

  11. ShotoJuku

    ShotoJuku New Member


    From Wikipedia: Chico Escuela

    Chico Escuela (translation: "School Boy"), played by Garrett Morris, was the Weekend Update sports correspondent. A retired Hispanic ballplayer with limited command of the English language, he wrote the tell-all book Bad Stuff About the Mets (sample: "Tom Seaver - he once borrow Chico's soap and no give it back"). In spring training 1979, Chico's unsuccessful comeback attempt was documented on several Update segments. The character was first introduced in a St. Mickey's Knights of Columbus sketch, but subsequently Escuela appeared solely on Update.

    Typically he would be introduced by Jane Curtin, thus compelling him to say, "Thank you, Hane." Soon would follow his standard catchphrase: "Baseball been bery, bery good to me!" Sammy Sosa, at the peak of his stardom in the late 1990s, would sometimes repeat that line as a joke, to the media, albeit in his true-to-life strong Hispanic accent.

    ??
     
  12. ShotoJuku

    ShotoJuku New Member

    The flipside to this is that those same people can and will ridicule you without end for obtaining a foreign degree too; there's just no way to make everyone happy so in the end the decision (and level of happiness) is really up to you. Thanks!
     
  13. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Really? Who would do such a thing? I've never, ever seen someone criticized for holding a degree from a foreign (non-U.S.) school that was properly accredited/recognized.

    Has anyone really been criticized for holding a legitimate, foreign degree? Please provide even one example. (We saw a pathetic attempt by an anonymous poster recently regarding UniZUL and Bill Grover, but there weren't any substantiations.)

    No one would criticize a degree from UNISA for academic reasons.

    Seriously, I would love to see an example where a real person used real reasons to criticize someone because the school that issued the person's degree was located outside the U.S.

    (Full disclosure: I have a relationship with a foreign school.)
     
  14. ShotoJuku

    ShotoJuku New Member

    Hi Rich -

    I wasn't necessarily referring to anyone in particular in this or any other forum, I was thinking of those within my own social/work groups who may not only frown on any type of DL degree (and they do and you know the kind) but would really ridicule a degree found outside of the USA.

    Despite it's utility, a degree from such a source, and the degree holder, might be subject to a barrage of attacks rendering the degree utility as being moot and void.

    This isn't my opinion, but it is based on previous my own observations, experiences and defense of my own DL degree accomplishments as DL degrees are sometimes seen as being very suspect by those outside of our collective circle.

    I don't know a thing about UNISA or other "outside of the USA" schools (accredited or not) and do not have an opinion about them as a whole just a hunch as to what the defense of such a degree might be like.
     
  15. RobbCD

    RobbCD New Member

    I think that you are correct to a degree. A doctorate from a foreign school may lead some to think that "you couldn't hack a US doctorate, so you had to go over there". It's stupid, as Dr. Douglas points out, but that doesn't mean it wont happen.

    Remember, though, that you wanted a low-lower-lowest cost degree to make you "happy" (I think that's how you put it, here or on the other channel). An unaccredited US degree has more pitfalls associated with it than a legitimately credentialed degree from overseas. You should hold both degree "types" (ua and overseas) to the same standard when making your decision. You seem to be leaning towards the unaccredited degrees you've mentioned on this thread. That's your mistake to make and I wish you well.

    In our time on the boards you've never struck me as someone who was afraid of work. In fact, I'm a little jealous of your ability to complete your master's program so swiftly (I continue to struggle with mine). I think that you would be very pleased with the rigor that you'll find at UNISA, other SA schools or any one of the inexpensive Australian schools that offer external programmes. The quality of these programs is guaranteed. At an unaccredited program, your degree won't be judged on the amount of work that you did to earn it, but the amount of work required by the "school" (or licensed business dealing in diplomas).

    Right, so this is none of my business anyway. Good luck!
     
  16. ShotoJuku

    ShotoJuku New Member


    Hi Robb -

    Thanks for the compliment!

    I wouldn't say, "leaning" as much as "shopping and/or contemplating." In actuality the jury is still out as to what school (if ever I decide) to attend as at this stage of the game I'm rather exploring and weighing my options.

    Option one: Do I / should I continue onward?

    Option two: How much $$$ can I afford?

    Option three: What benefits can/will I gain?

    Option four: The best fit school regardless of accreditation as long as options 1-3 are sustained.

    Yes, the final decision will be probably based on cost, personal value of utility and finally accreditation issues in that order.

    I know that many are both pledged and wedged in the RA/NA/SA -vs.- Un-A battle and rightly so, it's an extremely important issue that demands both professional and personal review.

    I think that's what I'm doing and certainly hope not to insult or anger anyone who thinks otherwise. If I didn't think that the forum member's advice and counsel were not important I would not ask.

    Be that as it may, to me it still comes down to the spirit of Dave Wagner's post that caught my eye:



    Everyone should seek as much education as they can afford. Does it really matter if people who are less educated laugh at you? No, it doesn't.

    In my view, only someone is insufficiently educated would laugh at another person for seeking education. Actually, most employers/clients/friends won't laugh at you for doing a non-RA degree. This is an unsubstantiated myth. They will simply view it as continuing education and it won't count as a professional credential.

    Do an RA degree if the field of study is of interest and the degree is accessible. Do a non-RA degree if RA degrees are not available. But always consider that becoming better educated, even if it is through a non-RA degree, is better than doing nothing at all. You're doing people a disservice by telling them to do an RA degree or do nothing at all. - Dave Wagner


    So let the discussion, debate, exploration, and contemplation continue for one and alls benefit!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 9, 2007
  17. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I think that it depends on the foreign school. If your school has a reputation in your field, and if people are aware of that reputation, then there won't be doubts. But if the foreign school is unknown, located in some obscure corner of the planet, then there may be. If your reason for favoring it over a conventional local alternative was convenience, ease, speed or cost, people might not be hugely impressed.

    I do think that an obscure foreign 'GAAP' degree with few features to boast about is still typically going to be a better choice than an unaccredited domestic degree. Except... in a tiny handful of cases in which the unaccredited school has special unique strengths that would clearly justify the choice to enroll in it.
     
  18. ShotoJuku

    ShotoJuku New Member


    Just curious which ones come to mind? Thanks!
     
  19. Robbie

    Robbie New Member

    I suggest California Southern U fka. SCUPS. However, the courses in psychology are almost exactly the same requirements as NCU's psychology courses - many assignments and deadlines. Cal Southern U is now on a standard semester system (16 weeks for grad courses), starting the first of every month. The cost is reasonable. The course work I have completed so far is very demanding and time consuming. I spend around 15 - 20 hours a week working on assignments. I am very pleased thus far with the two courses I am taking in the psy d program. The program can't be all bad because the master's and doctorate is accepted by the CA Psych Board and the MFT board for licensure. Also, there are several other states that accept the educational credentials.

    I also agree with Wes about RAs having the advantage over the NAs, i.e. DETC, and not recognizing such college credits to keep an unfair edge on competetive schools. Both NA and RA are held to the same standards for recognition by the USDOE. So why is one better than the other?
     

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