Non-Accredited Vs. Dilpoma Mill

In one sentence (maybe two) - can someone tell me why Kennedy Western is such a hot debate? It seems that most schools it is black and white, but this one is in the grey area, why?

Please be simple with me, I am trying to get caught up, and if lots of cryptic history is put in, I will be unable to follow - Thanks!!

 

KW is a grey area because, while the courses it provides are reasonably demanding, it gives what many people consider excessive credit for non-academic work.

 

Kristie:

I think I can sum it up for you from experience.

KW has a great concept, and requires real academic work to complete. If you can pass general admissions exams, and give a good resume you receive a liberal amount of credit deserved or not.

The administration cares a lot more about sales, and the bottom line than education.

Painful, but honest!

Scott

 

K-W does not publish any graduation requirements for their various degrees.

K-W apparently does not use any academic rigor in verifying credit for life experience. As a matter of fact it appears to be nothing more than a marketing sham since there's no published graduation requirements what difference does it make how many credits are awarded? They just use it to try to appear that there may be academic rigor and some justification for a degree after so few classes.

K-W apparently always requires 5 to 7 classes for each degree.

There have been reports from individuals that K-W does not even always follow their own simple rules for admissions requirements. For example, not having at least 5 years of work experience and negotiating with someone that had zero college experience for entry into a PhD program.

 

I believe there can be no simpler definition of a mill than an institution that grants undeserved credit.

 

So how do they deemed someone as a graduate.... that seems strange.

 

There are several ways:

• his or her check clears
• his or her credit card is approved
• contract was signed and the loan was funded (K-W calls them student loans)
• payment was in cash and none of the bills were counterfeit

 

Is it true that if you are a resident of California you can not attend KW? Is that true or a rumor?

If that is true, then KW is up to no good.

I think that's a strange sign also.

Mike

 

Now, that is just not true.

You will not buy a degree at KW. I have told you my experience with the practices of KW. This kind of stuff is just lies.

If you do not like the fact that someone takes the minimum 5 courses and writes a 75 page final project for a bachelor degree then fine. Do not spread lies. If you know someone who just purchased a degree at KW then bring the evidence. You know you can't have honest discussion's when people throw out lies. This coming from the the mighty high horse on moral high ground. Yea right!

 

Kristie:

I suggest if you really want to know KW's evaluation procedure you should call them. I suspect that since you are hopefully heading into the Phd program you applied for that you are certainly not interested, but you will never get a straight answer from some of these people.

Regards,

Scott

PS. Good Luck on PhD.

 

On the K-W website, it says that California and Oregon residents are not allowed to attend K-W.

 

Well then, caveat emptor. Oops I mean student emptor. My bad.

 

I must, once again, disagree with plcscott. What I forgot to mention was that in addition to the list of requirements I provided, an individual who purchases a degree from Kennedy-Western University must also complete a miniscule number of courses (I asumed this was common knowledge). The minimum number of courses must fulfill two major requirements. First, the tuition for these courses must slightly strain, but not exceed the students budget. Second, the number and rigor of these courses must forever inculcate in the student that the degree was actually earned, even though the requirements pale in comparison to a legitimate degree.

Listen, Bunkie, not everything that is purchased is bought with money alone (you should be old enough to know this). The fact that you purchased a K-W degree with money AND a few perfunctory courses does not negate the fact that it was purchased. In fact, the only thing that requiring a few courses did was delude you into believing that you actually earned the degree; it only made the illusion (and victimization) complete.

Please point out a specific statement of mine that is false and I’ll issue an apology. If not, I expect another one from you.

 

plcscott both tells the truth and tells untruth. K-W degrees are being sold for absolutely no work being required out of an operation in Singapore. This was discussed on this forum before. I suspect that plcscott was unaware of this situation. If anyone is interested they can just do a search.

My view is that the K-W marketing arm is run just like a regular old degree mill. However, once they get your money then you have to complete your 4-7 classes and term paper or you don't get your diploma. This side of K-W is apparently run by a different organization, they seem much less like a degree mill. However, the fact remains that without having any published graduation requirements and without specifying the number of credits given for life experience and without any real attempt a validating what class subjects equate to which life experience, the whole K-W operation is really just a degree mill that is extra good at convincing their victims that they went to school.

And that is the real reason that K-W is discussed here so much. Some of the K-W folks are totally convinced they have a real degree and are apparently not willing to even consider reality. For example I've asked different K-W folks probably a couple dozen of times now how many credits should be required for a Bachelor's degree. I've never gotten one single response to this question because they are not willing to consider the facts if they lead to the conclusion that they didn't earn a real degree.

Here's another example of my question.
120 semester credits is standard for a Bachelor's degree.
Is 60 credits a valid Bachelor's degree?
Is 30 credits a valid Bachelor's degree?
How many credits? My view is that it is 120 credits. The minimum unpublished requirement at K-W is apparently 4 or 5 3 unit classes and a term paper. Being generous that would make 21 units.

So the K-W folks argue that a valid Bachelor's degree can be earned for only 21 units. (But have apparently never had enough respect for reality to say this explicitly.)

I call K-W a degree mill. Some of the K-W folks call me names (and threaten physical violence) because I call it a degree mill. This is just part of the fun though.

 

You will not get anymore from me. I tried to be nice, and cordial with you, but as you do with everyone who disagree's with you you jump on your high horse, and look down on people.

Who is Bunkie? or What is Bunkie?

Well, I guess you can kiss my bunkie!

 

Thank heavens, for little favors!

Where was I when this happened? I guess I couldn’t see it through my raccoon eyes.

Oh no, you have it completely wrong; when I’m on my high horse, I look down on everyone, not just those who disagree's with me.

Bunkie is an affectionate term for a dispenser of bunk. Right now, as the shoe fits, you are Bunkie.

If you don’t know what something means, you shouldn’t use it in a sentence (didn’t you do that already with the word “buss?”). This begs the question: Must you be so anal about everything?

 

120 is fine with me Bill. Get all schools to go along, and we can all be happy. I wonder if CCU, or PWU will do the same. How about the RA AIU? If you can get every school to decide what they want then lets do it. Lets see my RA AS program was 76 hours. Some are 66 hours. BSEE at Clemson is 135 hours. Excelsior is 124. These people can't seem to get it together can they? What is a good number for you? Honestly what do you think?

You guys can say purchased, no real work, or whatever you want, but I know the truth. With my 88 RA hours I see it as close to whatever number you come up with. Maybe some have gotten off easier, but I worked for two years on mine. Insult, call names, accuse all you want, but you are not going to make me feel I did not earn my degree.

Did not know, and honestly the more I learn about these things, if true, the more it disturbs me. However, I know that I worked hard at KW and feel I earned my degree.

Regards,

Scott

 

So students at KW are receiving 80 to 100 credits for "life experience"? What could be worth all that credit? How could anyone believe they have a Bachelor's degree on 21 credits?

Just amazed I guess.

I make a mean pot of coffee in the morning, is that worth any credit?

 

You are either extremely dishonest, severely lacking in mathematical skills, or ignorant of the requirements for a legitimate undergraduate degree. If your RA AS program was 76 hours, I’m willing to bet those were quarter credit hours. In semester hours, that would amount to approximately 60 hours (you can divide by 1.25, right?).. Even if these were semester hours, most programs won’t transfer in more than 60 lower-level credits. Moreover, unlike an AA (which includes many of the “fluff” general education course you disdain) many of the credits of an AS (being that they are vocational in nature and the degree was meant to be a terminal degree) simply aren’t transferable to a 4-year institution (but you knew that).

Honestly, I think you are full of it. You are comparing the requirements for an Electrical Engineering degree to that of an Electronics Engineering Technology degree (Excelsior only offers a Bachelors in Electronics Engineering Technology, but you knew that). Do you know the difference? If so, then, once again, you are dispensing self-serving bunk.

No insults, no name-calling, and I do not want to diminish your accomplishment, but you didn’t really earn a legitimate degree—not by any acceptable standards.

You know, everyone who competes in the Special Olympics feels the same way; everyone is deserving of a medal and everyone is a winner. Strangely enough, however, I agree with them, yet I find your logic and justifications to be extremely flawed.

 

Actually Excelsior does offer coursework in its MLS program.

John