Pacific Western University

Well Ted could show up and post a copy of his thesis with references etc and force me to eat my words then we would know. You're right, we'll never know....

 

For a long time, John Bear argued that the work one produced was the thing. You could go to an unaccredited school--or an accredited school no one ever heard of--but if you produced good work, and that work could withstand scrutiny, then that would help legitimized the degree. While I agree in principle, it's not that way in practice. No one ever looks at your thesis or dissertation or whatever. The degree, usually, needs to stand on its own.

Of course, then there's the phenomenon where no one really understands the source of your degree. This can go either way. In some cases--like Barry Johnson, who wrote a seminal book on managing polarities--the work stands on its own and no one cares about the source of his PhD. (International College.) In others, the famous person's reputation gets dinged--like Barbara De Angelis or John Grey, both graduates of Columbia Pacific University--because of the degree.

The dude that posted here about his PWU degree, gave no one any reason to think they should appreciate the work despite the source of the degree. Instead, he lived down to everyone's worst expectations. Combative, defensive, and wrong on the facts. In every way, exactly what you'd expect from an alumnus from that fine institution of higher education.