Question for Dennis Ruhl

He also admitted, gracefully, that he was mistaken.

Obviously, a complete wuss.

 

John and I had a discussion regarding Heriot-Watt back when we were strategizing about such things. (Around 1995-6, IIRC.) We explored the possibility of pursuing DETC accreditation for the already-recognized MBA program. There were two distinct benefits we identified for earning DETC accreditation....

First, one of the questions his folks got most was "Is it accredited?" They were faced with going through the whole rigamarole about royal charters, British recognition, yadda yadda yadda. After awhile, the simpler answer seemed to be "yes." Even though the inquirers didn't really understand the issues surrounding this question, they wanted it answered anyway. DETC accreditation would have provided such a simple answer, just as it does for UNISA when U.S. students ask.

Second, DETC accreditation caused the school in question to be listed in the DANTES catalog. DANTES (Defense Activity for Nontraditional Educational Support) publishes a catalog of distance learning schools, and has a chapter of it dedicated to DETC-accredited schools. Schools listed in the DANTES catalog are automatically eligible for military members using tuition asisstance benefits. Plus it would be an instant entree to the military market, a very large and lucrative one.

There are distinct reasons for foreign schools pursuing U.S. students to pursue a form of accreditation/recognition (DETC) that isn't even as significant as the one they have.

 

And he also followed up that graceful admission by saying that I have a bug in my ass.

 

I don't know about this. There are far more regionally accredited schools offering distance programs than there are DETC-accredited schools. Lots more.

 

But, Jeff you have to admit that it was a good line. Dennis is not as serious as you think.

 

Well, I can't argue with that.

 

Gee whiz, Jeff, you got me there. I thought it was mere hyperbole.





You don't actually, do you?





I mean, like, what would Homeland Security be listening for, anyway?





Oh. Not that kind of bug.





Eeeeuuuuwwww!

 

Hi Dennis,

I have a new question (or an old one) for you. Why are you getting a doctorate degree from CCU? You can obviously choose what you decide to do, and you could do a lot worse in your degree choice, but you could also do a lot better. Is this really the best path to walk?
In other words, how do you plan on using this degree?
If I remember correctly, you stated you do not want to teach, so you do know the limitations in the academic field. So that leaves two other broad areas where this degree might be useful (aka might have utility), either for personal satisfaction or for impressing clients. I apologize if you have already covered your reasoning in another post. I do remember some surface explanations but was curious if you could articulate your reasoning clearly in this thread or point me to a thread in which you did.

Thanks,
Tony

 

My choice is a CCU DBA or no DBA. Can't justify parting with the scratch necessary to earn a more readily accepted degree.

I don't want to teach as I taught a couple college courses 15 years ago and realize I am no good at it.

I am not looking to expand my business. I quit taking certain types of clients that were time consuming and not fully profitable. I also am getting deeper into other businesses that are very time consuming. My clients are typically not impressed by credentials and are probably more intimidated by them.

It's just good old personal satisfaction, whether people believe it exists or not.

I want to be a doctor just like Rich and have found the means and given a reasonable expectation of accreditation, the means do not look too bad.

If achieving an educational goal that is available to me is fraud in some peoples eyes, tough titty.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Question for Dennis Ruhl

I think you hit the main point here. The only way to classify CCU's DBA as a real doctorate is play fast and loose with ethics. If that is no concern then CCU is a possible choice. Then you come to question of utility. It seems like in the end it is only good for those who aren't actually going to use it. It might be good for vanity purposes though.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Question for Dennis Ruhl

CCU doctorates are widespread in business and well accepted. They are not an uncommon credential among the staff of accredited schools.

Vanity purposes??? The economy lives or dies by vanity referred to by the academics by the term satisfaction. What really is necessary and what is vanity? Vanity takes the bigger part of the pie.

The last thing I have ever been accused of is vain. Thank you. I'm normal.

 

If it is only for personal satisfaction, as you claim, then it is up to you to decide if it is a legitimate doctorate. I think that most people who have challenged you are those who do not think that a CCU DBA is equivalent to an accredited doctorate degree. If you disagree with this, then it is not unreasonable to expect you to gain satisfaction in earning this degree.

Do you disagree with this?

Tony

 

If it was for personal satisfaction alone, we wouldn't have had that whole DETC accreditation discussion. But who made that the issue? Someone who wants to convince others regarding the degree.

 

Myoptimism: "I think that most people who have challenged you are those who do not think that a CCU DBA is equivalent to an accredited doctorate degree. "


Cehi: If the CCU DBA is not perceived as an equivalent to an accredited doctorate degree because of the lack of a dissertation, does this mean that CCU's dissertation required Ph.D degree is closer to an accredited doctorate? Thank you.

 

Sorry didn't start the thread.

I don't sell CCU degrees any more than I sell those 8 month Union degrees, which incidently is less time than allowed under California approval.

Nor do I sell those Regents/Excelsior degrees that would not be allowed under California approval or DETC accreditation.

Maybe we all think that the programs we are involved with have merit.

 

The "8 month" (sic) comment is very familiar. One that has appeared anonymously under several different names on two other boards. I thought so, now I know. Very nice.

You don't sell any of the above, true. But it is you that began the discussion about CCU, DETC, and the DBA. You. Every authority asked about this issue is on the other side, though.

No one participating in these threads has said the CCU degree program has no merit. It is the exaggeration of that merit which is at issue. This entire discussion makes it quite clear we're not talking about personal value or satisfaction.

 

Is it bigger than a breadbox,
is it smaller than a truck,
does it wear its hair in dreadlocks,
do we really give a...?

 

Rich, I am not spamming you. I would do a much better job.

Saw the 8 month degree comment and loved it.

So you can't get a PhD in 8 months from Union?

 

Dennis:

Whether you wrote those things or not, you've made them yours by your comments. Same thing.

Whoever decided I did a Ph.D. in 8 months is uninformed. I'll leave it to you to decide whether that applies.

The Union Ph.D. program requires at least 2 years of enrollment; more typical is 3-5 years. The minimum might be raised to 3 years very soon--if it hasn't happened already.

 

Yet many of the people who criticize Union are doing so to promote a Ph.D. that is granted as soon as the credit card payment clears.

Of course, if you doubt the legitimacy of a person's doctorate, it's a very simple matter to just examine their dissertation, right Dennis?