The Associated Press - Oregon clamps down on phony degrees

That would certainly eliminate any potential equal protection issues, wouldn't it?

Nor would I. That said, the holder of an unaccredited JD from a California DL law school who used it to become a member of the California bar and who then practiced in California for however many years Oregon would require the s/he do so before attempting to sit for Oregon's bar (that is, if Oregon even allows that... I'd have to go look it up, which I'm not going to take the time to do just to make this point) would be pretty pissed off about having to make that declaration when the net result is that s/he's still got bar membership just exactly the same as those with accredited JD degrees. The argument that bar membership probably trumps unaccredited degree statutes would probably prevail, but who'd want to go litigate a thing like that?

But right there is the point, isn't it? Those with unaccredited degrees that are nevertheless credible feel an unfairness that runs (and stings) deep.

The whole thing's interesting to ponder, isn't it?

 

Oy vey! This would open up a real can of worms. Would one, in listing one's degrees as accredited, have to specify by which accreditors? Where would one get info on by whom one's degrees were accredited at the time of one's graduation, if that was years ago, as opposed to by whom they are accredited now?

On the other hand, why not a good old-fashioned non-interventionist survival of the fittest approach? Let the private individual find out which schools offer the degree(s) that s/he needs, learn a little bit about accreditation (if s/he actually cares to), figure out which school s/he has the time, money, and grades to go to, and then let the employer figure out which degrees are good enough for him/her to consider worthy of hiring an individual.

I, for one, think that actually criminalizing certain degrees is going off the deep end a bit.

 

Yes, interesting to ponder, my view is that the law is frequently unfair. For example there are many people that are poor that have gotten on the wrong side of the law and they can get really butchered. There are many stories like this especially if you hear the criminals tell it, much of it with a vein of truth in it like over worked public defenders, probation officers with ego problems, etc. The law doesn't try to be fair as much as it tries to be just, though.

 

You are absolutely correct. Laws do not tend to be fair, but we do try to make them just. I really do think this law is drivel. Now, a degree mill simply has to be accredited by a degree mill accrediting body. And, you can et your bass that's what will happen.

 

Don't bet the bass

Your concern is unfounded. The actual text of the proposed Oregon legal disclaimer reads as follows:

'(Name of school) does not have accreditation recognized by the United States Department of Education and has not been approved by the Office of Degree Authorization. '

In other words, the accrediting body has to be legitimate: it must be on the US Dept. of Education's list of recognized accrediting agencies. It is apparently difficult to make this list; bogus accreditors seem to be effectively excluded.

It's also worth noting that the proposed disclaimer would not automatically apply to all unaccredited schools. A worthy, but unaccredited, school will still be free to seek ODA approval (as it is now). If such approval is granted, then the disclaimer would not be needed. ODA has granted such approvals to certain unaccredited schools in the past.

 

The degree is not criminalized

The proposed Oregon policy wouldn't criminalize certain degrees. It would be perfectly legal to obtain and to advertise a degree that is neither legitimately accredited nor approved by ODA. It would only become criminal if a degree of this kind was advertised without the mandated disclaimer.

The use of disclaimers or warning labels is routinely required on all sorts of products that can be legally obtained or advertised. That doesn't mean that these products are criminalized.

 

I've always wondered how this scenario would work under Oregon state law. Suppose that you are a professor in a social science discipline at a college or university in Oregon. The Chairman of the Division of Social Sciences calls a meeting of all the social science professors, where it is proposed to offer a course in futurology. Various professors in economics, history, philosophy, sociology, and maybe even history & philosophy of science volunteer to team teach the course. All faculty have legitimate earned PhD's in their respective fields from accredited schools, but each of the professors also holds an unaccredited MS degree in Futurology from Greenleaf University. Are those professors in legal trouble for using their unaccredited degrees?

 

No problem

There is no legal problem whatsoever in this example, unless the unaccredited futurology degrees are publicly advertised, without a disclaimer, as part of the professors' credentials.

If the department wants to publicize the new futurology program, and to list the qualifications of the faculty, then either (1) the unaccredited futurology degrees should be marked with the mandated disclaimer, or (2) the unaccredited futurology degrees should be omitted. Both options would be legal.

 

Re: No problem

Of course we also have a third option.

(3) Get the ODA to approve the futurology degrees and then claim the degrees without the disclaimer.

 

Bill said,
"Since the vast majority of unaccredited degrees are bogus, we'll just have to try to be sympathetic to the very few that have real unaccredited degrees."


Now which ones are bogus and which not? State approved,authorized,appostillized,
notarized or super sized? Not run by a raving lunatic or out of a shoebox? And which school CCU, PWU or St Regis? Was any never accredited DL school ever serious about providing anything of validity. Who can know?

CPU was once considered the best of the lot. Now in search type in CPU and see what you get. There it is for the all to see.Gee do you think that is why they changed name to CCU?

People can ill afford to defend their degree. They don't have time to visit Seborgia or call on the Four Horseman of the Appostille or email Malawi or pursue supernatural accrediting methods to magically legitimize the totally absurd.


Thanks
Dan