Unaccredited PhD Poll

Can you please provide links to where you got those degrees? Just curious.

 

BS in CJ - Excelsior College (RA)
MS in Psych - California Coast University (NA)

 

This may have been covered but if it is the structured knowledge you want, why not get another masters degree? Why does it have to be a PhD? Is it for the title?

 

It's the next rung on the ladder, that's all.

 

Tailgating on this point relative to thinking outside the doctoral box, LSU Independent Study offers regionally-accredited undergraduate courses in many subjects for the incredibly cheap price of $75.00 per semester hour:

http://is.lsu.edu/courselist.asp?nid=102&Level=CO&Online=0

You can take whatever courses interest you and then you have your options open for transferring the units wherever. I suppose you could build your own credential by taking several courses in a particular discipline and then listing them on your resume, such as 18 undergraduate units of history, english, mathematics, or accounting, etc.

If graduate credits suit your fancy, then the Dantes Catalog lists many options but none so cheap and available under roof as LSU, I believe.

Dave

 

This, although not directly related to Brian’s question but something that in all honesty contributes to my non-RA dissent is that non-RA’s adversely impact RA’s. When schools make it all about convenience, price, salability, and fast results (get the A’s while they’re hot) then we’ve lost the worth of that desired degree title. If someone pays minimal in dues to get a PhD then who wins? That someone loses because he will not do the scholarly work that he should be doing, his chosen field loses because he will not be as capable as he could be, and all degree holders lose because it affects the reputation of degrees in general.

I used to defend UoP and its so-called mission and although it is RA, I have come to loathe the whole commercialization trend of education. Non-RA’s capitalize on that most of all and should be put out of business. There I said it!

Susanna

 

An interesting premise but how can you assume/presume that there is no scholarly work to be done? (For the purposes of my interests I'm referring to CPU). Thanks!

 

I took a few courses from LSU towards my Bachelors degree, they have a nice program - Go Tigers!!

 

I am not saying that "no scholarly work" will be done but it will not be of the same rigor that an RA degree demands. It IS inferior! That is my premise!

Susanna

 

The doctoral work of a CPU student could be inferior to that of an RA student, but then it may not be; there is no way for a non-specialist such as you, me, or perhaps even a trained observer to know for that student and if you claim to know that, not being a specialist in the topic, then you don't know what you are purporting to know. (Moreover, non-specialist readers muck about in RA dissertation processes, which is a research no-no, but it happens all the same in the highest educational rung on the ladder.) Hence, that is the real problem with the unaccredited doctorate: the lack of regional accreditation makes the rigor of the process unknown, not bad or good, but unknown, and, therefore, unacceptable in situations where an accredited doctorate is required. Consider the non-AACSB doctorate relative to the AACSB doctorate: ba-bam; it is the same problem of non-equivalent academic preparation due to lack of programmatic accreditation.

Dave

 

True enough, but it isn't just the rigor of the process that is unknown. In practice, the output of the process will probably remain unknown as well, even to qualified specialists.

Traditionally, doctoral research conducted at unaccredited universities has been far less likely to be disseminated throughout the broader academic community, whether through services like ProQuest/University Microfilms, or through presentations at conferences, or through publication in academic journals. For example, are CPU dissertations indexed in Dissertation Abstracts?

There is no way that even a well qualified specialist can evaluate the quality of doctoral research at an unaccredited school, or the rigor of the associated process, if the specialist never even becomes aware of its existence.

 

Bingo!

Dave, you may want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I would suggest that the stakes are way too high to do that. Find me one dissertation from a CPU graduate with a rigorous research design.

As you said, we both lack tangible proof for our claims so then whose side should we err on?

Susanna

 

Sounds like you have an abundance of evidence to support your probable cause statement or is your premise built on mere suspicion alone?

Care to share the facts, and nothing but the facts?

J.F. 714

 

Please refer to my comments above.

If you set out to buy an expensive piece of furniture, equipment or whatever, do you trust the salesperson alone? or do you do your research before you buy it? If you can't find anything conclusive about it and the accreditation and certification agencies in the industry are refusing to put their stamp on it, do you still buy it?

It seems to me that you have made up your mind and you are prepared to take a chance with your hard-earned dollars. I do wish you well but you'll not get my blessing (not that it matters to you )

susanna

 

Nice reply, but you didn't answer my question.

As for your blessing? I'll take one from a R.C. Priest any day of the week, and twice on Sundays!

 

What my blessing means nothing to you? Grrr...

As for your question, it's been answered. There is no conclusive evidence because they do not broadcast their evidence. Now wouldn't you agree that when you have evidence that highlights a claim that you would broadcast it? In other words, if CPU facilitates valuable dissertation research that contributes to the body of knowledge in the field, wouldn't you assume that they would make mention of that? After all, it would attest to their credibility and perhaps eventually to their accreditation.

Susanna

 

No evidence = no probable cause = no conviction = case dismissed.

 

said OJ's lawyer....

Susanna

 

My vote was no vote.

What's the point. I would be a waste your time...kind of like this thread.

 

OK, here are some facts:

It is a fact that doctoral research conducted at unaccredited schools, such as CPU, is not indexed by services such as Dissertation Abstracts. In other words, unaccredited dissertations are not considered worthy of inclusion with the accredited ones.

It is a fact that the doctoral research conducted at unaccredited schools is rarely disseminated through prominent academic conferences or academic journals.

It is a fact that unaccredited schools typically do nothing whatsoever to sponsor such conferences, publish journals, or support their faculty or graduate students in such endeavors.

It is a fact that unaccredited schools typically have low or nonexistent admissions standards. For example, accredited schools normally require applicants to take the GRE, GMAT, or other standardized entrance exams. What scores are required for admission to a doctoral program at CPU?

It would obviously be impossible to review and compare every doctoral dissertation conducted at unaccredited vs. accredited schools. So there is no way to definitively prove that all doctoral research conducted at unaccredited institutions is substandard. However, it is a fact that such research is perceived as substandard in the mainstream academic community, and is typically disregarded.

Earning a doctoral degree from an unaccredited school is like getting your book published by a vanity press. It may make you feel good, but it's unlikely that anyone else is going to take it seriously.