University Response to Profs with Bogus Degrees

NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

It's likely DL doctorates will lose prestige if DETC-accredited school doctorates get introduced on a wide scale. Such degrees will be popular among students, but the degrees will be seen as inferior by employers and academics - and all but the most prestigious RA-accredited DL doctorates will be discounted even more than they are now - guilt by association. DL degrees are accepted by employers and academics in proportion to how close they are to traditional B&M schools. DL Degrees from "free-standing" schools have a worse reputation, and DETC schools are even further down the pecking order.

DL/DETC are sold as being equivalent to RA/B&M schools. I don't think that's true. The cold fact is that DL/DETC degrees are perceived by employers and academics to be inferior (though students who take these degrees disagree of course). Not useless - they have niche application - but definitely inferior. Caveat Emptor.

This recent dissertation discusses some of the issues: www.montana.edu/etd/available/unrestricted/Puffer_1205.pdf (No big conclusion except that opinion is polarized).

 

If anyone wants to smack Kalos around for claiming that DL and/or DETC doctorates are perceived as inferior to RA and/or B&M, then they're just fooling themselves. I don't agree with him across the board, and I don't go nearly so far a he in the RA cut off approach, but the main point he makes, regarding perception, is perfectly valid and well nigh irrefutable.

 

Your check is in the mail.

 

You paying me @ attorney rates? OK, let's see, $200/hr, and that post took me, say, 3 or 4 hours to research and compose. Bill's in the mail, due net 30.

Don't worry about it, give me enough time, and given my volatile nature, we'll almost inevitably cross swords here and be calling down Biblical-level catastrophies on each other--by then you'll feel no obligation whatsoever to me.

 

Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

Although I agree that DETC degrees are not "pretigious", they fill the gap for many study areas that are not available by other means. DETC schools offer areas like natural medicine that are hardly available at RA universities.

The origin of DETC degrees is basically "correspondance" schools for trades. The evolution of DETC schools into doctorates is basically a result of the credential inflation that has infected the north american society. It seems that nowadays you must have two or three degrees to get your resume noticed. DETC doctorates seem to be a need in a society where the trend seems to be having a doctorate for a basic job in the future.

I can see that the DBA will take the place that the MBA had in the past. MBA were considered prestigious and only for few the same that doctorates are right now. The DBAs will become quicly the new MBA and people will be forced to get DBAs to remain competitive.

The next trend will be post-docs for differentiation. In some fields where saturation is a reality, getting a professor position is almost impossible without at least two years of post-doc. I can see that this will become the common practice for business faculty positions as the market will become saturated.

So what would be next, DETC post-docs?

 

Re: Re: Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

These general officers all earned their degrees from DETC accredited American Military University before its recent regional accreditation:

The Adjutant General of the California National Guard, with a bachelors degree from Excelsior and a masters from AMU.

http://www.ngb.army.mil/ngbgomo/library/bio/1220.htm

USMC Deputy Commandant for Aviation:

http://www.usmc.mil/genbios2.nsf/biographies/CF5DED7A86EFACDB85256803004C4810?opendocument

The Mobilization Assistant to the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA):

http://arpc.afrc.af.mil/pa/bios/shaefer.htm

Director of the Capabilities Development Directorate, Marine Corps Combat Development Command:

http://www.usmc.mil/genbios2.nsf/biographies/B6708B8D790177D485256D9000678185?opendocument

The Director of Logistics, Air Force Reserve Command:

http://www.afrc.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=7931

The Assistant Division Commander Maneuver, 38th Infantry Division:

http://www.ngb.army.mil/ngbgomo/library/bio/1514.htm

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

Unfortunately for you, all but one general officer on this list started out with degrees from respected traditional RA universities such as ACLU and Purdue ! AMU is just one of those service schools all field and general officers attend sooner or later in thier careers.

Show me more general officers who *started out* with a degree from a DETC-accredited school... Can't find many more ? I wonder why...

 

Re: Re: Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

Hmm. What do we call that kind of student?

 

Re: Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

Why doesn't someone come up with a more real-sounding name than post-doc?

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

ACLU? Which university is that?

 

Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

KALOS: It's likely DL doctorates will lose prestige if DETC-accredited school doctorates get introduced on a wide scale. Such degrees will be popular among students, but the degrees will be seen as inferior by employers and academics - and all but the most prestigious RA-accredited DL doctorates will be discounted even more than they are now - guilt by association.

SIMON: You may be correct in your assessment. However we will not know for certain until the DETC doctoral study project is completed and we receive feedback from graduates (as well as from those completing other DETC doctoral programs) over a period of time as to the level of receptivity from employers and professional peers and whether these degrees assisted graduates with career advancement.

Generally distance online RA degrees are currently not perceived as credible as those from traditional schools. Whether DETC doctoral degrees will further decrease the perceived value and credibility of RA degrees is possible but once again may not! A primary determinant may be whether the mainstreaming of online degrees over time due to increasing numbers of students obtaining such credentials MAY positively alter their perceived level of credibility.

However, although we can speculate and you may be proven correct we will not know for certain until more time passes and we have substantive data (from research studies and anecdotal feedback) that will provide us with a more global understanding of the value of DETC doctorates.

KALOSL degrees are accepted by employers and academics in proportion to how close they are to traditional B&M schools. DL Degrees from "free-standing" schools have a worse reputation, and DETC schools are even further down the pecking order.

SIMON: Generally I believe that you are correct.

KALOS: DL/DETC are sold as being equivalent to RA/B&M schools. I don't think that's true. The cold fact is that DL/DETC degrees are perceived by employers and academics to be inferior (though students who take these degrees disagree of course). Not useless - they have niche application - but definitely inferior. Caveat Emptor.

SIMON: I would appreciate if you would present data that supports your statement that "DL/DETC are sold as being equivalent to RA/B&M schools".

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

Why would any of this be unfortunate for me?

Is ACLU a university?

You had announced that DETC attracts an inferior sort of student (ignoring the fact that there are many open-admissions RA programs). My point was that these generals hold very responsible positions and obviously know a great deal about their field. They thought that studying with American Military University was a worthwhile endeavor.

If it was, then wouldn't that contradict your dismissive assertion? But in reality, American Military University is a private distance learning institution that welcomes civilians as well as military at all levels.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

A regretable typo that can't be corrected after ten minutes. I meant UCLA.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

A typo or a "freudian Slip"? Let's face it this has been a heated discussion and it is quite understandable that one would be thinking somewhere in the recess of their mind for redress. Who best to call on when faced with an adverse situation to defend what we believe in other then the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

 

NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

Or an dyslexia of indicator...
ACLU is not one of my favorite organizations...

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: NA (eg DETC) Accreditation Impressive ?

A typo? Hardly! Writing ACLU in place of UCLA would require first hitting a key one row down and six rows of that which one intended to hit and finally hitting a key one row up and six rows to the right of that which one intended to hit. Normally, a typo would be when one accidentally hits the adjacent key.

Yuo ddi, hwoveer, gte lla teh rihgt ltteers adn teh C adn teh L weer veen ni teh rihgt palce.

 

Looking at YOUR past, it seems that you are no stranger to flame wars yourself, Simon. So how about posting the names of the mentors with bogus degrees you claim were assigned to you?
And how about you telling us the name of the university that accepted this African American student with a GPA of "1"? Just give me the name and I'll call the psychology department and inquire if such situation ever did happen.

 

hmm, still no proof forthcoming. Just what I thought.

 

How does that make AMU a bad thing?

I was thinking about AMU and the Space Studies but was wondering what perception the university might have among people who don't know it - ie: wondering how it rates in "the name game".

If AMU is assumed to be a federal Command and General Staff college then I'm in!

Of course, that's not what they are -- just a few minutes on their web clearly explains who and what they are. try http://www.apus.edu