Dear all, I happened to be in the doctor's office yesterday and heard that "a" private school (or a few??) in Vancouver, British Columbia received warning letters from the Private postsecondary commission of BC that they have no degree-granting authority and they should stop awarding Bachelors, Masters, and even Doctorates. Anyhow, the aforementioned is as close as I can remember...anybody heard anything about it???? The only suspected mills that came to my mind was Senior University International. The other one was a bit more complicated. The registered private postsecondary Kingston College offers very flexible nite classes for working adults on completing their BBA's and MBA's with Niagara University and Colorado State University. (U go to Kingston and get the NU or CSU degrees) Apart from the fact that they seem to be milking the Asians with very outrageous tuitions (they seem to enjoy targeting the newcomers who couldn't get into the local universities), they had an MBA program in collaboration with "The American University of London." I wonder if Kingston was the one who got nailed. Cheers, Byran
Gosh, we have not discussed AUL in such a long while. Any interesting news out there on them now? Bing
Bryan heard that heard that a private school (or a few??) in Vancouver, British Columbia received warning letters from the Private postsecondary commission of BC that they have no degree-granting authority and they should stop awarding Bachelors, Masters, and even Doctorates. Anyhow, the aforementioned is as close as I can remember...anybody heard anything about it???? That would be Vancouver University Worldwide, which has been granting degrees for many years, based on work done elsewhere. Their argument, as I understand it, is that BC law prohibits unlicensed schools from offering courses leading to degrees, but since they don't have courses, only degrees, they are exempt. Last year, they sued my publisher (but not me), claiming that their brief listing in the "Other" section of Bears' Guide 13 was highly detrimental to them, and they lost a great deal of business. The suit was in small claims court, for about US$6,500. I had no problem with a slightly more explanatory listing, once I learned more about them, and on the basis, the suit was ended. They did insist in remaining in the "Other" chapter, instead of being listed with all the other currently-operating schools, and that was odd but OK with me. I believe that founder Raymond Rodgers (Ph.D. from Columbia) is honest and sincere in what he is doing, but my goodness, he certainly rubs a lot of people the wrong way, self included. John Bear www.degree.net
Bryan writes, re the American Uninversity of London, Actually, it should be "The American University in London." There is one of each, the one a regionally accredited American school operating in London, the other an unaccredited and less than wonderful one which, when I went by a couple of years ago, had modest offices upstairs over a bookie parlor.
I received an M.Phil. degree from Vancouver University Worldwide based on 13 scholarly papers I had published over the years. I organized the papers under one cover and this in effect was my "thesis".Three outside examiners at RA schools in the US examined the compilation and wrote statements affirming that the work was Masters degree level. Dr.Rodgers also had an examiner proficient in the field affirm the work,in effect acting as an internal examiner.They also assesed work experience and provided narrative transcripts of same. The small staff there is very helpful and it seems that the institution has been struggling with the contingencies of being who they are for quite some time. The web site is very informative,nothing seems hidden, and I agree with Dr. Bear that Dr.Rodgers and the consortium is an honest and open attempt to offer degrees based on work done elsewhere.No one has questioned the validity of my degree although if one wanted to obtain state teaching licensure with it (at least in New York) you would be in for a fiasco. This is explained in the VUW web site, as is the whole situation with the "warning letters". They post everything that is going on and I really don't see the problem with what they do in Canada.Other schools,such as Regents (where I earned my BA)don't offer courses either, but grant credit and degrees for work done elsewhere. VUW has a "Learning Credentials Credit Bank" (LCCB).What is so different about that and the Cedit Bank run by the University of the State of New York? CLEP,Special assesment,portfolios, I really don't see the problem. I have tried to get New York State teaching licensure with my Regents degree and the license officer looks at you like you have a bifurcated cranium! Academic conservatives are still really weird about the DL stuff and degrees earned through special assesment etc.Meanwhile a colleague here at work told me that the Swedish universities do it this way all the time, submit quality scholarly work and you are given the degree. I also agree Dr.Bear that Dr.Rodgers is a bit crusty. I've had several conversations with him but overall he seems to really beleive in the school's right to conduct it's business and by all indications they are ready to fight in order to do so.He is not getting rich either,he is a senior citizen pensioner and does not draw a salary from his presidency. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that they are the greatest thing in DL in Canada but I believe they are legitimate.Or have I been duped?I have been told by at least one RA city college that this credential would allow me to be considered for a long term appointment. I'm just relating my experience.Perhaps the whole thing will explode. Also VUW might actually qualify for DETC accreditation if they drop the D.Phil.program.Any thoughts? Cheers PCap
Bing, Not sure. I just know that Kingston (IMO, a rip-off place) had a joint MBA program with AUL -- www.aul.edu which the students are supposed to attend flexible night classes at Kingston and get the AUL MBA. Besides their "campus" and their unrecognized accreditation as reported by John, I haven't heard much about AUL. Any entertaining (or should I say sad?) stories about them in the past??? Byran
