Why do people NOT in the know continue to say...

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Odin, Mar 30, 2012.

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  1. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    Here is your statement: "Why do people say that doctorates from DETC schools won't get you adjunct positions?"
     
  2. Odin

    Odin New Member


    You just proved my point. If I would have said "Why do people say that doctorates from DETC schools won't get you adjunct positions at regionally accredited institutions" then your point would be valid. Problem is, I didn't say that.
     
  3. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    It's pretty sad if DETC schools won't hire DETC graduates as adjunct instructors. Stick with RA.
     
  4. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    DETC is just one NA accreditation body, there are others. And, there are NA schools that hire NA grad degree holders. But as others have pointed, a lot of NA schools are probably hiring mostly RA grads to stay positioned for the future possibility of getting RA accreditation.

    Another point that may not have been considered is that perhaps a lot of NA graduate degree holders are not even interested in teaching. A lot of NA degree programs are career-focused and many are vocational, hence the number of AAS degrees available at those schools. I tend to see very few education/teaching programs at those schools anyway, except for the NA schools that are exclusively graduate programs, so this could indicate NA schools simply offering programs based on how their market is responding in terms of need/want.
     
  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Ummm....because it's not a myth?

    I worked as a faculty chair at a huge RA university for one year (full-time) and two more (as an adjunct). If you had a doctorate from a DETC-accredited school it did not count. Period.

    Is it impossible? Probably not. But collecting a few anecdotes doesn't exactly build a compelling case.
     
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    The Holy Grail of this topic has been for years: Find an example at an RA school where a doctorate is required for the position and a doctorate from an NA school did the trick. I don't think anyone's found one yet. (And no, simply teaching with a doctorate from an NA school isn't sufficient since many people teach on the basis of their master's degrees. That argument was used by mill supporters, too, when they found examples of people teaching at RA schools with doctorates from unaccredited schools. It didn't prove a thing.)
     
  7. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    How about examples of people that were hired based on an RA masters and got a promotion based on an NA doctorate? Would that provide some proof of acceptability? I do not have an example and have not seen one but I was just wondering.
     
  8. Petedude

    Petedude New Member

    No, but I think the anecdotes help clarify something.

    To say NA degrees never win adjunct posts is a generalization. It may be generally true, yes, but will not apply in all cases.

    As an example, you can teach at the community college level in California with a NA degree.
     
  9. Odin

    Odin New Member


    Bingo.

    I think some people in this thread took my post as "NA degrees have the same power as RA degrees", which I NEVER said or even implied. If the power meter is from 1-100 in academia, RA degrees hold a 99 and NA degrees hold a 1. But that 1 still gives you a shot. Sure, maybe it's a long shot, maybe a snowballs chance in hell, but if everything happens perfectly, which isn't likely, it's possible.
     
  10. FJD

    FJD Member

  11. Odin

    Odin New Member

  12. FJD

    FJD Member

    Just messing w/ you, Odin. At some point your fall-back position is tough to defend. I have to say that you might be reaching a bit. Maybe not 1 in a million, but still...
     
  13. Odin

    Odin New Member

    Oh I know. I like to ruffle the feathers a bit. It makes me feel alive. Not really.

    On a side note, Dumb and Dumber = Best Movie Ever.
     
  14. FJD

    FJD Member

    One of the Farrelly Bros. best. Lots of yuks, sober or otherwise.
     
  15. mcjon77

    mcjon77 Member

    Its possible to teach at an RA school with no degree. I know a guy who taught at Harvard College that didn't have a bachelors degree. So what?

    A better question is whether it is worth the money and (more importantly, THE TIME) to pursue an NA degree. There are some jobs that are equally accepting of NA and RA degrees (e.g. some public school systems, the military, some government agencies, etc). In that case it may be a better allocation of resources to pursue an NA degree.

    However, there are still a significant number of areas in which an NA is just not sufficient. Sure, you could trot out that 1 in a 1,000 exception, but do you really want to make a decision that will cost you thousands of dollars and years of work based on a 1 in a 1,000 chance?

    IMHO, it is much better to assume that the likelihood of acceptance in these areas that are traditionally "RA only" is ZERO. This way, you are making a decision from a more honest perspective and are less likely to be disappointed. If you assume that your future NA degree will do NOTHING to help you get an RA position would you still pursue it? If the answer is yes, go forward. If the answer is no, perhaps you should chose another route less you become disappointed with your results.

    One of the problems with many students and prospective students today is irrational optimism.
     
  16. Odin

    Odin New Member

    So you're telling me there's a chance? Woooooo!!!

    (I feel like we're repeating arguments/responses over, and over, and over...)
     
  17. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    That's not true. It's important to steer aspiring students in the right direction, especially if they have aspirations of teaching at the collegiate level.
     
  18. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    Rich hit the nail on the head.
     
  19. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I'd love to see that. But the evidence (people working in academic positions requiring a doctorate) haven't been produced. And with so many posters highly motivated to support that point, you'd think they'd come up with something.

    If "PeteDude" is right--that one can teach in a California community college with a degree from an NA school (that is, teach in an ACADEMIC program requiring a master's)--it would be cool.
     
  20. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Certainly. It's been 6 or 7 years, IIRC. (CSU says it was preliminarily approved in 2006.)
     

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