Would you teach at a diploma mill?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Cyber, Sep 29, 2010.

Loading...
  1. Cyber

    Cyber New Member

    If a known diploma mill is hiring adjuncts (though, they seldom hire any) to teach at their online school, would you apply to teach there?
     
  2. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Why would anyone want to damage his or her career that way? It has actually been the strategy at several diploma mills to place real professors on their lists of "faculty" without the professors' knowledge or consent.
     
  3. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Your question is impossible. Diploma mills don't have teachers, they have sales representatives.
     
  4. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Why isn't there a poll here?
     
  5. Cyber

    Cyber New Member

    My question is possible. Online schools do not start operation with automatic accreditation. Between inception and the time they finally become accredited, such schools are diploma mills (the assumption is that unaccredited schools are technically, degree mills).

    We've read in this forum where students/potential students are lured into enrolling at schools that tell them that the school is seeking accreditation, or that they are seeking regional accreditation from national accreditation.

    With these scenarios in mind, diploma mills may advertise for teaching jobs with the aim of convincing folks to apply, and to lend some credibility to what they say.

    So would you apply to teach there?
     
  6. Ted Heiks would teach anywhere that would cut him a check. ;)
     
  7. Cyber

    Cyber New Member

    I didn't think about it when I posted the question. Sorry...
     
  8. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    Not knowingly.
     
  9. Cyber

    Cyber New Member

    money money money. There are folks who do not mind getting their share of "tuition lottery."
     
  10. Cyber

    Cyber New Member

    If you realize later on that the school is a mill, would you disassociate yourself from the school?
     
  11. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Just would it be fair ro say a school is a diploma mill one day and the next could be a perfect 100% legit school? There is not middle ground - black/and white?
     
  12. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I would disagree with your definition. I do not think that unaccredited schools are degree mills, technically or otherwise. As you point out, all start-ups are unaccredited but thee's a difference. To me, one significant difference is that a legitimate but unaccredited school has a level of transparency that a degree mill will not allow. A legitimate school can lay out for you the course of study that you will need to pursue in order to earn your degree. They can also demonstrate the standards that they use in grading papers, exams, etc. They will list the staff andYou can ask questions about who owns/runs the school and you can expect solid answers to any questions. In short, you can be the accreditor. You can check it out in order to determine, to your satisfaction, that it's reasonable to give these people your money. Try doing that with a degree mill. Mostly you'll get a lot of double-speak, if you get any answer at all.
     
  13. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    "Would you teach for an unaccredited school?" is a completely different question than the one posed by title of this thread.
     
  14. ITJD

    ITJD Active Member

    I agree with MC that the question is flawed. If it is a mill, providing students a credential without doing work, then they would have no faculty.

    The argument that all schools, freshly founded are mills is not accurate. The demarc is " is there real work being done?"

    Now would I teach for a freshly founded school? Absolutely. There's a warm place in my heart for start ups.

    Would I allow myself to be associated with a mill? Absolutely not.
     
  15. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    This is false. There's a difference between schools that are unaccredited and those that are mills and thus not schools at all. Remember that accreditation is not the source of legitimacy, it's merely third party recognition of it. There's a big difference.

    -=Steve=-
     
  16. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    The newest campus in the University of California system, UC Merced, opened for business in Fall 2005. They do not (yet) have regional accreditation. The initial accreditation decision, by WASC, is anticipated in June 2011.

    Under your assumption, UC Merced is "technically a degree mill", but you won't find many people who would accept this classification. UC Merced has not had any trouble attracting faculty (they currently employ more than 100 full-time professors), even though they currently lack full RA.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 29, 2010
  17. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Once again, a thread question that can safely remained unanswered...

    Name a school and you have an interesting thread. Don't name a school you have a yawn-o-rama... ;)
     
  18. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Excuse me, but I do not need you to answer for me.
     
  19. haha! :)

    ...
     
  20. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    absolutely!
     

Share This Page