alt.education.distance: The *Unofficial* FAQ
Steve Levicoff
DISTANCE EDUCATION:
THE *UNOFFICIAL* FAQ
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A Periodic Posting
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1. What is distance education?
Distance education, in the context of higher
education, is simply any type of learning that takes
place outside the traditional model of on-campus
classes attended on a regular basis. Also known as
distance learning, nontraditional education, or
alternative education, distance education consists
of many individual learning methods including
correspondence courses, audio or video based courses
(including those available on public television),
on-line courses via the Internet, independent
studies, mentoring, portfolio development (also
known as credit for life experience), or challenge
examinations (such as the CLEP, ACT-PEP, DANTES, or
individual college testing programs such as the
TECEP, Regents College, and Ohio University
examinations). Distance education does not include
classes that meet on a regular basis at extension or
"satellite" campuses, nor so-called "degree
completion programs" that meet on a weekly basis
over a 12-18 month period, but does include modular
class sessions (which may last a day, weekend, or
week) for which students do significant pre-and
post-session work.
2. What type of distance education is most effective?
Whatever works best for *you*. There is no one type
of learning methodology that works better than any
other. Some students still learn best in the
traditional classroom, while others learn best
through independent studies. Some can study for, and
successfully pass, challenge examinations, while
some students who are otherwise quite bright may
test poorly but articulate their knowledge in
another written or oral format.
3. What are the benefits of distance education?
Most of the literature you'll read on distance
education or nontraditional degree programs seem to
stress the benefits of these methods for persons who
otherwise have busy lifestyles, full-time jobs, and
family commitments. These are legitimate factors,
since most distance programs allow you to schedule
your studies with a greater degree of flexibility
than you can in traditional schools. However, there
are numerous other advantages: You can often self-
design your programs to meet your personal interests
and professional needs, you can pursue your studies
with more creativity than in a traditional classroom
using resources in your own community, and you can
use learning methods that often excel those
traditional courses that focus on didactic lectures.
It's also important to realize what the benefits of
distance education are *not*. Distance education is
not any easier than traditional education (unless
you enroll in a degree mill), nor will your studies
be any less comprehensive. If you're looking to
sluff your way to a degree, this isn't it. In fact,
because you don't have professors kicking you in the
butt in the classroom, distance education usually
requires more motivation and energy than its
traditional counterpart.
4. How do I begin to learn more about distance
education, including how to earn a degree in my
chosen field through distance learning?
Get off your ass, get to a bookstore, buy a good
guidebook on the subject, and read it. Whatever you
do, don't expect to get all of your answers here on
the newsgroup - not only will you receive incomplete
information, much of the information you receive
will be inaccurate or highly biased. Then, after you
read the guide, blow $33.00 on a roll of stamps and
write to 100 different distance education programs
for their catalogs and other program literature,
using your own informed judgment to determine which
program will be right for you.
5. Okay, are there any books you particularly
recommend?
Glad you asked; there are three that I recommend as
starting points. The first is "Bear's Guide to
Earning College Degrees Nontraditionally," by John &
Mariah Bear. John is a funny guy and a humorous
writer, although he has been associated with several
schools that I consider degree mills (including
Fairfax University, Columbia Pacific, and Greenwich
University), and has distributed courses for two
foreign degree programs (Heriot-Watt University and
the University of Leicester) which, in my opinion,
are not good choices for U.S. students. His books
are comprehensive, but he is far more tolerant of
unaccredited schools than I am. Therefore, students
who are not intimately familiar with the in's and
out's of distance education or accreditation could
make choices that are not in their best interests.
Great reading? Absolutely (and it will have you on
the floor laughing at times), but be careful. John's
a great guy and the grand-daddy of research in this
field, but contrary to what some other readers would
have you believe here, he's not God. Mariah, John's
daughter, is becoming a growing authority in
distance education and is well placed to speak with
authority in the field. For more information on the
book, write to John at jo...@ursa.net or check out
the book's web site at http://www.degree.net.
The second is "Campus-Free College Degrees," by
Marcie Kisner Thorson, now in its 8th edition. It's
available in bookstores or directly from the
publisher; for more information, e-mail
tho...@tulsa.com or check out her web site at
http://www.college-distancedegree.com. Marcie sticks
solely with legitimately accredited programs, and
features at least a full page overview on each
program. Therefore, while John and Mariah's may be
the most comprehensive, if you are not famliar with
accreditation or other factors that address
institutional credibility, Marcie's book is a safer
bet.
Third, if you're interested in external courses
(traditional correspondence, audio, video, etc.),
score yourself a copy of "The Independent Study
Catalog," published by Peterson's Guides in
Princeton, New Jersey, for the National University
Continuing Education Association. The NUCEA guide
lists over 10,000 individual high school, college,
and graduate-level courses from over 70 schools,
almost all of which are legitimately accredited. It,
too, is available through most bookstores, or call
Peterson's directly at (609) 243-9111.
Finally, note that I have called these three books
"starting points." For further reading, your next
step should be to obtain actual school catalogs and
program literature: they are the primary source
material you should use to determine whether a
program uses a model with which you would ultimately
be comfortable.
6. I've been seeing blurbs on the 'net regarding books
other than the ones you mentioned. What's the scoop
on those?
Avoid them like the plague. Some yahoos read a few
newsgroup posts, get a program brochure or two, and
suddenly proclaim theselves experts in non-
traditional education. A true expert in this field
has done years of research and often has one or more
nontraditional credentials as well. One recent web
page sprang up for a book titled "Campus Free
Degrees" by Mark Wilson, who used a title strikingly
- and conveniently - similar to Marcie Thorson's
book. The guy has so many holes in both his research
and his ethics that I feel comfortable in labeling
him as a rank amateur bordering on con artist.
Another book to be avoided is "Walston's Guide to
Earning Religious Degrees Nontraditionally," by Rick
Walston. A graduate of two doctoral programs I have
classified as degree mills, Walston originally
adapted John Bear's book to a religious market
before splitting with John and going on his own. He
also runs his own degree mill (Columbia Evangelical
Seminary in Washington State, formerly called
Faraston Theological Seminary) and has recommended
several additional degree mills in his book.
Incidental note: Walston's book came out after my
own, described below, and I do not feel that he is a
competitor. Moreover, if he ever cleans up his act
I'll be happy to recommend the book, but at this
point it's a risky piece of reading.
The bottom line is simple: With the Bears and
Thorson out there, you should avoid the amateurs
that are thinking with the end that they should be
sitting on. Also, be careful of any so-called
experts who write books or articles recommending
unaccredited schools at all. Chances are that they
hold at least one degree from an unaccredited
school. The first question you should ask of any
author or so-called expert is where he or she got
their own degree(s).
7. Well, dude, rumor has it that you're also an author
in this field. What about your own book?
I am the author of "Name It and Frame It? New
Opportunities in Adult Education and How to Avoid
Being Ripped Off by 'Christian' Degree Mills."
However, you should be aware that NIFI deals solely
with religious institutions and programs in
religious studies, so if you are looking for
something more general, this isn't it. Originally
published in 1992, the 4th edition (1995) sold out,
and I have decided not to do a 5th edition. While the
full text of the 4th edition ultimately appeared on
the Internet for a few years, I recently removed it
because, quite frankly, I felt it was getting to be
out of date. For persons interested in religious
programs, I now recommend Jason Baker's web site, at
http://www.bakersguide.com.
Remember that the focus of "NIFI" is on religious
studies and other programs offered by Christian
institutions. If your focus is not in these areas,
your best bet is to read John & Mariah Bear's and
Marcie Thorson's books. (Incidentally, I get no
commission or kickback from either of them.)
As for why I'm not currently interested in updating
"NIFI," the answer is quite simple: Been there, done
that, got the t-shirt. After several years in higher
education I found that I can have fun with other
things as well. Having had my 15 minutes of fame
several times over, I also learned that the old
expression "If you've got it, flaunt it" is bullshit
- when you've got it, you don't have to flaunt it.
8. Now, you mentioned accreditation. There's a lot
about that on the alt.education.distance newsgroup.
What, exactly, is the scoop about accreditation,
and why should I be concerned about it?
Accreditation is a voluntary process by which
colleges, universities, and professional schools
ensure their institutional integrity through an
outside comprehensive review process. The most
credible type of accreditation in the United States
is called regional accreditation, which means that
an institution is accredited by one of the six
geographically dispersed associations approved by
both the United States Department of Education and
the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA), formerly the Commission on Recognition of
Postsecondary Accreditation (CORPA). The six
regional associations are the Middle States, New
England, North Central, Northwest, Southern, and
Western Associations of Colleges and Schools (a
couple of them reverse the words and use Schools and
Colleges). The regional association that accredits a
school depends on the state in which the school is
located (hence the term regional); however, the
accreditation is recognized on a national level.
9. What about other types of accreditation?
There are several professional accrediting agencies
that are recognized by both the U.S. Department of
Education and CHEA. These accredit either schools,
or individual programs within larger schools, in
specific professions. In some cases, approval by a
professional accreditor is a must if you want to sit
for a licensure examination such as the psychology
boards, nursing boards, or bar examination. Commonly
recognized accreditors in this category include the
American Psychological Association (APA), the
National League for Nursing (NLN), and the American
Bar Association (ABA). Be especially careful in
these fields: If the program you choose is not
approved by its applicable professional accreditor,
you will very likely not be able to sit for the
licensure exam in most states.
In the case of religious colleges and universities,
some schools have opted out of regional
accreditation in favor of accreditation by the
Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC, for
undergraduate programs) or the Association of
Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
(ATS, for graduate-level programs), both of which
are approved by the U.S. Department of Education and
CHEA. A school with AABC or ATS accreditation is
legitimate; however, prospective students should
realize that credits from such schools will not
universally be transferable to regionally accredited
schools. There is also a Department of Education-
approved accreditor called the Transnational
Association of Christian Schools & Colleges (TRACS),
but TRACS is not approved by CHEA at this time. In
my opinion, TRACS has several deficiencies, and I
have found that they are not highly regarded in
academic circles.
10. We hear quite a bit about the Distance Education &
Training Council (DETC) on the newsgroup. Since DETC
is approved by both the U.S. Department of Education
and CHEA, do you recommend schools that are
accredited by them?
Yes and no - it depends on your future educational
goals. If you are seeking a degree in a vocational
field such as hotel-motel management, electronics,
or travel and tourism, you can get a competent
education through a DETC-accredited school. If,
however, you want to use your credential to transfer
your credits to a regionally accredited college or
university, or to gain admission to a regionally
accredited graduate school, you should be aware that
DETC-approved credits do not always transfer to
these schools. In other words, for better or worse,
regionally accredited schools often accept degrees
and transfer credits only from other regionally
accredited schools, and are not obligated to
recognize other accrediting organizations (even if
they are approved by DoEd and CHEA).
Therefore, depending on your career goals and future
academic plans, the best bet when it comes to DETC-
accredited programs is caveat emptor - buyer beware.
11. What about accrediting agencies that are not
approved by the U.S. Department of Education or
CHEA?
Avoid them like the plague. Many schools claim to be
"fully accredited," yet their accreditation comes
from bogus agencies or accreditation mills, many of
which were founded by the schools themselves. Be
especially careful of agencies like the Accrediting
Commission International and the American
Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions
(as well as other accreditors that use theological
references), and those that use the word "World" in
their names. There is no such thing as a "worldwide"
accreditation; accreditation is, for the most part,
an American phenomenon. The bottom line is simple:
as a general rule, if a school is not accredited by
one of the six regional agencies, yet claims to be
accredited, chances are that it's a degree mill.
12. Speaking of which, what is a degree or diploma mill?
These two terms are interchangeable, but I treat
them as having distinct definitions. A diploma mill
is a school that will sell you a degree or diploma
outright, or a school that requires such a minimal
amount of work (such as a ten-page dissertation for
a doctorate) that its degrees are a joke. A degree
mill is a school that actually requires some degree
of work, perhaps even a substantive degree or work,
but significantly less work than comparable,
legitimately accredited programs.
You should be aware that several degree mills have
been represented on the alt.education.distance
newsgroup, either through blatant advertising or
through the testimony of its administrators,
students, or graduates. These include: American
Coastline University, the American Institute of
Computer Sciences, Berne University, California
Coast University, Century University, Columbia
Evangelical Seminary (formerly Faraston Theological
Seminary) Columbia Pacific University, Kennedy-
Western University, Kennedy-Western University,
Kensington University, LaSalle University, Miami
Christian University, Monticello University, Summit
University of Louisiana, Trinity Bible College and
Theological Seminary, and Westbrook University.
You should also be aware that many degree mills
appropriate names that are similar to other
universities that are regionally accredited. For
example, LaSalle University, a degree mill in
Louisiana, has no relationship to the regionally
accredited LaSalle University in Philadelphia. Miami
Christian University, a degree mill, has no
relationship to the legitimately accredited Miami
Christian College, which is now part of Trinity
International University. Columbia Evangelical
Seminary, the degree mill run by Rick Walston, has
no relationship to the legitimately accredited
Columbia Bible College and Seminary, which is a
division of Columbia International University in
South Carolina. Trinity Evangelical Seminary
(Naples, Florida), Trinity Bible College and
Seminary (Jacksonville, Florida), and Trinity
College of the Bible and Theological Seminary
(Newburgh, Indiana), all degree mills, have no
relationship with the legitimately accredited
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, which is a
division of Trinity International University in
Deerfield, Illinois.
In the more official FAQ for this newsgroup, Rita
Laws states, "In the US, the proprietor of a legal
school may sue someone who calls it a diploma mill
in a public forum. Newsgroup users should be careful
about using this term and other derogatory
statements because the writer is liable for whatever
he or she posts. Even if the derogatory statement is
true and eventually proven, under current US law,
the accused might still have to pay for his or her
own defense." Nonsense. I have been referring to
certain schools as degree mills (and, in some cases,
diploma mills) for several years and, despite a few
well-directed threats of litigation, none of them
have ever sued me. Not that I wouldn't mind - even
if I do not need the publicity since I no longer
revise my own books, it would be fun. The fact is
that is a school walks like a duck, quacks like a
duck, and looks like a degree mill, we can feel free
to call them for what they are.
(By the way, I included the short quote from Rita
Laws' so-called "official" FAQ because Rita demands
that any reprint the FAQ be done only if the entire
text is used. Hell, who does she think he is? This
is the Internet! Besides, I like to be a ball-
buster.)
13. Okay, what about schools that are unaccredited but
state approved?
Depends on the state. Some fifteen states do not
require licensure for schools that purport to be
religious, which is why there are so many religious
degree mills operating today. (LaSalle and Miami
Christian Universities are good examples.)
Some people believe that schools that are state
approved in California are credible but, with few
exceptions, I disagree. California has historically
been a haven for degree mills and, even though they
have tightened their laws for degree-granting
institutions, they do not always enforce their laws
effectively.
Let me say this as clearly as possible: the only
unquestioned, nationally recognized standard for a
legitimate school is regional accreditation. Period.
If you pursue a degree from any school that is not
regionally accredited, chances are that it will have
some limitations in terms of either your prospects
for professional licensure, your chances for
admission to the graduate school of your choice, or
the credibility of your credentials in general
(including possible ramifications related to your
employment).
14. C'mon, are you serious? Do people actually pay
attention to issues like accreditation?
You bet your ass they do. If you're a new newsgroup
reader and don't believe it, just retrieve some of
the older posts in this newsgroup to get a handle on
credibility issues regarding college and university
degrees. You'll find that the people who have
unaccredited degrees are more hung up than anyone
else about defending the alleged credibility of
their credentials.
15. I'm new to the distance education scene. How can I
tell if a school is credible or not?
If a school doesn't have regional accreditation,
your red flags should go up until you have
substantive proof that it's a credible institution.
I use a 73-point set of criteria to discern the
credibility of both educational institutions and
professional credentialing agencies. You can find
the criteria at
http://levicoff.tripod.com/criteria.htm.
16. After looking at the whole ball of wax, I can't help
thinking that non-regionally accredited schools are
a hell of a lot cheaper than the regionally
accredited schools. Why don't I just go with one of
them?
Because if you do, you will certainly deserve what
you get. Look, there are a lot of numb-nuts on the
newsgroup that think they're getting a bargain by
going with an unaccredited school to save a few
bucks. But the old saying, "You get what you pay
for," holds up well here. A legitimately accredited
school may cost more now, but it will pay off in the
long run, both financially and in terms of
credibility.
For what it's worth, I have heard hundreds of horror
stories from people who have been ripped off by
degree mills, and you can be sure that when it comes
to distance learning, the degree mills far outnumber
the credible schools. Remember, if even one person
can question the legitimacy of your degrees, it's
not worth it. When it comes to your credentials,
credibility is *everything*.
17. Okay, you've made your point. Now, let's get back to
constructive information. What about receiving
credit based on my experience?
Credit earned for life experience through the
development of a portfolio is fairly common at the
undergraduate level, but almost never acceptable at
the graduate level. In other words, an undergraduate
degree may be based on previous learning, since the
theory of nontraditional education is that it
doesn't matter how you've learned what you've
learned, merely that you do, in fact, have the same
level of knowledge that a student taking an
undergraduate course would have. However, it is an
accepted fact that graduate degrees must represent
new learning. That's an across-the-board rule of
thumb in all regionally accredited programs.
Some distance education learning programs will grant
only a limited number of credits for life
experience, while others place no limitation on the
amount of credit you can earn using this method.
Generally, you can maximize your credits for life
experience at any of the three state colleges geared
exclusively toward adult learners: Charter Oak State
College in Connecticut, Regents College of the
University of the State of New York, and Thomas
Edison State College in New Jersey. (As an example
of how this works, I received my own B.A. in
Humanities from Thomas Edison State College by doing
98 credits by portfolio, testing out of 16 credits,
and transferring in 6 credits for actual courses I
had taken years earlier.)
18. What's the difference between graduate programs that
are totally external from those which require some
time spent in residence?
Most, though not all, graduate programs that are
totally external tend to be degree mills. You should
be aware that the word external is open to
interpretation. For example, the regionally
accredited Vermont College of Norwich University
advertises its M.A. program as being external,
although they do require a five-day colloquium in
residence and several one-day interdisciplinary
seminars.
The concept of residency is also open. In the Ph.D.
program of The Union Institute, for example, there
are 35 required residency days: a 10-day colloquium,
three 5-day seminars, and ten peer days. However,
any of these may be taken at numerous locations in
the country (and, for that matter, in other
countries), so it's not as if you actually have to
schlep to Cincinnati to fulfill these requirements.
I support the concept of required residency periods
at the graduate level for two reasons. First,
distance education tends to be a "Lone Ranger"
experience for many people. With the advent of the
Internet, society is becoming even more withdrawn
than before, and the in-person contact that
accompanies academic residency experiences is
valuable in many ways. Second, at the graduate
level, persons are often trained to be leaders in
their fields, and residency experiences provide both
a reality check and quality control point that will
aid you in becoming the best professional you can
be. (Face it, if you had a personal problem, would
you want to be counseled by a so-called professional
who held an unaccredited degree and did his or her
doctorate on a totally external basis?) Moreover, I
submit that anyone who wants to avoid all residency
experiences at the graduate level doesn't deserve a
graduate degree in the first place, since he or she
will certainly not become a competent professional.
Remember, graduate-level residencies mean an
occasional couple of days, maybe even an occasional
week or two, at a time. They do not mean entire
semesters spent in residence. If you can't hack even
a minimal residency, you should question why you
want a graduate degree in the first place.
19. What are my options in licensure-oriented fields
such as law, psychology, and counseling?
Let's take them one by one. First, law: This is one
of the more popular areas of inquiry on the
newsgroup, and the news is not good. Forty-three
states have an "ABA-only" requirement, i.e., in
order to sit for the state bar exam a student must
have graduated from a law school that is approved by
the American Bar Association. The ABA has made it
clear that they do not support nontraditional
education; in fact, even in the traditional
environment, the ABA has strict requirements that
limit legal education to a three-year full-time or
four-year part-time process. Bottom line: No
external or nontraditional law school will qualify
you to take the bar in any state whatsoever . . .
except California. However, there are two caveats
emptor here: first, the California bar exam is one
of the toughest in the country, and the pass rate is
very low for nontraditional programs. Second, most
states do not have a reciprocity arrangement for
graduates of unaccredited California law schools.
That means that, even if you earn your law degree
nontraditionally from a non-ABA approved school and
pass the California bar, you will not be able to
practice in any other state. For all intent and
purpose, the only way to become a lawyer in the
state of your choice is through the traditional
route at an ABA-approved law school.
Now, psychology: In the same way that most states
have an ABA requirement, almost all states have an
APA (American Psychological Association) requirement
at the doctoral level. In other words, to become a
licensed psychologist, or to be allowed to sit for
the psychology boards in most states, you must hold
a doctorate in psychology (either a Ph.D. or a
Psy.D.) from an APA-approved institution. The good
news is that this standard is not as firm as the
standard used for lawyers, so if you hold a
doctorate from a regionally accredited school that
is substantially in conformance with the APA
standards (such as The Saybrook Institute, The Union
Institute, Walden University) you will be able to
sit for the psych boards. At this writing, The
Fielding Institute (in Santa Barbara, CA) is the
only nontraditional program that is approved by the
APA. You should be aware that all psychology
doctorates have a residency component (usually in
the form of short-term or modular residencies). If a
school offers a psychology degree but it is not even
regionally accredited (examples include LaSalle
University and St. John's University, both Louisiana
degree mills), avoid it like the plague; you will
not be able to sit for the psych boards under any
circumstances with such a credential.
In the field of professional counseling (a field
separate from psychology, usually leading to
licensure as a professional counselor or L.P.C.),
there is much more of an open attitude toward
nontraditional learning. At this writing, counselor
licensure is also open to master's degree graduates,
as opposed to the doctoral requirement for the field
of psychology. You should be aware, however, that
any school offering courses designed to lead to the
board exam of the National Board for Certified
Counselors (used as the primary licensure exam in 33
states at this writing) will have some residency
component for each licensure-required course. As
with psychology, beware of degree mills offering
licensure credentials, and check carefully into the
requirements of your state before enrolling in a
program. Finally, if you want to seek licensure,
call the NBCC itself at (910) 547-0607 to verify
that the program you are considering will make you
eligible to sit for the board examination - do not
take the word of the school itself.
As always, when it comes to fields like psychology
and counseling do your research. Before asking inane
questions about licensure on this newsgroup, you
should monitor any newsgroups that deal with the
fields themselves, as well as relevant websites like
the American Psychological Association
(http://www.apa.org), the American Counseling
Association (http://www.counseling.org), and the
National Board of Certified Counselors
(http://www.nbcc.org).
20. I have some questions about specific institutions.
How do I find out more about them?
There are many schools about which new newsgroup
readers have specific questions. Some of the more
common are Thomas Edison State College, Regents
College, and Charter Oak State College (these three
are the most well-known nontraditional programs at
the bachelor's level), as well as the numerous
regionally accredited programs at the master's and
doctoral levels. Even more common are questions
about degree mills such as LaSalle University,
American Coastline, California Coast, Kensington,
Kennedy-Western, the American Institute of Computer
Science, Washington University, and other schools
that have been discussed on the newsgroup.
Chances are that if you are wondering about a
specific school, it's already been covered here.
Therefore, your best starting point is to look up
previous posts about the school you want to check
out. You can find these by doing a web search at
DejaNews (http://www.deja.com/usenet), the archival
resource for all Usenet newsgroup posts. Just use
the school name as a search term and see what has
already been posted in the newsgroup about them.
You will often find that there is a diversity of
opinion on the credibility of many schools. Take
this as a red flag: if the reputation of a school is
controversial or open to scrutiny, chances are that
the school is not very credible in the first place.
In addition to the schools discussed in the
newsgroups, you may also be able to get information
from an individual school's site on the World Wide
Web. To see if a school has a web site, surf your
way to the colleges/universities section of Yahoo
(http://www.yahoo.com).
Incidentally, be especially careful about so-called
"online universities," especially if they list no
physical address (or only a post office box address)
or phone number on their web site. With the advent
of web pages, anyone can set up a one-person shop,
call it a university, and do it with flair. Don't be
gullible; almost all of these are rip-offs. And a
general rule of thumb you should take to heart, not
only in terms of so-called "online universities" but
any time you use the Internet: Never transmit your
credit card number over a web page.
21. Okay, so what's my next step?
Get a book or two, write for a slew of catalogues
and program literature, and do your own research.
Take your time and make careful decisions, and don't
be in too much of a rush; the decisions you make
will impact you for a lifetime. Above all, don't
take anyone's word as to what is right for you - not
even John Bear's or Marcie Thorson's, not even the
word of half of the wazoos who post messages on the
newsgroup (especially the ones with the unaccredited
degrees), and not even mine. Take responsibility for
your own research and your own decisions so you can
ensure you're making the right moves.
22. What about using a consultant to find a good
program?
If you (1) want to take the lazy approach, or (2)
don't trust your own judgment, it's as good an
option as any. However, be very careful: there are a
lot of self-appointed "experts" who love to
pontificate but are actually rank amateurs who can
do you far more harm than good. Frankly, you're
better off reading both John & Mariah Bear's and
Marcie Thorson's books, and you'll get away a lot
cheaper.
23. By the way, what about the "official" FAQ for this
group?
The FAQ originally written by Rita Laws has some
useful information, but you should be aware that of
several factors. First, Rita holds an unaccredited
Ph.D. from California Coast University (which I have
classified as a degree mill). Second, many - though
not all - of the people who contributed to the FAQ
and who are acknowledged by Rita also hold
unaccredited degrees, or have been professionally
associated with degree mills. Finally, Rita lists
the web sites for several degree mills (including
California Coast University, Miami Christian
University, Greenleaf University, Greenwich
University, Summit University of Louisiana, and the
University of Berkeley) - therefore, in listing both
accredited and unaccredited schools together, use of
her list as a resource tool to search for a program
becomes a big risk.
In the past year, Rita has recruited several
"associates" to assist her in revising and
coordinating the FAQ. The first was Neil Hynd, also
holds a degree mill doctorate (from Century
University). Rita and Neil have since been joined by
Al Lepine (who is pursuing his doctorate from
California Coast, Rita's alma mater). One reliable
source on the newsgroup has commented that
graduation from a degree mill appears to be a pre-
requisite for coordinating the so-called "official"
FAQ, and it is important to realize that all of the
persons who coordinate the effort (although not all
of the persons they cite in their FAQ) hold degree
mill credentials.
I believe that their FAQ contains many errors, both
in facts and in other positions, but you should read
it nonetheless. As always, you should take neither
their positions nor my positions to heart, but get
off your butt and do your own research into all
sides of the issues, then make your own decisions as
an informed educational consumer.
24. By the way, who the hell are you anyway?
Glad you asked. I am, it would seem, the "instigator
emeritus" of the newsgroup, having raised hackles on a
regular basis until I semi-retired from the newsgroup
to pursue other activities. And, if you didn't want to
know about my qualifications - as you should want to
know the qualifications of anyone who purports to
pontificate on the newsgroup - then you would have
already deemed yourself to be a careless educational
consumer. At one time, I posted lots of cool (sorry, I
refuse to say "kewl") stuff right here on my home page
- my curriculum vita (a fancy term for an academic
resume), and many academic papers right down to my
thesis, dissertation, and transcripts. But I've
lately decided that I like my privacy, and opening up
my life that much was like going on the Springer show.
So in brief, what you should know is . . . I earned my
B.A. in Humanities from Thomas Edison State College,
my M.A. in Theology and Law from Vermont College of
Norwich University, and my Ph.D. in Religion and Law
from The Union Institute. I've written five books,
taught at two traditional, regionally accredited
graduate schools for six years, and have advised
master's and doctoral students in three more
regionally accredited nontraditional graduate
programs. These days, I drive tractor-trailers,
becasue I find it a lot more fun than teaching or
writing, and I don't have to be bothered with as many
presumptuous idiots who don't have any credentials in
the first place.
(Don't get mr wrong; I have no problem with persons
who hold no credentials, just the pompous piss-ants
who think they are qualified to pontificate when they
are not.)
Want to know more? Tough - it's none of your
business.
25. Very nice. Now how about a big finish?
Okay. If you, after reading this, have any
questions, ask them right on the
alt.education.distance newsgroup. In other words,
please don't e-mail me; I have to sift through too
much junk mail already, and can't be bothered with
lazy schmucks who want me to do their research for
them, not to mention yahoos who pop into the
newsgroup who are too unwilling to take
responsibility for their own personal and academic
growth. (If you happen to be one of them, have a
nice day, and go play in your own sand box. It's
your future, not mine.) Stick around the newsgroup
for a while, and check previous posts at DejaNews to
see if the subject or school in which you're
interested has been tackled already. And if I don't
respond to your e-mail, chances are that I have
deleted it without reading it at all; there's so
much junk to sift through that I'm very selective
these days. (And cute subject lines like "Hey,
Steve, read this one!" won't get me to read it
either.) If a question is worth asking, post it on
the newsgroup where you'll get more opinions than my
own.
Besides, you're better off with more than one answer
and more than one perspective (even though you'll
actually have to consider various viewpoints and
make up your own mind). Remember, John Bear may not
be God, but neither am I. Oh, and don't bother me
with questions about business or computer-related
degrees. They are not my fields, and you'll get much
better information by consulting the comprehensive
overviews in John & Mariah Bear's or Marcie
Thorson's books.
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Steve Levicoff
levi...@ix.netcom.com
http://levicoff.tripod.com
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