DE Guide distributed by Columbia State University
Marcie Thorson
A customer recently sent me a DE guide which he received in a sales package
from Columbia State University. This is an objective review of the book --
you take it from there.
This book is entitled _Accredited College Degrees by Correspondence: 700 Schools
that offers (sic) Legal Bachelor's, Master's & Ph.D. Degrees by home study.
This is a 150-book divided into basically three sections:
First Section - Editors Pick: Five Best School Choices
Second Section - Editors Pick: Five Worst School Choices
Third Section - an alphabetical listing of all schools, ranked but not categorized.
Examples: The University of Healing precedes the University of Houston - Summit
University precedes Syracuse University -- Kennedy-Western University and
Kensington University follow Iowa State University. This book also ranks each
school from a one-star rating (worst) to a five-star rating (best). The five
top choices have a 5-star rating and the five bottom a one-star rating. A few
random ratings include: Harvard University, 4 stars; Miami Christian, 3 stars;
Mind Extension University, 3 stars; and Oral Roberts University (regionally
accredited), 2 stars.
From this 700-school listing the Five ***Top Choices*** are:
1. Columbia State University
2. Brigham Young University
3. Goddard College
4. University of Warwick
5. Walden University
The description of Columbia State fills one page while descriptions of the other
four each cover about one-half page. Quoted in part from the Columbia State
description: "Founded in 1976, Columbia State University has emerged as one of the
country's most impressive non-traditional colleges, offering a wide variety of majors
through correspondence study. The school's bloodlines are, to say the least,
impressive; polio vaccine discoverer Dr. Jonas Salk and Nobel laureates Kenneth G.
Wilson and Sune Bolgstrom hold honorary doctorates from CSU...CSU knows the value
of a correspondence degree as a tool for moving up in the professional world and
getting that needed competitive edge in order to achieve your goals...The catalogue
offers government statistics which prove that the training one receives while
earning a non traditional college diploma from CSU is just as highly regarded in
the workplace as is a traditional, on-campus degree...CSU degrees have always been
well-received and respected in the real world. In fact, CSU has more major college
professors and Fortune 500 corporate executives among its graduates than any other
non-traditional school..."
The Five Bottom Choices are:
1. Greenwich University
2. International Institute for Advanced Studies
3. Century University
4. Pacific Coast University
5. Nova College (in Canada)
So, there you have it -- again the last word on distance learning.
Sidenote: As I am a Yokie, I just checked out Oklahoma State University's listing in
this book and I can't resist quoting the school listed just under OSU. (Dr. L: You'll
get a hoot out of this).
"One Institute of Homophile Studies (in L.A.)
This state-authorized college offers degrees in such fields as sociology, biology,
history, and literature, all with an emphasis on male and female homosexuality.
Evening and weekend courses are offered, and credit can be given for practical
experience."
I am closing this post by again listing the six regional accrediting agencies
recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (202) 708-7417.
A Warning To All Newcomers planning to pursue a Distance Learning Degree Program:
If you wish to earn a regionally accredited degree, be sure to check out the
accreditation status of your school of interest *before* enrolling. Do not
take any one person's opinion (including mine) as the last word on this most
important matter. Remember, it's your money, your time, your efforts, and
your credibility that are on the line. Check it out for yourself!
Listed below are the six regional accrediting agencies along with phone numbers,
addresses and geographic areas of responsibilities. These agencies are
responsible for the accrediting process and are your sources for checking out
the accreditation status of a school. (I plan to repeat this post periodically)
Commission on Institutions of Higher Education
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
209 Burlington Road
Bedford, MA 01730
(617) 271-0022
(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)
Commission on Higher Education
Middle States Association of College and Schools
3624 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 662-5606
(Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)
Commission on Institutions of Higher Education
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 263-0456 - (800) 621-7440
(Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,
South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming)
Commission on Colleges
Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges
3700 University Way, N.E.
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 543-0195
(Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington)
Commission on Colleges
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
1866 Southern Lane
Decatur, GA 30033
(404) 679-4501, ext. 512 - (800) 248-7701
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia)
Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
c/o Mills College, Box 9990
Oakland, CA 94613
(510) 632-5000
(California, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commmonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands)
Marcie Thorson, M.A.
Author/Publisher, Campus-Free College Degrees, 7th ed.
(Guide to Accredited Distance Degree Programs in the U.S.)
Available through your bookstore or call (918) 622-2811
Marcie Thorson
William Greene wrote:
>
> Marcie Thorson <mar...@oknet.com> wrote:
> >
> > A customer recently sent me a DE guide which he received in a sales package
> > from Columbia State University. This is an objective review of the book --
> > you take it from there.
>
> Marcie. Dr. Bear wrote at length about it in his _Bears'
> Guide_ (I have the 12th edition here, and it's on page
> 258). I am interested if MCU is indeed now listed, as we
> never were in the past. (3 stars? Why, the nerve... ;-)
Actually, I've probably heard of it but, since Columbia State is still
sending out literature, it doesn't hurt to keep info in front of
the public. Eureka! Right before my eyes I see in John's book a third
university with the 5000 Esplanade address -- American M&M's (-excuse me-)
American M & N University.
Marcie Thorson
Author/Publisher of Campus-Free College Degrees
(Guide to Accredited Distance Degree Programs)
-order through your bookstore or call (918) 622-2811
Tim B. Nugent
So, it appears that `Columbia STate University' is tooting it's own horn
by printing up pamphlets of it's own. A new and novel approach to sales
and marketing tactics has been born! Still, I am proud that CSU did
include BYU ( my current educational endeavor ) along with themselves at
the top of the list.
All this talk of accredidation/degree mill...Geez! If you want to earn
a real degree, one that will get you entrance to a grad. school, try
BYU. The program is inexpensive, has been accredited for years, one
does not have to be a Mormon, and very little Mormon theology is shoved
down the throat. Go Cougar Blue!!!!--
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JohnBBear
As many have noticed, Columbia State has been actively advertising in USA
Today over the last month: Earn a Ph.D. in 27 days, no questions asked. I
called and spoke to the advertising 'ombudsman' at USA Today. She asked me
to put my concerns in writing, which I did. Then she sent my letter to Mr.
Pellar at Columbia State for response. Then she told me, in effect, "He
says you're a liar. You say he's a liar. I can't decide, so we'll keep
running the ad."
I invited her to try a simple experiment. Columbia State claims it is
accredited by COPA. Even when COPA existed, it never accredited any
schools. I gave her contact information for COPA people, and suggested she
call. I said that if COPA acknowledged that they accredited Columbia
State, I would donate $100,000 to the charity of her choice. And if they
said they didn't, then USA Today should stop running the ad. No reply.
Pellar, clearly emboldened, has now opened Loyola State University, using
a mail forwarding service in Itasca, Illinois. Identical catalogue, just a
name change. And the bizarre thing is that people in the Illinois
Department of Education tell me that it may be legal, due to a strange
loophole. Illinois law says that if a school offers education **AND**
grants degrees in Illinois, it must be approved by the Department. When
the Department contacted Loyola State, Mrs. Pellar replied, sweetly, "Oh,
but we don't offer education, we just grant degrees." So because of that
troublesome "and," they may be legal there, until the state figures out
how to close the loophole.
The only saving grace is that this guy is nearly 80 years old (although
the picture of him that appeared in People magazine, in their reprise of
Lana Turner's husbands last year had him looking half that), and may
eventually wear out.
--John Bear
***********************************************************
John B. Bear, Ph.D. (Michigan State). Author, Bears' Guide to Earning
College Degrees Nontraditionally. Diploma mill consultant to FBI 1979-92.
Distributor for distance learning MBA courses, Edinburgh Business School &
MS in Training, Leicester University. Email:John...@degree.net
JohnBBear
"... try BYU. The program is inexpensive, has been accredited for years,
one does not have to be a Mormon, and very little Mormon theology is
shoved down the throat."
I have wondered: if one does their Bachelor's that is mostly by distance
learning, can one still drink, smoke, and swear while at home? (My Jewish
pipe-smoking, coffee-swilling friend who is on the faculty at Provo has
even more trouble with the "you can't even smoke in your own home" than
with the requirement to face the nearest flagpole reverently during the
morning and evening flag raising and lowering ceremonies.)
Tim B. Nugent
Well Doc Bear...all I will say is that I carry on at home like I allways
do, and that when I went to the Y for my summer seminars...I went very
`clean'. Their rules are their rules, not mine; however, I respect them
while on their campus. The education I'm receiving from their school is
worth the game.--