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Degrees by mail
look what you can buy for only $499!

By Lisa Neal / January 2004

TYPE: OPINION
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It's not as bad as receiving email about herbal supplements, but I get a fair number of emails informing me of quick and easy ways to obtain a degree. I read these much more carefully than other unsolicited emails to find out how much the degree costs, how long it takes to "earn" it, and what the plausible-sounding name of the institution is. I assume that somebody answers these ads, but never gave much thought to who might take them seriously. I was very surprised and rather amused to have this question answered recently when The Boston Globe ran a front-page article about the purchase of just such a degree by the chief of the state Department of Public Health laboratory.

According to the Globe, "Ralph Timperi began signing state emails in recent weeks with a notation indicating he held a doctorate." His web page listed a 2003 degree from Trinity Southern University—see what I mean about plausible sounding names? Timperi told the Globe that "he pursued the degree after receiving an e-mail from the university while he was on a research mission last summer in Cambodia." Was he, perhaps, swayed by persuasive wording? Did he want to be called Dr. Timperi? How else to explain someone in his position, and not, apparently, in need of a degree to advance professionally, suffering such a lapse in judgment? And what about all the people who need a degree for employment or who may not understand the time, effort, and financial commitment typically required for a degree?

The British Open University and other excellent and reputable online programs have done a lot to move public perception of online programs away from the déclassé correspondence schools that used to be so common—remember the matchbooks advertising "Be a graphic artist"? Even with high-quality programs, prospective students are concerned about employer perception: Is an online degree as valuable as a "bricks and mortar" degree? Jeff Papows, former president of Lotus, claimed he held a Ph.D. from Pepperdine University when he actually held a master's degree from Pepperdine and a Ph.D. from a "correspondence school." He wasn't embarrassed to enroll, but he was apparently embarrassed to acknowledge the granting institution.

If prospective students are to distinguish legitimate and accredited online degree-granting programs from the bogus ones advertised through spam, we need better and more explicit measures of quality. Reputation is an important measure, as are rankings. Accreditation agencies in the U.S. are set up to provide an external measure of quality, but many people don't know about or understand the accreditation review process, especially as regards e-learning programs. For example, I have a vague idea that the square footage of library space is important to receiving bricks-and-mortar accreditation, but I have no idea how this might translate to the online world.

Everyone benefits if prospective students understand accreditation and can evaluate the suitability of an online program before they enroll—everyone except those "schools" with something to hide. If someone of Timperi's stature can be duped, anyone can. As for Papows, he clearly knew the difference between a worthwhile degree and a sham, yet distorted the truth. If he cared so much about the source of his degree, he should have been more careful in selecting an institution—as, I would imagine, Timperi wishes he had.



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ADDITIONAL READING

    Lisa Neal
  1. How to get students to show up and learn
  2. Q&A
  3. Blended conferences
  4. Predictions for 2002
  5. Learning from e-learning
  6. Predictions For 2003
  7. Storytelling at a distance
  8. Q&A with Don Norman
  9. Talk to me
  10. Q&A with Diana Laurillard
  11. Do it yourself
  12. Predictions for 2004
  13. Five questions...for Karl M. Kapp
  14. Five questions...for Larry Prusack
  15. Five questions...for Seb Schmoller
  16. Do distance and location matter in e-learning?
  17. Why do our K-12 schools remain technology-free?
  18. Music lessons
  19. Learn to apologize for fun and profit
  20. Of web hits and Britney Spears
  21. Advertising or education?
  22. Five questions…for Matt DuPlessie
  23. Back to the future
  24. Serious games for serious topics
  25. Five (or six) questions...for Irene McAra-McWilliam
  26. Learner on the Orient Express
  27. "Spot Learning"
  28. Q&A with Saul Carliner
  29. When will e-learning reach a tipping point?
  30. Online learning and fun
  31. In search of simplicity
  32. eLearning and fun
  33. Everything in moderation
  34. The basics of e-learning
  35. Is it live or is it Memorex?
  36. The Value of Voice
  37. Predictions for 2006
  38. Five Questions...for Christopher Dede
  39. Five Questions... for John Seely Brown
  40. Five questions...for Shigeru Miyagawi
  41. "Deep" thoughts
  42. 5 questions... for Richard E. Mayer
  43. Designing usable, self-paced e-learning courses
  44. Want better courses?
  45. Just "DO IT"
  46. Five questions...
  47. Formative evaluation
  48. Senior service
  49. Blogging to learn and learning to blog
  50. My life as a Wikipedian
  51. Five questions...for Elliott Masie
  52. The stripper and the bogus online degree
  53. Five questions...for Lynn Johnston
  54. Five questions...for Tom Carey
  55. Not all the world's a stage