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Ashford's business degrees are not accredited by [URL="http://www.aacsb.edu"]AACSB[/URL]. That is the only accreditation that matters (North Central not enough).
Actually, The Higher Learning Commission, a commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools is the organization that accredited the Ashford University that you are referring to (located in Clinton, Iowa). This particular accreditation is actually very relevent as it is one of only six regionally accrediting bodies in the entire country. In fact, the same accrediting agency that accredited the Ashford University in Iowa, also accredited the very prestigious Cornell University (also in Iowa), I would certainly venture to say that this accreditation "matters" on a grand scale. Please refer to this link for significantly more accurate information.
The problem is that the "Ashford University" that this particular poster is referring to is actually a degree mill that is located in the UK, occasionally they claim that London is their location. This bogus organization should not be confused with the Ashford University here in the States, because the only thing they have in common is their name.
In summary, the North Cental Association of Colleges and Schools is the ideal accreditation for any institution located in the following states: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming. This is exactly what it means to be regionally accredited if your institution is located in this regional area.
On the other hand, there is truly no such thing as a BA or BS that is based exclusively on "life experience". Achieving an undergraduate degree requires a significant level of competency in mathematics, reading and writing, and science, in addition to a (roughly) 2-year core curriculum. You can "test out" through CLEP or DSST exams, or you can take the classes; there is no magic door number 3. The Ashford University (UK or London) that is being discussed in this forum is a degree mill and it is a crime in many states to use this degree as a credential. The Ashford University in Iowa does offer an online curriculum, but at the end of the day, you will have to actually earn 120 credits to graduate with an undergraduate degree from them.
I guarantee you if you are Bill Gates, or as successful as him, you do not need an Online "life experience" degree to get you a new job. You simply apply for a job, show them your extensive successful portfolio in your field - and you get the job.
What a Life experience degree does is that it gives hope to the person who is 30+ or 40+ who has never gotten their degree who has been working in an entry level capacity for some time in a field that they can magically be accreditted at a higher level and get a better job.
Most legitimate companies are now doing extensive background checks into where your degree came from because too often in the past they have given jobs to people with these bogus degrees - only to find out the people didn't really have the depth of knowledge they should have if the degree was legitimate.
For example - lets say you've worked at Target for 15 years, you're a department manager. You've handled the stores computer system (IT credits), you've done inventory (Operations management credits), you've dealt extensively with other employees (HR credits), you have managed departmental tasks and goals (Project Management credits) and in your spare time you teach little league at the local school (community liason credits). Does that mean you have as much theoretical knowledge as someone who has a legitimate MBA??? No. It doesn't. If you got a bogus MBA based on your life experience and another company hired you and asked you to do an economic assessment of their market share and make a detailed 5 year forecast - would you be able to?
Maybe - if your exceptionally talented and had studied in your spare time (so why didn't you just go to college!!) you would, but most likely the person in question would have no idea how to do that.
There is a lot of value gained in real world experience. There is a whole other amount of value gained in theoretical concepts from college. They work together. To ignore one and then try to market yourself as having that knowledge is fraud.
Here's a scenario. Let's say someone started their own business 15 years ago and became very successful and made let's say, $300k per year. This person was the sole employee and did everything from answering the phone to building maintenance repairs to accounting and bookkeeping to marketing and much, much more. There is no doubt they are a success. Now, what if that person decided to work full time for a company offering $500k for the same job that he/she was doing every day in their own business, but would not even talk to him/her because he/she did not have a BS or MBA? Would a life experience degree help in this situation.
There is a lot of value gained in real world experience. There is a whole other amount of value gained in theoretical concepts from college. They work together. To ignore one and then try to market yourself as having that knowledge is fraud.
This is why reputable programs do not hand people degrees based solely on life experience. However, many skills needed in today's jobs are equivalent to undergraduate level classroom theory. Not to mention, an undergraduate degree involves a lot of "core" subjects as well; such as English/writing, foreign language, mathematics, etc. Now there are high school kids who "test out" of these requirements mainly by taking the proper subjects in high school (and doing well in them of course). Surely the same can be accomplished by an adult whose been working and using these very same skills for some time.
Most of the "life experience degrees" that are marketed are basically a way for you to pay $1500 to get a piece of paper that says you have the same education as someone who went to school for 2 or 4 years (graduate or undergraduate) and paid $15K for.
Yes, if you have started your own company and were very successful etc... you probably don't need the "life" degree, because your major resume factor is your current business. You cheapen your real strength (your experience) when you put this degree from "fraud-r-us" as your major factor.
I have a degree in one field, all of my experience is in another, related - but totally different - field. I put my experience first, my degree second. I don't feel that I need to take my "life experience" working in this field and try to get a bogus degree.
A lot of these degrees are marketed as "Are you a stay at home mom, do you write out grocery lists, do the family budget, and keep your kids on schedule? Find out how you can turn your experience into a degree in project planning!" Because clearly, you know how to write, schedule, and live within your means.
Again, most college courses go deeper than that. That's why PRACTICAL experience (what you learn from life) and THEORETICAL experience (what you learn in college on paper) complement one another. To claim that your practical experience is the same as theoretical does a disservice to both.
This is why you have some people who are educated, but posess no common sense. Its also why you have a lot of entrepreneurs who are very successful, but have no degree.
but it is disingenuous to claim that just because you can type a memo you've had a year of techincal writing.
If you want to take Advanced Placement testing, and prove you've got the skills - do that, and then go to a "real" university with an online program who will accept your advanced placement scores.
But remember the "timmy the turtle" (If you can draw Timmy, you can be an artist) ads?? If it sounds like a scam, it is a scam. And employers know this and are investigating much more thoroughly than they used to. Its why a routine background check now can take up to 60 days to clear someone for hire.
My husband recently received information regarding an online life experience degree from Ashford University. Has anyone heard of this? Is it a real Bachelor's degree or a hoax? The deal is that based on his work experience, he could earn a degree in his field. The website says it is a legitimate degree. The cost is around $600. Just curious, does anyone have one of these degrees?
Sounds like a diploma mill. I ws approached be a school like this. For $500, I could receive a Masters degree after they reviewed my resume. They gave me the list of classes that were waived because of my experience. The only thing left for me to do was to fill in the grades that I wanted for those classes. Incredible. I declined.
Check out this website. If this school isn't here, it's not accredited or recognized and is most certainly a diploma mill, granted worthless degrees.
Ashford's business degrees are not accredited by [URL="http://www.aacsb.edu"]AACSB[/URL]. That is the only accreditation that matters (North Central not enough).
Actually, the North Central Association is a regional accrediting body under the Higher Learning Commission, which is a higher level of accreditation than AACSB. In looking for a program, always make sure that they are regionally-accredited. This is the type of accreditation that Harvard, Stanford, Yale, UCLA, the University of Michigan, Princeton, etc. and most state schools have. NEVER go to a program that is not regionally-accredited. If you receive a degree from a school that is not regionally-accredited, most graduate schools will not accept your degree. Many employers might not accept your degree. To check up on the accreditation of any school, go to [url=http://www.collegesource.org/]CollegeSource Online : The World's College Catalog Resource[/url]
Understanding these "diploma mills" offer a service oh so tempting to the masses, how sad is it that someone came up with an idea of giving an individual a college education solely based on his/her years of training. In theory this is a good idea, if they where just awarding credits close enough to achieve an associate's degree in that particular field of training. Now we have "Career Colleges that offer training and no "core " classes as mentioned. The schools get straight to the point of the subject matter they intend to teach. There is no history, science, english, or math for that matter. Yet we ponder on about these "diploma mills". There are colleges that do assessments and even competency based training. I will say there can be a lot said for life experience in the since that must folks will spend their live forgetting more than some will ever know. We can sit all day fighting this strange fight over how folks are obtaining their education, but reality says there is a better way. Why didn't some one take the idea that all these "diploma mills" did not? Making the applicants show proof of training and education, is not against the law and shows honesty. When you can't contact an employer or verify the truth, things get complicated. Remember there are a lot of subject matter folks who can baffle with B*** S***, but with no documentation and proof their whole agenda goes down the tubes!!
Last edited by courtellis; 12-12-2008 at 11:19 PM..
Here's a scenario. Let's say someone started their own business 15 years ago and became very successful and made let's say, $300k per year. This person was the sole employee and did everything from answering the phone to building maintenance repairs to accounting and bookkeeping to marketing and much, much more. There is no doubt they are a success. Now, what if that person decided to work full time for a company offering $500k for the same job that he/she was doing every day in their own business, but would not even talk to him/her because he/she did not have a BS or MBA? Would a life experience degree help in this situation.
Now this question has good validity, and a school like this Western Governor's University may be a good choice for the aforementioned. That would be an insurmountable knowledge base, and to tell someone like that they have to start all over again would be fool hearty, showing the lack of experience on the assessors' behalf. I would have to yes. I think this would be where some of these folks could benefit from a life experience degree. Not to fear someone will call me a kook or worse for saying that, showing their true jealousy.
My father was a supervisor. He used to talk about people who had done the same job for the last 20 years and hadn't learned anything in the last 18. That is one reason why college credit for "life experience" is not valid.
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Accreditation
