Although ALL degree mills are unaccredited, it can be said equally that NOT ALL unaccredited schools are mills. Of the Following, which of these Unaccredited (State Licensed - Non-Mill) schools would you consider?

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ShotoJuku +
Senior Moderator

I choose Uni of Northern Washington.. but its not in the list

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ShotoJuku +
Senior Moderator

I like the name California Pacific University so I chose that.

Hi -

I voted for California Miramar. It's the former Pacific Western, re-branded and now a candidate for DETC accreditation.

I also like California Southern. It's the re-branded SCUPS (Southern California University for Professional Studies.) No mill, it's been around since the 70s and its Law School grads can write the California bar exams. Also, though it lacked accreditation, its Psy. D. degree was academically sufficient to qualify for professional practice in California (and the only SCUPS degree specifically NOT on the Oregon List.)

SCUPS took a run at DETC accreditation at one time. I'm not sure of the reasons it never came to pass, but it was made clear that academic quality was definitely not the issue.

SCUPS was in ways a 'feeder school' for grad programs at RA NorthCentral (the one in Arizona). An unaccredited Bachelor's at SCUPS would qualify a student to enter a Master's program at the fully accredited NorthCentral. I believe the two schools were under same/similar ownership structure.

I would not be surprised to see California Southern take a successful run at accreditation. Heck, I think these are two decent schools, either way.

Johann

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ShotoJuku +
Senior Moderator

Hi ShotoJuku!

All I really know about California Pacific is from their website and occasional comments in the forum. They've apparently operated successfully with State approval for 30 years - and their site is a thoroughly professional job!

They stick to the business and health-care administration fields and charge very reasonable tuition. From their site, it looks like they know their stuff.

If I were looking for a business program and an unaccredited degree would suffice (as it rarely does for business) I'd definitely look at them. However, a fully accredited degree can be earned from Excelsior (as you well know) for this kind of money... so what's the point, except it's 'WAY more conveniently packaged at California Pacific?

No matter how well they teach at CalPac- and I'm sure they do it well - I doubt if a bachelor's from them would get someone into an accredited grad school without a ton of kicking and screaming - although stranger things have happened. At least with California Southern, there's one place that would take you guaranteed (NorthCentral). With California Miramar, if they get the DETC accreditation they've applied for, there would be a number of places to go for graduate work - AJU and Columbia Southern to start with.

It all depends on what you need...

Johann

I guess I don't understand the why you would want to go to an unaccredited school, when there are so many accredited options, especially for a business or a psychology option.

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PsyD WannaBe, M.S., LPC, LADC, CADC II

I imagine price would be a significant factor. My thought was $4,000 would get me the same post-nominal letters as $30,000, I wasn't going to ever teach, and the school was applying for accreditation (subsequently received) just after I enrolled.

Isn't California Southern the only school on the list that will get you licensed as a psychologist, at least in California?

Hi -

Yes indeed, Dennis! You are correct - California Southern - prev. known as SCUPS - is the ONLY school on the list offering a degree that fills California Licensure academic requirements for Psychology. As I mentioned, that is the only SCUPS degree specifically exempted from the "Oregon List."

I'd have thought the JD would be off the list too, as SCUPS /Cal Southern grads can write the California Bar exam... But then again, I'm not sure that a SCUPS JD would qualify someone to write the Oregon exam. I'm told that in many states, the ABA has an agreement specifically prohibiting admission to the State Bar on the strength of ANY distance law degree whatsoever.

There MAY be other yet-to-be-accredited schools (I'm unsure) that offer degrees acceptable for California Licensure as a psychologist, but - as you pointed out - definitely none on the list we're dealing with.

Johann