Job Discussion Forums

Janice50 · Joined: 20 Sep 2004 Posts: 5

Online BA's for prior learning experience. I would like to hear from people who have purchased these and are currently using them abroad. Does it really work? It would make getting a good job and a working Visa much easier! Please let me know your thoughts and experiences. Thanks!

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Oh boy! Let the flames begin... Confused

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Buying a BA online. Nonsense. Yes, you can have a job because you bought a BA? I don't know about other countries. But here in Turkey you wouldn't get the work visa. Degrees have to be at least 3 years.

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

Your fake degree will go a long way towards getting you a fake job.

Why you should bother paying for it is beyond me. We have these things now called computers and printers, and graphics programs.

Janice50 · Joined: 20 Sep 2004 Posts: 5

From what I understand it is not a fake degree, but an accredited degree based on prior education, work experience and life experience. You can't just "buy" it........you have to prove your worthy of it. They claim it is legal and verifiable. I would like to hear from someone who did this and if it was accepted in Asia. I'm not sold yet.........just doing some research!

leeroy · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 777 Location: London UK

This is from word-of-mouth experience: take it with a grain of salt...

You can buy degrees from websites (and, oddly, from ads in the back pages of the Economist) which are bona fide in as much as they actually come from a university. Some of them make a token gesture of checking that you have some "life experience", to give their degrees a little integrity. These carry a smidgin more weight than something you printed off yourself, or bought on Kao San Road.

But these universities are not accredited in any way. In fact, they barely resemble "real" universities at all, it's not like they actually teach classes or anything... Employers that simply want their teachers to have degrees to fulfill visa requirements shouldn't care (though the government that issues the visa might! I don't know about the attitudes of each individual government about this...). Schools that state you must have a degree for the job (as opposed to the visa) would undoubtedly be unimpressed with an online "life experience" degree, or something of that ilk.

It's been a while since the last "degree/no degree" slanging match hasn't it? Wink

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

2 over lee · Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 10:40 pm Post subject: how much

I have a BA already, but I�d be interested to know how much you are considering spending? What is the name of the Uni, what is the major of such a degree, �Life Studies�?

Aramas · Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 11:36 pm Post subject:

'Women's Studies' perhaps? I've studied women all my life, so surely I'm entitled to a degree Smile

mjed9 · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 242

www.instantdegrees.com

A BA for a measly US$110 and why not go the whole hog and make yourself a Doctor for just US$160

Ludwig · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 1:40 am Post subject:

Such a 'degree' would cause some not inconsiderable amusement at Hong Kong Immigration.

Do not get a 'life degree', simply get a life. What I mean by that is that this is very much like the question of the worth of 'on-line TEFL certificates': Those who require you to hold (at least) a degree do not accept 'life degrees', and those that do indeed accept such a 'qualification' do not require a degree anyway!

lagerlout2006 · Joined: 17 Sep 2003 Posts: 985

See if they have integrity for sale also.

merlin · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 7:41 am Post subject:

Rather than passing moral judgements on another or flaming I'll try to post something informative:

I investigated this in depth some time ago. I actually went through about a dozen information packets sent to me from various "accredited institutions".

But in the end I didn't spend my money on them and I'm working for a legit MA with USQonline.
1st issue
When these "Universities" say "accredited", they usually fail to say that the accrediting agency isn't recognized byall but one or two governements. (although some packets were at least honest about this.)

Universities that give credit for life experiences are never equal to degrees offered through regionally accredited universities and universities that offer traditional degrees will not offer degrees for life experiences.
2nd issue
Is such a degree usefull? Again, I'll save my moral judgment for sunday sermons and my flames for ... hehe.

Logically - what's the point of getting a degree? To get a better job and/or a higher salary. Such a degree will do neither unless you're currently cleaning the back rooms of an XXX video store.

job - The only job you can get with degrees like this are from schools that don't really care about qualifications and just want a white face. Moreover it has to be in a country where the state officials don't give a hoot about keeping an eye on employers. Do you really want to work in a country where the government will let your employer break whatever employment law willy-nilly? Would you expect to get satisfaction from such a government when you're overworked and cheated by your employer?

money - Employers offering higher wages will check qualifications to make sure they are getting their money's worth. No one's going to pay a teacher $3,000 per month for 20 teaching hours a week and not spend $40 to check out references. The employers that don't check references are the ones least likely to pay a higher salary.

So, logically and rationally, with no morality involved, it's just not a good idea to get a degree as you described.

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

Janice50 · Joined: 20 Sep 2004 Posts: 5

Thanks everyone for all the info. I got the answers that I needed and I will NOT be buying a degree online. As the old saying goes: If it's too good to be true then it isn't true.