tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post8055167434748382530..comments2024-03-22T01:06:23.845-07:00Comments on Confessions of a College Professor: A Business School Sells OutDoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528555392898760692noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-66708015720403650352014-03-31T18:29:40.706-07:002014-03-31T18:29:40.706-07:00I'm leaning towards 3 as the ultimate outcome....I'm leaning towards 3 as the ultimate outcome. Bottom line, alumni just don't have the power to block things indefinitely. Thunderbird will still bleed out, it's value will drop, another bidder will come...and that new bidder will have every bit as much integrity as Laureate. All the alumni are really accomplishing is a delay. Maybe, just maybe, 2 will happen, but as long as Thunderbird has accreditation, it has an asset that is worth selling.<br /><br />Now, if you can nuke Thunderbird's accreditation, then 2) is quite possible. 1) can only happen if you can instill integrity in the administration; good luck with that, I've had no luck along those lines at other institutions...and even if you do, sooner or later you'll get another integrity-free batch, and you're back to square one.Doomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04528555392898760692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-65794451636799536692014-03-31T12:24:18.011-07:002014-03-31T12:24:18.011-07:00I find the accreditation board info VERY interesti...I find the accreditation board info VERY interesting.<br /><br />Concerning poor old, dear Thunderbird: the alumni have launched a surprisingly successful, rear-guard guerrilla action. The Laureate takeover is now at least postponed and perhaps even halted. As you mentioned in your write up, this alumni association is a group that understands how to organize to achieve results.<br /><br />Now it comes down to the question: what have T-Bird alumni really achieved by frustrating the efforts of Laureate. I see the results coming down in only a few ways:<br /><br />1) Laureate is rebuffed and this is T-Bird's near-death experience - the school reaches the banks of the River Styx but turns back in time, reformed and redeemed, to resume its niche place in the world of business schools. (I'm not all that confident in this result, but a guy can wish.)<br /><br />2) Laureate is rebuffed but we gain the time it takes to hold a proper, dignified Viking Funeral as we lovingly load the corpse of Thunderbird into the longboat, set it alight and commit it to depths of failed academia. The Singapore Alumni Association said this at the start; give Thunderbird the hemlock, kill it before it degrades and dissipates and preserve the memory of the school and the value of the degree to its holders. <br /><br />3) Laureate is rebuffed only temporarily and the worst of your predictions comes to pass.<br /><br />Personally, I'm OK with either 1) or 2) with 1) as my distinct preference. Both are more dignified outcomes that setting up Thunderbird to be the glamorous whore in the front window, there only to lure foot traffic into the back door of the brothel.KevPilothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16648052923868675240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-4347518520034631812014-03-27T09:52:17.485-07:002014-03-27T09:52:17.485-07:00Thanks for adding much to the discussion. You real...Thanks for adding much to the discussion. You really underscore an important point: accreditation is the key. Unfortunately, students aren't told how bogus most accreditation is. They just figure "hey, if the government approves loans, it must be good" and that's just not the case, opening up a wide opportunity for scamming.Doomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04528555392898760692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-84310206088721608752014-03-26T22:18:36.233-07:002014-03-26T22:18:36.233-07:00The real question is, "What accreditation doe...The real question is, "What accreditation does the school have?" This post goes to underscore what a joke the ACBSP really is, because U Phoenix is ACBSP accredited. Only about 300 business schools world-wide are AACSB accredited (note the difference in acronyms). The ACBSP was officially recognized by the Dept of Ed during the Bush Sr. Admin. The same happens in many academic disciplines--new accrediting bodies are formed so bureaucrats can have fancy titles and big salaries to rubber-stamp joke schools like U Phoenix.<br /><br />Prospective business students need to recognize that there is only one valuable accrediting body, the AACSB. If you can't get into an AACSB-accredited program, don't waste your money, because many major companies will only hire from AACSB programs. Another valid accreditation, even though it is really a "membership by invitation" is the AAU (Assoc. of American Universities), which consists of 60 member universities which range from Harvard to Stanford to Stoney Brook to Oregon. I understand the arguments that the AAU is elitist and favors private research, thus discriminating against many high-quality Land, Sea, and/or Space Grant universities. Fair enough, but the point is that you won't get a crap education from an AAU university. You also won't get a crap business school education from the AACSB. I am sure that Thunderbird will eventually be dropped by the AACSB, but that process can take several years, so they will be able milk the name for awhile.<br /><br />Accreditation is a good thing, but prospective students (and faculty) need to know the quality of the accrediting body and not be deceived. You don't have to go to a Top 50 or Ivy League school to get a good business education. There are many great AACSB programs offered through institutions like the universities of New Mexico, Ohio State, Washington State, Kentucky, Maine, Utah, etc. In many cases, those programs will cost less than what U Phoenix or Thunderbird will try to screw you out of, too.<br /><br />One last note. There are many regional public universities which don't have the research credentials to ever get into the AAU or AACSB and I've know many really great faculty who've chosen to work at them, people with Stanford PhD's and such. These can be good programs for people in small business or who plan on staying in other undergrad disciplines but need some management skills. Always look at faculty credentials and specific program aspects when choosing these programs, because they can meet your needs. Not all of these schools are bad investments, depending on your individual needs.Northwest MBAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09761430218392289514noreply@blogger.com