Support & Appreciation


Look Who Stopped By

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Well piss in my cheerios!

My last post was all happy, joy, joy. I finally after ten years was going back to school. Then I get this comment.

Anonymous said...


Congrats on school!

Be careful with Virginia College though. They told me they were "accredited" and I basically wasted two years and $16,000 with that school. When I "earned my degree" and started the job hunt, I was told by numerous companies that they didn't consider a degree from VC to be anything more than a piece of paper. I tried to enroll in a state university and to my surprise, none, I repeat none of the classes I had taken at VC were transferable. I had to retake EVERY SINGLE CLASS.

Before you waste time and a lot of money, call around (not to VC) but to different companies that require a BS you'd be interested in working for and ask them if a BS degree from VC is accepted by them. And call other major universities in your area and ask them if they'll transfer hours from VC to their university.

I wish I had done more research before I dove in.

Good luck to you.



When I originally decided to go back to school I applied to the University of Mobile. They are a Christian school and other than being a bit pricey I've heard nothing but good things about them. But I just wasn't sure that I would be able to swing the time to actually attend classes and work full time so I opted for online school instead, which led me to Virgina College.

After receiving the comment above I called University of Mobile and asked if I decided to transfer there after a year or so at VC would I be able to transfer any of my credits. Well I'll be damned if I didn't get a big fat NO as the answer.

Apparently there are two types of accreditation when it comes to colleges and universities. There may be more than two, but these two are the ones that are important to my particular situation.

“Accreditation” is a process of external quality review used by higher education to scrutinize colleges, universities and educational programs for quality assurance and quality improvement. In the United States, accreditation is carried out by private, non-profit organizations designed for this specific purpose.

• Regional accrediting organizations operate in six different regions of the country and review entire institutions, 98 percent or more of which are both degree-granting and nonprofit. Regional organizations may also accredit non-degree, for-profit institutions, but this is a rare occurrence.

• National accrediting organizations operate throughout the country and review entire institutions. Of the nationally accredited institutions, 34.8 percent are degree-granting and 65.1 percent are non degree- granting. 20.4 percent are nonprofit and 79.5 percent are for profit. Many are single purpose institutions focused on a specific mission such as education in information technology or business. Some are faith based.



Now apparently most major universities and colleges are Regionally accredited whereas schools like Virginia college have National accreditation. And most regionally accredited schools do not accept transfer credits from nationally accredited schools.

It also seems to be the case that most major universities and colleges receive their accreditation from the
Council for Higher Education Accreditation in Washington, DC, while other schools, again such as VC, receive their accreditation from the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, also located in Washington, DC. But I didn't find that out because there is an address listed anywhere on their website. Nope, I had to do my own sleuthing and trace where the area code to the numbers on their site comes from.

So pissed is a very very mild way of describing my current mental and emotional state. I called VC after talking to University of Mobile and withdrew from all of my classes. They may be 'nationally' accredited but it's just not a chance I'm willing to take that I'll spend four years and sixty-five thousand dollars to obtain a degree that might not be worth the paper it's written on.

I have a feeling that they intentionally do NOT tell you that there are different types of accreditations or that most universities will not accept their credits. On the discussion boards for the three classes I'm currently registered there were several posts from students who stated they were attending VC in order to rise up the ladder, get better jobs, further their education. I can't imagine how upset and angry they'll be to proudly show off their degree on their resume only to have a prospective employer say 'ehh close but no cigar'.

I posted a message on the discussion board of all three classes telling everyone what I'd learned today and expressing my intense disappointment about being misled and having wasted valuable time and energy enrolling in school for classes that I'd end up having to take over when I transferred to another university.

Thankfully there are two classes left open that are starting at the end of October at UofM that I can enroll in so I don't have to wait until January to start school (again!) and after explaining my situation to the admissions office they're going to try and rush the enrollment process so I can get started. But now I'll have to attend a physical class two evenings a week from 6-10 and every Saturday from 8-5 for two months in order to get in under the wire to qualify for financial aid.

I'm not sure why I'll need to take two when their CAPS (center for adult programs) is usually just one night a week and one Saturday a month, but I'm still waiting for someone from UofM's financial aid office to call me so I can figure out what all I need to do to cancel the grant and loans I was awarded for VC and redo the process for UofM. So once I find out and get enrolled and start classes - again! - I'll be sure to fill you all in on what's going on.

I wish Anon had left a name so I could thank him for his warning. He saved me from making a drastic mistake. But he didn't so Anon - if you read this post -

Thank You!

Thank You!

Thank You!

And Virginia College - you can Bite Me!

2 People who coughed on a furball:

Anonymous said...

You're most welcome!

I am glad you are on the right path. I couldn't stand the thought of you attending VC and not telling you what happened to me. Going back to school is a very hard road, especially when you work full-time (and part-time in your case), but you'll get there and it'll all be worth the while.

By the way, you know me. I didn't put my name because I didn't want to offend you or upset you, but you had to know the "secret" truth of VC.

Your friend,
Mint Biscuits

Mollie said...

Ahhh the Andes Mints... such fun memories lol

;)