Don't Get Burned by Diploma Mills
© Roxianne Moore
You're a professional writer, with dozens (maybe hundreds) of publications to your name. You've taken several writing courses online, plus two or three adult education programs at the community college. Now you're thinking you'd like to get a degree, maybe even a graduate degree. But wouldn't it be nice to get credit for the classes you've taken, as well as all the experience you've gained as a professional.
Well, several years ago, I was in the same boat. I had lots of experience, had taken plenty of non-credit courses, and I was ready to go to the next stage. Let me tell you about the journey, in the hopes that it might help you keep from making my mistakes.
Last week I mentioned self-directed degree programs as an alternative to formal writing programs. I have long been a critic of writing programs because too many do not allow a writer to develop as an individual. And too many focus on "literary" writing, as opposed to genre fiction or freelancing. The few courses I took emphasized the idea that a good writer does not worry about getting paid for her work. Literary magazines, the only place to publish this kind of work, often pay in copies only. So much for making a living.
Whatever happened to letting writers choose what they did best? Whatever happened to making a living while doing what you love?
Several years ago, I decided I'd like to have a Master's degree because I enjoyed teaching others to write almost as much as I enjoyed writing. In fact, I had already begun teaching college-level courses at a community college in West Virginia. Because they had such a shortage of instructors, the Dean of Humanities, a man I'd met through a part-time job I had, asked me to teach despite the fact that I had only a Bachelor's (in International Politics, no less).
Unfortunately, after one year as a college instructor, I had to move to upstate New York when my husband was transferred. I'd already begun looking at graduate programs (a condition of my employment), but by the time I'd found one I liked, I had to leave. I started the whole process again, but this time I had the help of an Academic and Career Counselor (paid for by my husband's employer).
With her help, I prepared a portfolio of my work experience, including articles, photographs and course outlines. After several months, I had a huge packet of material, which was supposed to help me get college credit for my work experience. Then my counselor helped me research degree programs that fit my needs (such as scheduling around a full-time job as newspaper reporter). She advised me to look at non-traditional/ distance learning degree programs. I finally selected the same one that had granted her graduate degree, Columbia Pacific University.
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