A Long-Distance Diploma

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Confused yet? Well, believe it or not, I didn't actually notice that the name of the place I contacted was different from the name of the place that sent me materials (that is, that HERI had apparently metamorphosed into ARRC) until after I had mailed off my evaluation form and supporting materials. It also took me a few weeks to realize that my call to Hawaii had prompted information showing a Louisville, Kentucky, return address. And I was keeping an eye out for inconsistencies! But the red flags didn't stop there.

Within a couple of weeks, I received a letter from ARRC informing me that I was indeed qualified to receive a master's degree based on my "extensive life and work experience." (My largely manufactured past, detailed on less than half of an 8 1/2' x 11" page, included a B.A. in English literature and stints at two college papers). My file, I was told, had been forwarded to a place called Hamilton University in Wyoming. If, on the other hand, I chose to actually earn a degree by taking classes, I was welcome to contact my local state college directly.

Soon thereafter, I received my official invitation to enroll at Hamilton, but I had to act fast—the offer was good for only 30 days! This and several other aspects of my enrollment package struck me as unusual:

• I was, for instance, asked to select my preferred method of communication with Hamilton: e-mail, fax, or regular mail.

Telephone communication was not an option, since, I was informed, "it is the least efficient method of academic communication."

• I was told I could request back dating of my diploma. Specifically, the application packet states: "To request Experience Dating a degree candidate should complete the applicable section ...of the enrollment application and indicate the date (month and year) they feel they were first qualified to receive the degree. Such dating cannot be earlier than January 1976."

• Listed as Hamilton's accreditor was the American Council of Private Colleges and Universities, an organization not recognized by either the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or the Department of Education. (see "The Whats and Whys of Accreditation," page 70)

My curiosity piqued, I e-mailed my unnamed faculty advisor at Hamilton University with a list of questions, including one about its unrecognized accreditor. In response, I was informed that Hamilton has the "highest level of accreditation possible for ANY school that is able to grant degrees based wholly or substantially on life and work experience."

I ran this response by Vicky Phillips, CEO of the Vermont-based educational consulting firm, Lifelong Learning, who set me straight. There are, notes Phillips, at least three regionally accredited undergraduate universities in the U.S. where it is possible to earn a college degree based on prior experience, without taking a single formal course. (For more information on these properly accredited options, students should contact the schools directly: Thomas Edison State College of New Jersey, (609) 984-1150, Regents College of New York, (518) 4648500, and Charter Oak State College of Connecticut, (860) 666-4595.)

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