There are basically three kinds of law schools in California.

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calba...=10115&id=5128

First, there are the ones that are accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). The ABA is recognized as an accreditor by the Dept of Education/CHEA. More importantly, ABA accreditation is recognized by (and often required by) bar admissions people nationwide. All of California's more prestigious law schools are ABA.

Second, there are a set of California law schools that aren't accredited by the ABA but are accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the California State Bar. Several of these also have regional accreditation, which doesn't mean a whole lot for bar admission but might satisfy some states' degree-use laws.

The California Bar Examiners treat these Calbar schools as accredited, but other states' bars don't. Since the California Bar Association isn't a Dept. of Education/CHEA recognized accreditor, telling other people that you have a Calbar accredited degree might conceivably be a criminal act in a few states if there isn't some other recognized accreditation. (It's hard to imagine anyone actually being prosecuted for it though, unless they were illegally practicing law or something.)

Here in California, these Calbar accredited schools are typically perceived as being lesser law schools and their graduates' poorer performance on the bar exam tends to bear it out. It's pretty much accepted that Calbar is less demanding than the ABA, which is why weaker or less-well-funded lawschools oftentimes opt for it.

Finally, I need to point out that neither the ABA or the California Bar Association are currently willing to accredit DL law programs. All ABA and Calbar accredited lawschools are B&M classroom-based.

And third, there are the fully unaccredited California lawschools. That's unaccredited in the legal-profession sense, since a couple of these schools (Concord and Taft) do have DETC accreditation. DETC presumably satisfies degree-use laws in Oregon or wherever, even if they wouldn't get their holders admitted to the bar. So somebody could say that they have a non-bar JD without having Oregon SWAT breaking down their door, wrestling them to the floor and cuffing them. Most of the nonaccredited California lawschools don't have any accreditation though.

The California Bar Examiners treat all of the California DL lawschools as unaccredited, whether or not they are DETC, since they are neither ABA or Calbar accredited. That means that their students have to satisfy additional requirements such as the first year law student's baby-bar exam.

It's true that the California Bar Association does have the authority to regulate these unaccredited schools, but it's pretty minimal. There have been California "lawschools" that essentially consisted of a single attorney teaching most everything for example. The unaccredited schools have reputations here in California ranging from interesting and reasonably legitimate (if proletarian) such as (DETC-accredited and fairly big-budget) Concord, down to a constantly changing array of small obscure low-end things that border on being mills.

A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. The purchaser can then claim to hold an academic degree, and the organization is motivated by making a profit. These degrees are often awarded based on vaguely construed life experience. Some such organizations claim accreditation by non-recognized/unapproved accrediting bodies set up for the purposes of providing a veneer of authenticity.

Degrees and diplomas issued by diploma mills have been used to obtain employment, raises, or clients. Even if issuing or receiving a diploma mill qualification is legal, passing it off as an accredited one for personal gain is a crime in many jurisdictions. In some cases the diploma mill may itself be guilty of an offense, if it knew or ought to have known that the qualifications it issues are used for fraudulent purposes. Diploma mills could also be guilty of fraud if they mislead customers into believing that the qualifications they issue are accredited or recognized, or make false claims that they will lead to career advancement, and accept money on the basis of these claims.

Some unaccredited institutions include disclaimers in respect of accreditation in the small print of their contracts.

Fake degrees are risky for buyers and consumers, says John Bear, a distance learning and diploma mills expert. "It is like putting a time bomb in your résumé. It could go off at any time, with dire consequences. The people who sell fake degrees will probably never suffer at all, but the people who buy them often suffer mightily. And -- particularly if their "degree" is health-related -- their clients may be seriously harmed."

The United States does not have a federal law that would unambiguously prohibit diploma mills, and the term "university" is not legally protected. As a result, the United States is a diploma mill haven from a global viewpoint. The United States Department of Education lacks direct plenary authority to regulate schools and, consequently, the quality of an institution's degree. Under the terms of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, the U.S. Secretary of Education is required by law to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the Secretary determines to be reliable authorities on the quality of education or training provided by the institutions of higher education that they accredit. Some degree mills have taken advantage of the U.S. Constitution's protection of religion by representing themselves as Bible colleges, since in many jurisdictions religious institutions can legally offer degrees in religious subjects without government regulation.[31].

Although the DipScam operation in the 1980s led to a decline in diploma mill activity across the United States, the lack of further action by law enforcement, uneven state laws, and the rise of the Internet have combined to reverse many of the gains made in previous years. In 2005, the US Department of Education launched www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation to combat the spread of fraudulent degrees.[32] A number of states have passed bills resticting the ability of organisations to award degrees without accreditation.[33] [34] [35]

One can become a 'preacher' by simply buying a license/certificate for 9.95 from a place in Calif.. That allows the person to do weddings, funerals, baptisims as well as hold 'church'services. There are a few of those in this county.

I am working on that! I understand that Marty Saffer is a Reverend! Is Leslie McCarty? Who else do you know?

Did you know that Norman Alderman is a Colonel? And an Admiral? That's right! You can refer tome as Colonel Tater or Admiral Tater. I will respond to both!

I am an honorary Kentucky Colonel and an Admiral in the Cherry River Navy!

Many great universities taught and graded,kept records,etc before the word or concept of accreditation evolved: Most required the sitting for examinations,not many required classroom or lecture attendence.
Distance learning,a marvelous idea,if not very well named , is based on the taking of examinations and recording the grades but not any teaching at all: Those taking the exams do their learning, gain their knowledge at a traditional college, reading on their own time, using internet, use of a tutor etc. Distance learning schools may offer a syllabus and or a reading list about each course but using them is not a requirement.The general concept is that it is not important how or where or how knowledge is acquired: the working theory is" prove what you know by passing our exams." It appeals to those who cannot quit work to attend a traditional college.Some credits may be gained by CLEP or GRE, which is also true of traditional classroom education.The exams are of midrange difficulty,are timed, supervised,test takers are fingerprinted, and most are quite expensive. A well known one was formerly called USNY ,then Regents,and now EXcelsior,located in Albany,NY. It,s nursing course has been accredited for many years and is auspicated by the National league of Nursing who accredits schools of nursing.
I have read that citizens in many states can take the final exams at some state universities for credit without being registered as a student. Also, a complaint against many is the fact that graduate students, not professors,do the teaching and give the lectures. Virtual universities or distance learning attracts serious knowledge seekers and are a diploma mill no more than are the traditional Universities.

I was once offered a Phd degree. All I had to do was run off a copy on a good photocopy machine and fill my name in. But I chose not to do that!

Older folks will remember that we had a "doctor" in our county by the name of Menendez who was practicing at Denmar until he was sent to the pen. He had some very good books and some people thought he was a pretty good doctor.

I certainly don't want a doctor who got his degree from a catalog.

Getting a degree from a catalog is not at all like getting one from a well known virtual or regent university. Also, many many physicians among us and elsewhere were educated in foreign universities. Still, they generally are proficient and seem qualified.They prove their education and ability although they did not attend our institutions of higher learning.

Did you know that Walt Helmick has a "regents" degree?

No, but more power to him.He is a senator , and businessman of acumen.It would be interesting to compare his knowledge with that of a traditionally educated person. WVU also gives Regents Degrees. Nurses from the acclaimed Regents program now Excelsior College make higher grades on State Boards and a higher percentage pass them than candidates from the traditional schools. This may have something to do with the fact that they have taken many ,many exams and thus have little test anxiety.All State Board Exams are also given by computer as are most of the Excelsior nursing exams. .The obnoxious "My diploma is better than yours", so prevalent in nursing for many years ,is disappearing now that Regents and Virtual programs have made their mark.By the way,could you still pass a GED?The present modality of a professor lecturing to a bored classroom of students may become a relic sooner than we think.