Cheyenne Herald

[Virtual Bison]

Whats the deal? This paper seems to be really obscessed with tracking down and punishing the holders of unaccredited degrees. Now they want to bring criminal charges against the officers of a now-defunct institution.

Anyone got the dirt on this news source?

[Winston Smith]

Whats the deal? This paper seems to be really obscessed with tracking down and punishing the holders of unaccredited degrees. Now they want to bring criminal charges against the officers of a now-defunct institution.

Anyone got the dirt on this news source?

I assume you are referring to the November 16, 2009 story "WNU principals should face criminal charges" available here.

Difficult to prove criminal intent in such situations, particularly where, as here, you have the school making what looks like a good faith run at regional accreditation.  On the other hand, as we have seen in other cases, if you can stack the deck (e.g., trial judge on the board of trustees of, say, U of Wyoming) then anything goes.

[Virtual Bison]

It is a bit odd that this publication has spent considerable effort in trying to destroy the reputation of this school and when it finally had to close its doors it now wants to have the officers prosecuted for closing. It is incidental that while the University will no longer provide education they still have an active website and continue to provide transcripts and other services to former students.

The Cheyenne Herald even went so far as to meet with members of an instution which would accept degrees and credits from this said school and try to convince them not to accept their credits. Its really hypocritical if you ask me.

As for this prosecution thing, I believe it to be an empty threat.

While I know nothing about the publisher and chief, it appears that this paper is a bimonthly publication and has a limited readership. The editor seems to have gotten considerable attention in the last two or three years due to his relentless bashing of non-traditonal education providers in his own state. He does not have op ed columns in his paper and does not print letters to the editor. He often will discribe letters disputing his own views, usually in very negative terms (e.g. "basement dwellers" etc.)

While its not problematic that anyone exercise their constitutional right to free speech and freedom of the press, as we are doing on this board, I do find that the fact that so many opponents of non-traditional education such as particular editors of Wikipedia and members of another message board frequently quoted here, will often refer to the Cheyenne Herold as if it were an unbiased source.

I am sure that many of us would dissagree with that assertion.

[Yancy Derringer]

I do find that the fact that so many opponents of non-traditional education such as particular editors of Wikipedia and members of another message board frequently quoted here, will often refer to the Cheyenne Herold as if it were an unbiased source.

I am sure that many of us would dissagree with that assertion.

The "Cheyenne Herald" is a joke, the sole work of some basement dweller named Dave Featherly.  In fact, even Wikipedia editors question it as a reliable source.

19. Is the Cheyenne Herald a reliable source?

Also note a discussion on that same page, questioning Levicoff, Bear and the ODA as reliable sources too:

15. School accreditor sources

Clearly this Featherly guy is just another leftist shill for the billionaire cartel.  He's definitely not a "consumer advocate" or he wouldn't be trying to screw over the ex-WNU students.  If he's not trying to protect students then who is he protecting?  Obviously, his purpose is to run independent schools out of town, to the benefit of the wealthy higher ed cartel.  

[Virtual Bison]

Out of curiosity, what will this bozo do with his life now that all unacredited institutions have been forced out of his state. Guess his fifteen minutes of fame are over. Maybe he will have to find a more honest way of making a living. Hard thing to do in today's economy.

[Virtual Bison]

http://www.cheyenneherald.com/_pdf/2010/...ge%203.pdf

Looks like our friend, the Editor/Publisher, chief cook and bottle washer has a new target.

He is talking about someone who posted something at the Online Degree Reviews forum. This guy posted something about how Warren National was better that U of Phoenix and Kaplan. He describes this alternately as the UTE Forum, and the Warren National University Forum but I think he is actually referring to this one.

http://www.onlinedegreereviews.org/colle...y-reviews/

This editor-and-chief was pissed about a statement made that said that the WASC and a seperate article which stated that the NACS had dropped the WNU application.

Anyhow I would really like to know

1 How does he know that this is the same individual posting the same stuff and

2 The Editor-in-chief also says that this person is lying. Can he prove what he said?

Its actually kind of funny how this person can be so childlike in his descriptions of people he does not like. Note the use of such terms as "Basement Dweller". "Living in his parents basement". "Creep" and so on. Makes me think to myself, maybe this editor is living in his own parents basement and is projecting his own shortcommings on others.

One other interesting note: For what is probibly the first time I cold see the editor admits that it did take real work for anyone to earn a WNU or KWU degree. Note:

"By most definitions, WNU was a diploma mill in that it was selling unacredited "degrees." In fairness, I would make a distinction between WNU and those diploma mills that only sell a piece of paper. WNU, and K-WU before it, did provide twxt books, administer tests, just like a real college or university. But it sold a degree with limited or no value.

It hard to determine just what the editor really meant by this. In other words, when he say "by most definitions," just what definitions does he mean? Should we just assume that a college is a diploma mill because the Cheyenne Herald says so?

Well I thought I would put this out there.