AboutTandi Hartle Expertise I can answer questions about the staff, quality of education, studying and testing requirements, and accreditation of the school. I can also provide you with information about what you can do with the degree you earn through the college.
Experience I recieved a Bachelor of Natural Health through Clayton College of Natural Health.
Organizations NCH- National Center for Homeopathy
Coalition for Natural Health
Expert: Tandi Hartle Date: 6/3/2008 Subject: clayton vs westbrook
Question QUESTION: i am a practicing chiropractor with a accredited BS in nutrition i am wanting to extend my knowledge in nutrition which school do you think offers the better phd program in nutrition clayton or westbrook as of now neither school has goverment accreditation and i think westbrook was recently denied this accreditation and would it be legal to use this phd after my DC title with out any hassle from any health organizations ? i practice in kansas. both programs seem to have good courses and which school would have better student support and just overall stability as far as the school is concerned. thanks in advance
ANSWER: This is a tough question. Both schools do offer a solid foundation in nutrition. Accreditation for distance learning schools is extremely difficult, from what I've heard about it they make it nearly impossible for these schools because they offer courses that don't conform to conventional education.Therefore, they really don't want to accredit the schools but that's just my opinion.
I know Clayton has really good student support but I don't have any experience as a student of Westbrook so I can't really give you information from personal experience on their student support.
I think Westbrook has more thorough programs from my perspective but either school would give you a good education.
As far as legality of the degree, neither school is by any stretch of the imagination a degree mill which would be considered illegal. I know there has been some negative press about legitimate distance learning schools and from what I've heard there is a list of schools that some states will not recognize degrees from, I am unaware as to whether Kansas has participated in this type of legislation.
You will probably have to check with your state department of professional licensing to find out about the laws pertaining to degrees.
As for selecting a school, I really think in this case it depends on the school that fits your personal goals and interests as well as financial situation because there is a LARGE difference in tuition costs between the two schools.
As far as respect from certain organizations, it really depends on the individuals in the organization itself. Some are very open to alternative methods of learning, while other individuals are very closed minded and critical of anything outside the ordinary so it would be difficult for me to comment on whether or not an organization would take issue with a degree from either school.
I wish you much success in your education.
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QUESTION: thanks for the reply - with the tution about twice that of clayton is westbrook seen as more valid in the "holistic crowd " and do you think that westbrook is worth the extra 8-grand for the "similar" type of material to be studied- thanks in advance for your reply
Answer As far as I have seen Westbrook does not have as strong of criticism from associations outside of the alternative medicine arena, but there still are those who do hold negative opinions of Westbrook as well.
In some of the other degree programs I believe Westbrook offers a much more in depth education than Clayton. But the M.S. degrees in holistic nutrition are very similar so I don't know that I could justify the extra $8,000 for the degree from Westbrook.
