John Bear
Encyclopedia
John Bjorn Bear is an American
authority on distance education
and a writer of creative reference work
s. Bear holds bachelor and master degrees from University of California, Berkeley
(1959 and 1960, respectively) and a doctorate from Michigan State University
(1966). He is the author of Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, whose 16th edition was published in 2006. He is also co-author of the first two editions (of five total), of the book now called Walston's Guide to Christian Distance Learning. He has been engaged by the FBI in its investigations of diploma mills for some twenty years.
In the past, Bear was involved with several unaccredited
start-up distance learning institutions, including Columbia Pacific University
, Fairfax University
, and Greenwich University
. He describes the nature of these affiliations in Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning and on his website. Bear is widely acknowledged to be a leading authority on distance learning and diploma mills. In 2004, he was interviewed by CBS
's 60 Minutes for an investigation involving Hamilton University
. He has appeared as a degree mill expert on TV shows including Good Morning America
, Inside Edition
and American Journal
.
Bear has written or co-authored 35 books on education, cooking, consumerism, humor, computers, and the world of publishing. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area
with his wife. They have three daughters and five grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
authority on distance education
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
and a writer of creative reference work
Reference work
A reference work is a compendium of information, usually of a specific type, compiled in a book for ease of reference. That is, the information is intended to be quickly found when needed. Reference works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end...
s. Bear holds bachelor and master degrees from University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(1959 and 1960, respectively) and a doctorate from Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
(1966). He is the author of Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, whose 16th edition was published in 2006. He is also co-author of the first two editions (of five total), of the book now called Walston's Guide to Christian Distance Learning. He has been engaged by the FBI in its investigations of diploma mills for some twenty years.
In the past, Bear was involved with several unaccredited
Educational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...
start-up distance learning institutions, including Columbia Pacific University
Columbia Pacific University
Columbia Pacific University was an unaccredited nontraditional distance learning school in California. It was founded in 1978 by Richard Crews, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, and Lester Carr, a former president of Lewis University, and operated with state approval...
, Fairfax University
Fairfax University
Fairfax University was an unaccredited distance-learning institution established in Louisiana in 1986 and discontinued in 2004. Prior to losing its state of Louisiana license in 2001, it held graduation ceremonies in the US. Its president was the British academic Alan M. Jones, PhD. John Bear was...
, and Greenwich University
Greenwich University
Greenwich University is a controversial distance learning institution, originally founded in 1972 in Missouri , trading from 1990 to 2003 in Hawaii--1998 to 2003 under separate ownership--and from 1998 to 2002 in Norfolk Island...
. He describes the nature of these affiliations in Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning and on his website. Bear is widely acknowledged to be a leading authority on distance learning and diploma mills. In 2004, he was interviewed by CBS
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
's 60 Minutes for an investigation involving Hamilton University
Hamilton University
Hamilton University was an unaccredited institution based in Evanston, Wyoming, USA. According to the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, it was first established in Hawaii as American State University...
. He has appeared as a degree mill expert on TV shows including Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
and American Journal
American Journal
American Journal was a syndicated television newsmagazine program that ran from 1993 to 1998. The series was distributed by King World Productions...
.
Bear has written or co-authored 35 books on education, cooking, consumerism, humor, computers, and the world of publishing. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
with his wife. They have three daughters and five grandchildren.
Education related
- Degree Mills: the billion dollar industry that has sold more than a million fake degrees (with Allen Ezell; Prometheus Books, January 2005) ISBN 978-1591022381
- Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (with Mariah Bear and Tom Head; Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1999) ISBN 9780072126051
- Bears' Guide to the Best MBAs by Distance Learning (with Mariah Bear, Ten Speed Press, January 2000), ISBN 9781580082204
- Bears' Guide to the Best Computer Degrees by Distance Learning (with Mariah Bear and Larry McQueary, Ten Speed Press, March 2001), ISBN 9781580082211
- Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning (with Mariah Bear, Thomas NixonThomas NixonThomas Nixon is an author and online writer. His writings include Complete Guide to Online High Schools , Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning , Bears' Guide to Earning High School Diplomas Nontraditionally , and Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning...
, and Tom Head, Ten Speed Press), March 1, 2004, ISBN 978-1580083331 - Bears' Guide to Finding Money for College (with Mariah Bear; Ten Speed Press, November 1997) ISBN 0898159334
- Guide to Nontraditional Higher Education (Grosset & Dunlap)
- Fifteen monographs on the higher education systems of the United States, Germany, Cuba, Mexico, and other countries (NOOSR, the Australian National Office on Overseas Skills Recognition, published by the Australian National Publishing Office, 1990–1994).
Miscellaneous
- Morning Food from Cafe Beaujolais (with Margaret Fox, Ten Speed Press; 1985; completely revised edition, 2006) ISBN 9780898153095
- The Something-Went-Wrong, What-Do-I-Do-Now Cookbook (with Marina Bear; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970), ISBN 978-0151837359
- Signals and Messages (British Publishing Company, London)
- The Blackmail Diet: lose weight or else (Ten Speed Press, January 1, 1982) ASIN: B002HGK4YM
- Not Your Mother's Cookbook (with Marina Bear; SLG Books, 2004) ISBN 978-0943389370
- Send This Jerk the Bedbug Letter: how corporations, politicians, and the media deal with consumer complaints (Ten Speed Press, May 1, 1996) ISBN 978-0898158113
- The #1 New York Times Bestseller (a book about the phenomenon of bestsellers; Ten Speed Press, January 1, 1992), ASIN: B002LNTO8I
- Complaint Letters for Busy People (with Mariah Bear, Career Press, July 1999), ISBN 978-1564144034
- How to Repair Food (with Marina Bear and Tanya Zeryck, Ten Speed Press, revised edition, March 2004) ISBN 978-0898155556
- Computer Wimp: 166 things I wish I knew before I bought my first computer, Ten Speed Press, 1983. ISBN 978-0898151022
- Computer Wimp No More: the intelligent beginner's guide to computers (with David Pozerycki), Ten Speed Press, revised edition 1991. ISBN 9780898154320
- Mailing from Mexico (Wightman Publishing)
- The Unusual Guide to Unusual Shopping in San Francisco (with Jay Conrad Levinson and Pat Levinson, Price/Stern/Sloan, January 1, 1972), ASIN: B002KZOQLM
- The Prince and the Frog and the Princess and the Mole and the Prince and the Frog and (children's book, Tricycle Press, October 1, 1994), ISBN 978-1883672072
- The World's Worst Proverbs (Price/Stern/Sloan, 1976), ISBN 9780843104073
- So You're In Your Twenties (Price/Stern/Sloan)
- So You're in Your Thirties
- So You're in Your Forties
- So You're in Your Fifties
- So You're in Your Sixties
External links
- John Bear's website
- Bear interviewed by the BBC
- Degree Duplicity, Christian Science Monitor article published June 10, 2003
- Diploma Mills: The $200 Million a year Competitor you didn't know you had by Bear