In my work with students over the past decade and a half, I have advised a significant number to explore completetion or advancement of their academic programs through non-traditional or distance programs.
In all that time, I have used Dr. Bear's books as my primary referrence about distance education. I believe I started with the second edition of his "Bear's Guide" and have acquired every update since. For a number of years, his was the only publication which presented a comprehensive collection of information about programs and schools.
I have always received positive feedback form my students who relied on the information Dr. Bear presented - their expereinces with specific schools most often mirrored the reviews in the "Guide".
Throughout the years and the progression of new additions I have noted a marked shift in the method of presentation, particularly regarding the level of Dr. Bear's crusaiding against those institutions that did not measure-up to his standards. The largest number of those outfits would be called degree mills, but he did assail a fair number of "real" schools for being non-responsive, pompus or disorganized.
I must confess I miss that level of "edge" in his last couple of editions. This is unfortuante, I beleive, given the growth of educaitonal coursework via the Internet and the fact that the majority of two and four-year schools in the U.S are offering some form of distance learing (with that number growing every day.
Nonetheless, I still find "Bear's Guide" to be the best single resource for distance and non-traditional post-secondary education.
I feel John Bear's research on real and imagined universities is very thorough, informative and fair.
Dr Bernard Leeman b_leeman@hotmail.com