Academic credentials versus academic commercialism: scholarship for sale.

Recently a letter appeared in Physical Therapy authored by the American Physical Therapy Association's (APT A's) Committee on Research (1). Th e letter condemned the use of the initials PhC following an individual's name. It seems the initials are being used to designate a candidate for the PhD. The committee correctly observed that it was a misleading practice and urged members to stop using the PhC designation. The concern was raised that colleagues in "other professions and disciplines may seize upon the use of 'PhC ... as an attempt by members of our profession to misrepresent themselves. We can ill afford even the accusation of such an attempt at this time in our professional development" (1, p 574). We concur with the Committee's recommendation regarding the PhC designation. However, we believe a more serious threat to the professional integrity of occupational therapy exists. This threat involves the apparent increase in graduate degrees held by OTRs, particularly the PhD, that are procured from so-called alternative universities. These degrees are euphemistically referred to as "nontraditional" and may be found advertised in the classified columns of Psychology