LIZ:
Lots if ignorance here. However, I do not thing that the combined experience of those that have posted comes close to mine.
As you and I have discussed, a basic degree in you field will not get you a job in most places. However, anyone in that field will tell you that you need advanced degrees to be able to practice that profession.
Now people here, and I know a few of them personally, and even like one or two of them, do not have the academic experience to be commenting with papal-like decrees.
True a degree from the UASD is not all that much in terms of its value outside the country. BUT, it will get you into a graduate degree program in most places and you can then sink or swim as your intellectual capacity will provide.
A degree from PUCMM, UNIBE or INTEC (and perhaps UNPHU) will open doors here, because, generally speaking the graduates are pretty fair at what they do. Again, they also qualify candidates for advanced degrees. I can cite dozens of cases where graduates of these schools have shined like stars in graduate programs, including PhD level degrees.
The nay-sayers are right in that there are a lot of really shi**y college graduates out there, but the same can be said for most places. For me, the first degree is like a bicycle with training wheels. The training wheels come off at the graduate level.
Life here is a whole other matter, and if you have a supportive family, I can see no issues for you here.
Take heart,
HB