I must admit that I get a great deal of entertainment value from Rushmore U. I have to admire Dr. Cox's chutzpah. Rushmore has one of the longest and most confusing accreditation statements I've seen. It changes quite often, and seems to get longer each time. I just paid another visit to their site and pulled up their accreditation page. It starts up with: ======================================== Recognition/Accreditation We should be a candidate for accreditation by June 15, 2001. We are confident of attaining accreditation by October 1, 2002. Note that there is no guarantee of our attaining accreditation candidate status or accreditation according to the above timetable. We are however confident that we will meet this timetable based on our study of the accreditation standards of the organization we are seeking accreditation from. This organization we are seeking accreditation from would allows us the flexibility in hiring faculty, evaluation procedures and admission standards that we require to serve our students. We are not allowed to disclose the name of this organization until we have been approved as an accreditation candidate. If you decide to begin the program after April 1, 2001 and before we receive accreditation candidate status you will have 30 days after we notify you whether we received accreditation candidate status or not and from whom we received this status, to ask for and receive a 100% refund of all tuition you have paid. ======================================= What I really like is the punchline to the entire page at http://www.rushmore.edu/recognition.htm. It's like the joke with the farmer and the consultant. The page ends with: "Do you have to have an MBA, Master's, or Doctoral degree to succeed in the business world? We say no! What you do need are practical and relevant business skills and knowledge. After all Bill Gates, Ted Waite, Michael Dell and thousands of other very successful business people do not have an MBA or DBA degree. What they do have are practical and relevant skills and knowledge like those you will gain from the customized flexible learning experience that the Rushmore program offers." In other words, you don't need an MBA to be successful, but our MBA will make you successful. Is that marketing genius or what? ------------------ ========================================== Humans are the only animals that protect their stupid from the forces of evolution. <A HREF="http://www.blahetka.com ===================================" TARGET=_blank>http://www.blahetka.com ===================================</A>
Thanks for this fascinating report, Russ. Who can it be? And where did the accreditation visits take place, do you suppose? At the convenience address in South Dakota? Or the proprietor's home in Georgia or perhaps North Carolina? And what about the new South Dakota law. Will the state decide that Rushmore is on an approved accreditation path and allow them to remain, or are they headed for Montana, Wyoming, or the Caribbean? I believe Dr. Cox, founder of Rushmore, reads this forum. Perhaps he will enlighten us. John Bear
