United States Open University

The latest information I can gather about USOU is that they clami accreditation by DETC, DETC does not list them on their web page. In addition they indicate "Candidacy for Accreditation" with The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. They offer a MBA for those of us who don't posess a BA. First you must get a Certificate in Management (16 Credits - One Year), second you must get an Advanced Certificate in Management (16 Credits - One Year), then you enter the MBA program (8 credits required and 24 elective - 2 Years). Does anyone here have anything good or bad to say about their accreditation and the acceptance of their degree in the work force?

 

In a phone call with DETC, officials there confirmed USOU's accredited status; DETC's website has not yet been updated to reflect it.

USOU is a candidate for accreditation with the Middle States association. While not a guarantee of eventual accreditation, it is a strong sign that the school will make it. There has not been a distance learning school in the past 15 years that has failed to advance from candidate to accredited status.

No one knows about the usefulness and acceptability of an MBA from USOU. In many, but certainly not all, situations, candidacy status is comparable to accredited status. Plus, they're accredited by the DETC, which is a USDOE-recognized accreditor.

I'm curious as to when they will change their name. Nontraditional schools with nontraditional names tend to change them, especially right after accreditation. A few examples:

The Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities--The Union Insititute

Connecticut State Board for Academic Awards--Charter Oak College

Campus-Free College--Beacon College

Vermont Institute for Community Involvement--Burlington College

The Graduate School of America--Capella University

Humanistic Psychology Institute--Saybrook Graduate School

And so it goes. Just as we decry the re-naming of Sarasota to Argosy (a regression in the above-described trend) because of the albatross of a moniker it imposes on graduates, so, too, might we wonder about "USOU."

Rich Douglas

 

For the reasons you described, I did not enroll at the University of Sarasota.

I had already been evaluated and accepted into their masters program. I had already paid my 50 dollar evaluation fee. But when she told me they were changing their name to the University of Argosy, I withdrew my application.

IMO, when a school keeps changing their name, it is a sign that they are seeking to keep from going under. The University of Sarasota already changed its name once before. They should just remain the same and go by their previous reputation.

I was disgusted (no offense intended).

 

I would like to thank you and the others who responded to my question. I appreciate the information and will put it to good use. I am still puzzles as to how they can grant you and MBA without a BA and I wonder if I would employ someone with a degree from an institutation with a name like: United States Open University??? Maby that is one of lifes little secrets we will never be able to explan. Yes, I devinately agree they need a name change. Once again, thanks:
-=Gary McBroom - Houston, TX=-

 

Me Again suggests IMO, when a school keeps changing their name, it is a sign that they are seeking to keep from going under.

Sometimes. But then we have, among many others, Kings College and Queens College and the College of New Jersey and Glassboro State becoming Columbia, Rutgers, Princeton, and Rowan, all of which are probably stable.

 

I've got no particular axe to grind over the name "Argosy"; I'm completely ambivalent. It just isn't THAT stupid a name and I couldn't see why someone would go as far as withdrawing from the school. But, it is all a matter of taste ...

Ah, but to suggest the University of Tasmania could stand a name change! Now them are fight'n words!


------------------
Peter Tucker
Australia

 

Not to mention that "Argosy" has already been used by a not-so-nice men's magazine.

 

Couldn't resist weighing in on this discussion... I am amongst the crowd who dropped the U of Sarasota from consideration... although my reasons were due to lack of responsiveness to a request for information (translated to incompetence or lack of caring, neither of which impress me)...

I too would have been very unhappy if I had invested my all too precious and scarce resources ($) into Sarasota after which they elect to change their name... IMHO it boils down to "IDENTITY"...

When you graduate from an institution of higher learning you forever represent that institution... I for one heavily discriminate when it comes to selecting an institution from which to invest in... I deliberately avoided schools because of thier name, lack of reputation and/or lack of vision for the future (in support of my academic discipline of choice)...

It's too bad that so many RA DL institutions have had a vision problem with regard to names... Argosy and Capella (to name only two of many) do not impress me with their names... perhaps in 20 years they many have a strong reputation that will overshadow their unusual names...

Interesting to note that many "less-than-wonderful" schools have had a better vision of success when naming their institutions... there's probably a theory to be applied here but it's too early in the morning to suck me into standing on my soapbox and theorizing... :}

Bruce in Colorado Springs

 

There's probably a Master's thesis in this: school names and their acceptance (or lack of it) over time. I wonder if there were ever concerns about naming a school (for instance) after a place where cattle cross the stream (Ox-ford), or where a bridge was built over the river Cam? When they opened a college in the town of Princeton, did they consider naming it after the town before calling it "College of New Jersey" and why did they rename it after the town years later? Have there been cases where a major benefactor was rejected because of name? Mr. Harvard and Mr. Yale may well have been neutral, but would Mr. Lipschitz or Mr. Goodykuntz (there is a named chair of business for him) been as acceptable? And so on.

 

For curiosity, I tried to find the Goodykuntz Chair. I had a "Help wanted" ad for it from the Chronicle on my bulletin board for a while -- fairly confident it was at the U of Virginia -- but, while there are plenty of Goodykuntzes in the world, no such chair. Was it unendowed? Too embarrassing? Name changed?

Allied wondering: do holders of oddly-named chairs, etc., feel uncomfortable? Do they use that title? When I met the Harrahs Professor of Gaming at the U of Reno once, he was a bit apologetic about the title. And a lady I once knew who was required, by terms of her scholarship at Stanford, to identify herself as the Kotex Fellow, was really annoyed by that requirement.

 

Like many threads, this one immediately went off the tracks and completely forgot the concerns of the poor soul that started it.

Concerning USOU, they are new and as you say, recently accredited by DETC and a current candidate with Middle States.

USOU is a creation of, and I believe owned by, the very well known and highly reputable Open University in the UK. The British parent is widely recognized as a world leader in distance education.

Personally, I think that they have about as much of a lock on achieving regional accreditation as any candidate does. They certainly have the talent and resources backing them to make any changes that Middle States desires. While it would be irresponsible to say categorically that they will achieve regional accreditation, I think that the odds are very good.

Regarding the name. I think that it is important that they keep it, since it provides a link to their British parent. It reminds people of the Open University in England, and in so doing invests the USOU with some of the credibility earned by that other university over the decades. That can only help its graduates until the USOU builds its own independent reputation.

Downsides? Being new, it might be a bit of a work in progress. The mechanics of dealing with them might be kind of rough as they refine their process. The name Open University will immediately suggest distance education to anyone with bias against it. You will be unable to hide behind the fig-leaf of an on-campus program. And while I think that it will eventually be RA, it might be forced to alter some of its current policies and procedures in order to get there, creating a bit of initial instability.

Just giving my opinion though, I like USOU a lot.

 

You have now, Tom.

Argosy is just as fine a name as Sarasota.

This name thing is a recurring obsession around here. We saw exactly the same reaction with Excelsior.

My opinion is that this is basically knees jerking. There is nothing wrong with the new names except for the fact that they ARE new names. People just don't like universities to change their names and will reflexively oppose it. I guess that students and alumni invest a lot emotionally in their school's identity, and when that changes, and the identity that they are comfortable with becomes something new and alien, they feel abandoned somehow.

My guess is that 'Argosy' will start to sound less cold and distant the more familiar it becomes.

If you don't believe me Tom, ask the giant UFO crabs from Alpha Centauri. They just told me they like 'Argosy'. In fact they were the ones that originally suggested the name.

 

Hello, Bill!

Personally speaking, I prefer "University of Argosy" than "Argosy University". I am kind of neutral (or even accept) "University of Argosy", but I don't in respect to "Argosy University". Why? Maybe because of the reasons that you mentioned. The original name of the institution was "University of Sarasota", so it follows that "University of Argosy" is less of a change than "Argosy University".

Just my two cents.

Best wishes,


Karlos Alberto Lacaye
[email protected]

 

For the record, I've got nothing against the Argosy name, and don't see what all the hubub is about. I was just citing it as an example that has been debated here.

I liked Excelsior less than Argosy. (I didn't care for Greenwich, either). My only concern would be if the school took on a name that was particularly onerous to its graduates' resumes.

I was the one who raised this issue regarding USOU. It should be a small matter, and possibly more than made up for by the pride of being associated with something new and innovative. Funny how an aside like that becomes a hotbed for argument.

Rich Douglas