Great forum, excellent ideas and some very brilliant observations. I received some very interesting literature in the mail on an odd university(I use the term with extreme caution) Senior International University. I'm a DL junkie and somehow ended up on their list. They've got impressive, extensive literature, but in my view there is a whole lot of nothing going on there. They've go some form of Canadian authority, offer a million different degrees, courses, etc. Are they legit? Thanks! ------------------ Maven
Mailing address in Wyoming. President: Bob Funk. Here is a list from their web-page: Senior University International is licensed as a degree-granting institution of higher education by the State of Wyoming Department of Education in the United States of America under WS 21-2-401 to WS 21-2-407. Senior University International’s Degrees are also granted from the Republic of South Africa where its programs are preliminary accredited by the South African Qualifications Authority. Senior University International is a Member of the National Association of Career Colleges and the BC Career Colleges Association. Senior University International is currently pursuing national accreditation by the Canadian Education and Training Accreditation Commission. Senior University International programs and degrees have been approved with full reciprocal academic recognition by the Ministry of General and Professional Education (State Inspection for Quality Assessment) in the Russian Federation. Senior University International Programs in Health and Human Services and Disability Studies are Board certified by the American Board of Medical Psychotherapists and Psychodiagnosticians and the American Board of Disability Analysts respectively. Senior University International is fully accredited and recognized by official decree from the International States Parliament for Safety and Peace - an Intergovernmental Organization of the States - recognized under International Law Statutes of the Vienna Convention of 1961 and 1963. ---- Summary: Not regionally accredited. Some questionable "recognitions". If it were me, I'd probably avoid them. (But that's up to you.)
All that, AND they are quite a bit more expensive than well known RA programs.(scratching head) Thanks for the input. Another one for the "Who thunk this one up" category.
The "American Board of Medical Psychotherapists and Psychodiagnosticans" and the "American Board of Disability Analysts" seem to operate from the same address. Five years ago they "grandfathered" people in who only had Bachelor degrees. The "Certified Rehabilitation Counselor" (CRC) offered by the "Commission for Rehabilitation Counselors Certification" (CRCC) has national recognition and is the standard used by many workers compensation and state agencies. I wonder why more staff at Seniors are not "CRC"?
Senior University International has been discussed here previously: http://www.degreeinfo.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000238.html The old thread mentions that Senior University was trying to get "accreditation" from the South African government. Back in early 2000, Senior University failed to get SAQA registration. Other universities that failed (for reasons unknown to me): Preston University, Newport University, Schiller International University.
Let us also remember that Senior University is co-owned by Les Carr, owner of Columbia Pacific University/Columbia Commonwealth Unversity. When I looked into that extremely dubious "accreditation" more than a year ago and shared my findings with Dr. Carr and his partner, they sounded genuinely concerned, but clearly not enough to have done anything about it.
I see in the second message of this thread that Senior claim to be "preliminary accredited" by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). I presume that this means "provisionally registered" -- i.e. allowed to operate. This word "accredited" is a slippery one. Private higher education institutions in South Africa will be accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), which is the official quality assurance organization.
But for a school that (apparently) operates from the United States doesn't the foreign credentials alone without reasonable domestic credentials raise some flags?
