Berne University International Graduate School

I have been Researching Distance Learning Doctoral Programs in Social Services and have come across this university.

They report having "full accreditation status by the Ministry of Education of St. Kitts & Nevis Federation Government. Berne is eligible to participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act.

Berne offers Doctoral & Masters Degree Programs. Their web-site is:
http://www.berne.edu or [email protected]

I have been accepted to their program for the PhD in Social Services but would like to know if anyone has "any" information on this school. The administrative office is located in Wolfeboro Falls, NH 03896 Tel: (603) 569-8648.

I have spoken to the staff on numerous occasions by phone and through e-mail.
My questions regarding accreditation have been extensive to include recent graduates and staff member degrees; to which all, have been answered.

Any responses or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
LT Julian C. Wyatt

 

My understanding is that the schools residing in this part of the world should hold recognition from the University of the West Indies in order to be considered on par with American schools; last I heard, Berne had not yet been granted this recognition.

St. Kitts-and-Nevis is a very, very small country, and I would be very surprised if they put a large portion of their resources into evaluating the half-dozen or so schools residing there.

Cheers,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

co-author, Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning (Ten Speed Press)
co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)

 

Tom,

thanks for the "rapid response." I concur with your comments. While visiting other commentaries on this wonderful site, I stumbled across "Touro University International" and have begun research into their PhD program in Health Sciences. Their web site address is:

http://www.tourou.edu

They are "fully accredited" by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

I am in the process of researching them further!

Thank you so very much for your time & patience in responding.

Sincerely,
Jules

 

With Berne or any other school, the crucial thing for any potential student is whether the degree will meet ones needs. The fact that Berne is still listed on the State of Oregon's official list of schools whose degrees subject the holders to fines, imprisonment, or both, is certainly relevant for people in that state. (http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html)

John Bear
Co-author, Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning
(http://www.degree.net)

 

John,

thanks for the information!! I am working currently as a Mental Health Specialist (part-time), and you are so right, the degree must meet certain criteria, and thus far Berne's curriculum looked pretty good. The accreditation is what was so frustrating to me. They claimed status, and even went so far as to tell me that the degree "would be" accepted in the U.S.

My correspondence back & forth has been lengthy. Here is just one banter:

*************************************
From: [email protected]
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 12:40:02 EST

Dear Lynnette,

The nature of my inquiry into accreditation
is only to ensure proper recognition and
licensure when that timeframe approaches. It
is critical that your degree is acceptable for my intended needs (state licensure,
certification, salary advance and new job
criteria).

The accreditation agency you have listed
should be APPROVED (I am not sure what
recognized by means, but I will check) by
either the U.S. Department of Education or
the Council on Higher Education Accreditation. In the past I have looked in three major reference sources used by registrars and admissions officers worldwide when it comes to this topic and they are: the International Handbook of Universities, Commonwealth Universities Yearbook and the AACRAO World Education Series.

I have not checked Berne in those references
but I will give it a quick check. I am most
familiar with the six regional accreditation
agencies:

(1) Middle States Association of Colleges
and Schools.

(2) North Central Association of Colleges
and Schools.

(3) New England Association of Schools and
Colleges.

(4) Northwest Association of Schools and
Colleges.

(5) Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools.

(6) Western Association of Schools and
Colleges.

When I researched your institution I did
not see any of these listed. I understand
REGIONAL accreditation is the preferred route
and most accepted by businesses and Government. With the plethora of institutions and diploma mills throughout the country, it is difficult at best to thoroughly research prior to investing thousands of dollars which can be recuperated, however TIME, our most precious commodity, is lost forever.

My intention while researching the
accreditation agency you have listed is to
request one more favor. Can you answer the
following questions or forward them for response?
They are:

(1) How many students are currently enrolled in
Berne?

(2) How many degrees have been awarded in the
last year?

(3) What is the size of the faculty? How many of
these are full-time and how many are part-time or adjunct
faculty? I could not discern this from the catalog. I am
also very curious from which schools did the faculty
earn their degrees?

(4) From which school(s) did the president,
the dean and other administrators earn their
degrees? Just curious.

(5) May I have the name and addresses of some
recent graduates in the field of study for Social Services and or in my geographical area?

Thank you for everything. My absolute best to you and your family.

Their response:

*************************************
Dear Julian,

We have over 500 students. The list of the degrees of our faculty should be in the back of the catalogue and on the website. We are fully accreditied in the Ministry of St. Kitts and in turn we are fully recognized
by the US Department of Education--we meet all US standards. Since we are an international graduate school, our degree is valid through out the US and all over the world. If you email me your mailing address I will send you information about
our accreditation.

****************************************

Thanks again John!!

Jules

 

Hi, Jules. My layman's response to Berne's response:

 

Dear Bill,

wow! Both informative and enlightening. Thank you so very much. Being in the military, I find it difficult at best to further my education through non-traditional methods for Doctoral Programs.

My gut instinct told me "no", but I figured I would do the research and thus far, I have contacted the University to inform them that I will not be attending their institution based on lack of Accreditation.

I have requested information from Tourou and entertain any advice from students that have attended their school to pass on any information that would be helpful.

Thank you once again,
Jules

My best to you and your family!!

 

I spent about three years, without any success, attempting to learn more about the St. Kitts accreditation process, with zero success -- by mail, phone (to the embassy in Washington), fax, or Email.

But around this time, they awarded their accreditation to Eastern Caribbean University, run apparently from his home by a man in Smithville, Texas, and offering degrees based on writing short movie reviews, mostly James Bond stuff.

The procedures may well have changed in the last few years. But my letters asking if the accreditation of ECU was ever withdrawn or canceled have never been answered.

 

If you are looking for something in the area of Mental Health may I suggest you consider Capella University. www.capella.edu


------------------
Howard Rodgers

 

Touro is a good, legitimate school; it's the distance learning branch of Touro College, a credible brick-and-mortar Jewish school in New York (hence why Touro UI, in California, is accredited by the Middle States Association rather than the Western Association).

Capella, accredited by the North Central Association, is also a viable choice.

Good luck!


Cheers,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

co-author, Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning (Ten Speed Press)
co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)

 

Good Morning John & Howard,

your responses were right on target!
It pretty much confirms my dismay over
Berne's reluctance to simply answer
my question regarding Accreditation.

I have learned a lot during this
process and this forum was the single
most important resource I have "lucked"
upon to date.

Thanks again for all of the info.

Sincerely,
Jules

 

Good Morning Howard,

Capella vs. TUI.

I have contacted both schools, have packages being mailed and now I will sort
through the material looking at a few
areas:

Accreditation: (both are yes)!

Tuition cost: (TUI is $2,000.00 per course)

Residency req'mt: (I believe TUI may be all internet and tele conference based).

Reputations of the schools from Mental Health professionals and graduates or currently enrolled students (their experience while attending).

I will keep you posted.

Thanks,
Jules

 

What I find fascinating about Berne, far beyond the presumably perfunctory approval by Nevis and St. Kitts, is their approval to participate in VA and Stafford Loan programs. Granted, these may only apply to the residential portion of the program, but the mere fact they have these two approvals is impressive.

Regarding student loans, a student embarking on the residency could take out a rather substantial loan for the period, then use the money to fund the rest of the program. This wouldn't be as possible with VA; those funds are paid monthly while the student attends qualified training. (Again, presumably, the residential portion.)

The IHU listing means a Berne degree would enjoy some, but not widespread, acceptance where an accredited degree was required.

This situation seems roughly comparable to what we thought MIGS would be: a school no one ever heard of awarding degrees that --at least on the surface--meet GAAP and might be acceptable in some (if not most) situations.

What strikes me about it all, however, is the cost. Berne charges $200 per credit earned, and $160 per credit transferred in. That seems pretty steep for a degree that might also, in some cases, be unacceptable (as in Oregon, for instance).

(I do wonder how Contreras can justify his placement of Berne on his list. Berne is listed by a widely accepted guide of foreign universities, and it is approved to participate in not one, but two federal financial aid programs. Considering his list is supposed to be made up of unaccredited schools that have not been specifically approved by the ODA, why Berne? He might not like the school, but its inclusion on his list seems both contrary and arbitrary. But, then again, that's what I think of the whole ODA process in this area.)

Rich Douglas

 

Well, this might not be so restrictive. I went back to Berne's website. For students participating in the student loan program, they require a mentor residing within 100 miles of the student's residence. Whadddya bet this is so the student can fund the rest of the program via student loans? I wonder....

Rich Douglas

 

I don't want to start a flame fest. But I think that the initial attraction of MIGS was the idea that there was a legitimate, established university behind it, and that this legitimate, established university would provide quality control and would award the degrees. This is not the case with Berne -- the analogy would be closer if, for example, the University of West Indies were to issue the degrees.

IMHO, the essence of GAAP is that if a university is a recognized part of a country's higher education system (and respected within that system) then the university should be accorded the respect that the country's higher education system deserves. In this case, St. Kitts doesn't really have a higher education system (beyond community college level). So Berne should get the recognition it deserves from being part of a non-existent higher ed system -- i.e. NONE.

Incidentally, thinking of MIGS reminded me of Empresarial University of Costa Rica, which at one time I thought to be proceeding down a similar path (at least in terms of offering programs to U.S. students). Does anyone have an update on what Empresarial is up to?

 

Hi Julian - Having read the example email you sent to Berne I have one comment, not specifically related to the school issue. You stated that one of your intended needs is to satisfy the criteria for state licensure. It is not clear to me exactly what license you might be seeking. Social Work? Psychology? Public Health? Please make sure that you check with the licensing board in the state in which you plan to live to determine if the degree you eventually acquire wiil meet those criteria. For example, TUI may be a fine school and their PhD in Health Sciences may be a fine program but will it allow you to get licensed as a Social Worker, Psychologist? As anything?
Please pardon me if I have stated the obvious.
Jack

 

My brother will graduate in June with his Phd in Education from Berne. He is a teacher and is very happy with it. It is a complete dissertation program and included over a month of intensive study in St.Kitts/Nevis with the monkeys. (real ones)

He has worked very hard and thinks it as valid as any other Phd.

BH

 

I do feel bad for people like this who actually work hard towards a worthless degree.

 

I've compared MIGS with Touro University International--offering doctorates from a semi-autonomous school when the home campus does not--and Empresarial--listed, therefore meeting GAAP, but not much else. The Costa Rican Embassy assured me that Empresarial was a recognized university, but that's all they knew.

Rich Douglas

 

Good Afternoon Jack,

great question, which incidentally, I have not stated (hmmm?). My intention is to work in the court system with troubled youngsters. Kind of like a probation officer, except on a greater and more involved role. Additionally, working in a hospital as a Mental Health Specialist or Community Services Board (which I do right now and I only have a Masters Degree).

The Doctorate is a life long goal and working in any field in mental health or social services is specifically what I want.

Licensure, like... LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), is a good point and I will have to research that one to find out if the PhD will suffice with a few additional courses, observations or testing.

Thanks for the input!!
Jules