Zimbabwe Open University?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by RBTullo, May 25, 2010.

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  1. RBTullo

    RBTullo Member

    Is this a legit university? I'm thinking about the DPhil. in Business Studies.

    Rich
     
  2. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    I know nothing about this university but given the state of the country many people may be very suspicious of degrees from Zimbabwe.
     
  3. okydd

    okydd New Member

    Coming from a third world country, I may view education a bit different. It is my opinion that students in poor and political unstable countries can still get an education in that country. I have met few highly educated Zimbabweans. ZOU is a legitimate government university. I have been reviewing ZOU for while. The website is not all that helpful because it has so many broken links. Before I can make a judgment on ZOU, I have been trying to get feedback on its academic expectation and the relevant of the materials. This is the same due diligence that I would perform for a western school.
     
  4. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    Yes, a lot of links are broken but they seem to be a goverment run college. They have locations all over the country. My question is, will they meet US standerds? If I got a BA and then wanted to get a US masters could I? I don't really want to, but I bet you could get it on the cheap...lol
     
  5. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    If I am looking at a school website and still can't tell if it's a legitimate institution of higher education then I'm not spending a penny. Look at the recent history of Zimbabwe. Why would you do Zimbabwe before UNISA? Why?
     
  6. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    Cost? Who knows. If it is cheap enough then it might be worth it to do it for the exprence.
     
  7. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    So you'll pay 1USD to Zimbabwe OU rather than pay 2USD to UNISA? If "experience" is what you're after then you don't even need a degree. Just read some books. The liability that you incur by "earning" a degree from a questionable school can clearly have a negative impact on your career. Why would you do this (other than the obvious)?
     
  8. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    No I do not plan on attending freakin ZOU, you are fast to attack people. I feel like I need to watch what I say around you.
     
  9. raristud

    raristud Member

  10. TonyM

    TonyM Member

    The University warns of it's troubles on its homepage

    I'd worry about the school's future and would avoid it until the country stabilizes. This is from the homepage:

    The university faces severe problems in several areas. Infrastructure constraints – lack of its own premises, inadequate libraries, and no broadband Internet connectivity – hinder it from achieving all its objectives; and the institution’s financial sustainability is being damaged by the current hyperinflation coupled to fees that are regulated by the state, and the unavailability of credit terms from suppliers of goods and services.

    Zimbabwe Open University | SARUA



    PS: I wish we could edit our post headers. I wrote "it's" when I meant "its".
     
  11. jackrussell

    jackrussell Member

    The university faces severe problems in several areas.....I feel this can summarize every single part of Zimbabwe, not just the university itself. However if it is recognized and school fees in Zimbabwe dollars, I don't mind sparing a trillion or two :)
     
  12. raristud

    raristud Member

    This is off topic, but for 2,840.00 USD you can be a millionaire if you convert US dollars to Zimbabwean dollars :). Currently, Zimbabwe is using the US dollar and South African rand. They suspended circulation of the Zimbabwean dollar due to hyperinflation. Useful information if you decide to enroll at ZOU. Ask what currency does ZOU accept. Personally I would look at UNISA before ZOU. South Africa is more stable economically and I believe UNISA would be perceived more positively in the US and abroad.

    XE.com - ZWD - Zimbabwean Dollar

    Unisa Cart - Doctoral Degree
     
  13. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I tried to start a thread about Zimbabwe Open University on another discussion board back in 2007. Here's the text of that post. Some ofthe links to ZOU pages still work.

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

    I was just looking at the Zimbabwe Open University and figured it deserves a thread.

    http://www.zou.ac.zw/

    http://www.zou.ac.zw/aboutzou/index.htm

    ZOU has three faculties:

    Faculty of Commerce and Law
    Faculty of Edxcation, Arts and Humanities
    Faculty of Science

    http://www.zou.ac.zw/facult/index.htm

    The faculty of commerce and law offers bachelors degrees in bxsiness and an MBA. There aren't any degrees in law, but seeing as how this is Zimbabwe, that's probably understandable.

    The faculty of edxcation, arts and humanities offers an Ed.B., an Ed.M. a B.A. in Media Studies and a B.A. in English and Communication Studies

    The faculty of science has some interesting DL programs.

    There's a B.Sc. in Geography and Environmental Studies. There's B.Sc. in Nxrsing, a B.Sc. in Physical Edxcation and Sport, a B.Sc. in Agricultural Manxgement, and a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Statistics.

    The two programs that I looked at, Geography and Mathematics, have substantial-looking syllabi. I can't comment on how good the instruction is.

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

    I think that it will take more investigation to determine whether these are DL programs as we understand them, available anywhere in the world, or whether they are remote-site programs offering in-person classes inside Zimbabwe that are taught at secondary school facilities and similar locations.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 26, 2010
  14. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    If I criticize your statement I am not attacking you, I am criticizing what you say. Also, I am of the op[inion that we should always watch what we say. To everyone. I take heat for things I say all the time. Many times it is deserved and even if I don't say it, I appreciate it when people call me out when I say something silly. This wan't one of those times.
     
  15. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    If you would have just looked up and read the rest of the comments I had made, you would have be able to tell that I had no interest in attending ZOU. I do think that if it is cheap, then it might be worth being taught from a completely different point of view that SA can't offer. I wonder how they teach, what they teach and so on. Is there anything wrong with that statement? Just because they are not Americans does not mean they can't offer a great education to people. There are smart people all over and I am sure they have a few great instructors at ZOU even if they are a third world country.
     
  16. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Now you're putting words in my mouth. I never said that only Americans can offer a good education. In fact, I have repeatedly pointed people toward non-US degree programs, including in this very thread when I pointed people toward UNISA. Also, I never said that a third-world country can't support a good university. There are multiple examples of good schools in third world countries. My point was that Zimbabwe (specifically Zimbabwe) because of the turmoil in their country can not reasonably be expected to maintain high standards in their higher education system. No one really knows anything about ZOU. Under the circumstances, I would not give them the benefit of the doubt and I would not enroll in any courses just because I might get a decent professor. It is the overall reputation of the university that counts in my mind.

    This reminds me of the situation a few years ago where some unwonderful "schools" such as St. Regis were claiming accreditation from the government of Liberia while the country was in the midst of a civil war. To no one's real surprise it all turned out to be a scam. If someone can show evidence that ZOU is actually a good school then I'm willing to look at it but I don't have so much free time in my life that I'm willing to throw it away by signing up for a course on the chance that it might be a decent school or there might be a few good teachers there.
     
  17. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    Listed in UNESCO

    List of Universities of the World

    According to the United Nations database this school is listed.... for what that is worth! I hope I don't get banned from posting again so I will keep my opinions to my self.


    "Zimbabwe

    Africa University

    Bindura University of Science Education

    Catholic University in Zimbabwe

    Chinhoyi University of Technology

    Great Zimbabwe University

    Midlands State University

    National University of Science and Technology

    Solusi University

    University of Zimbabwe

    Women's University in Africa

    Zimbabwe Open University"
     
  18. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    noted...I see your point.
     
  19. Liston

    Liston New Member

    I normally respect persons that don't comment on things they have no clue about. Its a legitimate University established in terms of the Zimbabwean Education Act. Has the President as its Chancellor just like the rest of the Universities bar Africa University. Zimbabwe Open University is the largest DL institution in Zimbabwe and is only second to UNISA in the region. In terms of its quality, its an offshoot from the major Zimbabwean University, University of Zimbabwe. In terms of its staff, currently it actually has better staffers than all the Universities in the country. Most of its students are mainly mature and employed persons. People must understand the colonial implications of having one university in country of 12million people. I lot of bright student could not get places to further their education unless their parents were rich and able to send to RSA, USA, UK, Australia and NZ. Of course a lot of such persons were average students and even better students were stranded and not too rich to finance their education.

    In terms of offering PhDs, they only started now. But they have better quality than some of the renowned institutions.
     
  20. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    This is interesting information. It would be helpful to our members if there was some objective source of credible information that we could use to corroborate what you've said. Do you have any links that you could provide?
     

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