Hi all, Can anyone please confirm if the University of the Caribbean is accredited. I have done a long a search, and i've not seen their name on any list of unaccredited schools. The only seemingly red flag is that they are located in the British Virgin Islands which from my search is a home for many unaccredited schools and is maybe that they just recently changed their name which is why they are not appearing on the list of any of the unaccredited schools i've searched. I need answers asap. Thanks
My first guess is that the answer is no, it's not legit. No real accreditation and any time Empressarial comes up I get a bad smell in my nose.
If that's the school -- then definitely "release the hounds!" (Good one, Kizmet.) "Validation" or authority of any type bought from Empresarial will not help it. Empresarial has grossly over-reached itself. That school has (had?) CONESUP approval as a private university. It was allowed to offer (IIRC) - three degrees, within Costa Rica only. Its inauspicious money grubbing began by offering many other degrees -- to students from other countries. It appears to have expanded the money-grubbing recently, by "validating" other institutions, like this UOC. Such validation does zip - except make money for Empresarial. Recently, a Mexican private university (Azteca) has "validated" about 17 other schools, in a similar scheme. In its native parlance, Empresarial is CONESUP approved, but not a SINAES member, and that's what it would need for its own degrees to have the standing of those of a "mainstream" Uni in its own country. It has no business offering degrees abroad, and its "validation" of other schools is meaningless, in terms of degree-granting authority. Johann
Thanks y'all for your response. @Johann. So, you are saying Empresarial's degrees does not have the kind of standing that a mainstream university degree has in Costa Rica(which would mean all private uni's degree in Costa Rica is not of the same weight with a mainstream's uni degree) and as a result, it does not have the authority to validate degrees of other degree awarding institutions?
Because it's very easy to incorporate in a tax-free fashion in BVI, and because it makes it easy to mislead people that there's something "British" about a school that purports to be in a British overseas territory, there have been a number of degree mills to claim to be there. If you call the BVI Ministry of Education and Culture (as I did a while back when a different one of these came up) they'll tell you the only real tertiary institution there is H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. You'll have to ask them whether local legislation requires that private tertiary institutions be licensed, though, as I'm not sure, and if not then I suppose the claim that it "functions with full legal authority" would be true (although totally meaningless). In the meantime, though, this particular thing claims to be in BVI, but its phone number has a southern Mississippi area code. To me, that's already enough reason to discount it. If they were really in BVI, their phone number would be in area code 284. I have no problem at all with the idea that a legitimate school can have geographically distributed personnel and offices, but only if it's up front about it. Note, by the way, that the similarly named University College of the Caribbean is totally legitimate. They're based in Jamaica and can be found throughout the region; I met their local representative in Dominica a while back when they were looking to expand there.
@SteveFoerster, thank you. There's a school here in Nigeria where i live that has affiliation with them(as they claimed) and which is putting on offer some courses, one of which i'm interested in(Bsc Engineering Management). The attraction is the affordability($2000) and short duration(a year and some months, as it is an upgrade programme or what you may know to be degree completion). I however decided to do a lot of background check as i dont want some hr person finding out later in future when i must have gotten a job that the school is a phoney one. I'm however still looking for the best option i can get. I have a Higher National Diploma(HND) in Electrical/Electronics Engineering from the pioneer higher institution here in Nigeria but because of the discrimination by employers, preferring a Bachelor to an HND, I've been looking for ways to upgrade. It can even be so bad to the extent that, with a postgraduate diploma and a masters degree, they may still refer to the fact that your first degree is not a bachelor. If i were to go the UK, i may just spend a year to upgrade. I said this to give anyone here who can help with good suggestions an idea of what the comparism between the two qualifications looks like so you know what you can suggest. I could have gone to the UK but i haven't seen a sponsor yet. Many of the affordable online schools i saw are on the Oregon list of unaccredited schools. Also, i would not like to continue with mainstream engineering anymore, would prefer engineering, project management, industrial management, operations management, etc, that will not take me more than a year and also not cost more than 2k-3k dollars. I'll appreciate any good suggestion. Thanks y'all.
Hey, you only typed it. Now go open the nearest window and shout it at the top of your lungs! I double-dog dare you. :sgrin:
I mis-spoke here I think -- but not by all that much. CONESUP can regulate what degrees private universities offer to students in Costa Rica - and they approved UNEM for precisely three on-shore degrees. Only SINAES can regulate what a Costa Rican university can offer abroad -- and in this case UNEM itself appears to have been offering degrees of all sorts - including doctorates - abroad with no such authority - which makes the degrees have no standing. And here's the kicker. UNEM campus in Costa Rica is listed as 'inactive' - no grads since 2007, I believe. Word is, some cowboy has assumed the name and may be operating from Poland, BVI or some other location. I don't think "as a result" is an accurate depiction. Regardless of whether it's the on-ground UNEM or some phantom campus elsewhere that has usurped the name, UNEM just flat has no authority to validate degrees of other schools. Not from CONESUP, SINAES or anyone else. That has not stopped it doing so, for schools willing to pay. European-American University is another dubious school that has been discussed here - and its degrees-of-no-real-standing are also "validated" by UNEM. Long thread on UNEM (one of several) here: DegreeDiscussion.com • View topic - Universidad Empresarial de Costa Rica Johann
One thing further. I mis-spoke when I said that the private university's degrees would not have the same standing as SINAES-member universities. As long as the private uni sticks to in-country conferral of the degrees CONESUP approves it to offer (three, all business-related, none higher than a Master's, in UNEM's case) they are as valid as any in the country. There would be no approval to issue offshore degrees or any degrees other than those specified in the approval. Johann
Thanks ;ohann. I however think you may need to help me out with what I'm seeking. The attraction for this school is that a local institution here in my home country Nigeria claims to have affiliation with it and they offer an 18month, low cost(2000dollars) upgrade degree in Engineering Management which is what I've been looking for. I have an HND(Higher National Diploma) in Electrical/Electronics Engineering, which is a 4year technological qualification but because employers here would rather employ a bachelor degree holder, I've been looking for ways of upgrading it. If I were to go to the UK, I can be accepted unto the final year of a bachelor programme. I however haven't gone cuz of money and no sponsor. I also wouldn't want to continue with mainstream engineering, even considering that I've never really practiced after leaving school, I'll prefer to do Engineering Management, industrial Management, project management, quality management or any similar managemnt programme for engineers. Because of difference in structure of education across the globe, I haven't really seen any school that will just take me for a one year degree completion or what we can also call top-up to a bsc. I'll appreciate any suggestion about any approved school that can offer what I want at a cost that won't be more than 3000dollars. I could opt to do an MBA but employers here may still wanna refer to what you have as your first degree hence, my wanting an upgrade to a bachelors first before doing masters. Thank you very much
Thanks to the vagaries of this board, I just got shut out and a detailed reply to Simonawo was relegated to cyberspace-hell! Now I have to do it over and still get home - so... Simonawo - congratulations on your HND. Don't mess things up now by enrolling at the school under discussion. Nigeria seems to have a few sticky schools that have set up shop there in recent years. Today I've seen a couple of infamous names offering HND top-ups. In the past, Nigeria has cancelled degrees and sent some foreign schools packing... Have you considered doing the one-year HND to Bachelor top-up by distance from a good British Uni.? Here's one that offers such programs and I have no doubt you could find quite a few more if you surfed. Online courses - University of Hertfordshire The two links you'll need to verify legitimacy of British schools are: http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/higher-education/recognised-uk-degrees/listed-bodies Recognised bodies | Policies | BIS Happy hunting! Johann
I live in an interesting place. It was once an old mill but is now a condo complex with about 30 units. It's at the end of a long winding road that mirrors a longer winding stream. We're in the middle of the woods and as I look out my windows I can see only one other house. During the colder months I can hear the gunshots of hunters/target shooters echoing through the trees. Everyone at least recognizes everyone else, even if we don't all know each other by name. If a new car appears in the parking lot then everyone notices. If I opened my window and yelled "RELEASE THE HOUNDS!" it's possible that someone would notice but even if they did the echoes would quickly be swallowed up by the trees and the neighbors would just shrug and say "It's that kid on the third floor again."arty:
Switch to Firefox and install the free Lazarus plugin and this will never happen to you again. I second this, Simonawo. You should keep looking to find a program that will be widely recognized.
@Johann, thanks. Actually, most UK schools aren't cheap at all. Hertfordshire is 4000pounds, and that's very little more than what i earn a year. Besides, the course is IT, which is not really what i want. I want something management in engineering and also, that will not be more than 3000dollars. It doesnt matter much the country so long it is accredited and the programme duration is not longer than 12-18months. Thank you.
Sorry, Simonawo - I had a hunch that British schools, although good, might blow the budget. May I suggest you check with distance schools in South Africa. That country's degrees are well-respected and, if available, a year's bridging program from your HND there should come in at (possibly) a fair bit less than $3,000. UNISA is here: Unisa Online Worth an e-mail or two... Alternatively, you might want to try either IGNOU or Madurai Kamaraj in India. Their degrees are also Commonwealth-orbit and I suspect you might be able to arrange an HND-bridging program there much cheaper than elsewhere. IGNOU is at www.ignou.ac.in. Madurai Kamaraj's distance site is at Directorate of Distance Education - Madurai Kamaraj University India. I'm not sure, but it's possible MKU is not geared to distance students outside India, although IGNOU is. Are you sure there is no legitimate, affordable program within your own country? I know interlopers, like the infamous "Pebble Hills" that is on all the unacceptable lists, have set up in Nigeria - and others have been kicked out - but is there no "mainstream" university in Nigeria that can help you? Just curious... Johann
It's not "my" computer Steve - belongs to the College, where I'm sitting right now. It's on a big network and I use a different one every day. I suppose I could bring a portable version of Firefox on a stick, though ... When I move, I'll hook my own computer to the Internet and it won't be running Windows. (Linux instead.) Right now, my "home box" handles my writing, photo and (some) music chores etc. but it's not hooked up to the internet. I have reasons - and, fortunately, they don't include fear or poverty. No matter - I have surfing resources until things change... I've been surfing since 1993 and have not yet had access at home, believe it or not. Johann
