I was looking at articles about Jorge Luis Borges when it popped. The European Graduate School... If it seems too good to be true.... The language and plethora of information about accreditation in Switzerland (Me thinks the lady doth protest too much... or a reasonable sentiment) ma. Anyone makes it suspect to me; anyone heard anything? Thanks. AAD
Here's a short thread from the archives. http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/22492-any-advice-about-european-graduate-school.html
The ODA isn't what it used to be, and that clip is awfully old. And accreditation in Switzerland really is a poorly implemented system that shuts out a lot of clearly legitimate smaller institutions. As for this particular school, A fairly discerning friend of mine did her PhD in Communications through EGS. They're certainly legitimate. The first question, though, is what use to which you intend to put this degree. What desired thing can you not do now that you believe you'll be able to do if you earn this degree?
The Dept. of Rhetoric, Composition, and Information Design (RCID) at Clemson University (which is obviously a legit US school) has an acknowledged relationship with EGS: So Clemson seems comfortable with EGS, which is certainly a good sign. However, there is still the concern that EGS apparently has Swiss cantonal accreditation (somewhat like state approval in the US) , rather than Swiss federal accreditation. Fairly or not, cantonal accreditation may not be accepted as RA-equivalent for all purposes in the US. So an EGS degree might "work" in some situations, but not in others.
EGS is eligible to participate in federal student loan programs, and has OPE ID 03518300. I couldn't find when EGS began participating in Title IV programs.
According to Wikipedia, EGS is... ... not accredited by the Swiss University Conference, the main regulatory body for universities in Switzerland And according to the school's website, it is accredited locally by the Canton of Wallis. Is this the equivalent of state accreditation in the U.S... and how would it stand up in a foreign degree audit?? Sources: Schweizerische Universittskonferenz - Akkreditierung https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Graduate_School European Graduate School - Accreditation
To clarify, there's no such thing as cantonal or state accreditation, approval to operate isn't the same thing (other than certain cases in New York). As for how it would stand up, I expect no one actually knows, but I speculate based on previous edge cases that different evaluators may provide different results.
Then why does the European Graduate School's "Accreditation" page repeatedly refer to cantonal "accreditation" ? While EGS claims that cantonal accreditation is "equivalent to an accreditation at the Federal level", they are apparently pursuing Federal accreditation as well:
It's entirely possible for a small, private, cantonally-approved school in Switzerland to also have iron-clad accreditation. For example, Franklin College is a small (enrollment ~ 450) liberal arts college in the Canton of Ticino. But in addition to cantonal approval, Franklin also has the Swiss Federal accreditation that EGS is pursuing, plus Frankliin has US regional accreditation from Middle States CHE. So nobody is going to argue about a Franklin degree. In contrast, an EGS degree does not currently come with that kind of guaranteed recognition, in either the US or Switzerland.
There have been quite a few threads over the years about this thing. Here's one that features some seemingly well-informed comments from somebody who enrolled in EGS for a while, but subsequently left. http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/27705-anyone-heard-european-graduate-school.html It sounds like EGS hosts a great summer lecture series in scenic Switzerland for those drawn to the trendier reaches of the European intellectual scene. But as a degree-granting graduate school, EGS seemingly leaves a lot to be desired.
Thanks to all for your replies and information. I see that my reservations regarding this school are well founded. Thanks again.