Good schools from India............... are you sure ?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by thequietman, Feb 14, 2014.

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  1. thequietman

    thequietman Member

    I have read on here about a number of universities in India that offer various distance online degrees with very good prices. It lead me to apply for the MBA in Business Admin from Assam Don Bosco University (DBU) I was accepted.
    However there seems to be a great hurry to get me to pay my fees with numerous phone calls from very sales rep like persons encouraging me to do so.

    I have done a little digging and now I am a little concerned. Maybe those of you who know can put my mind at ease.
    All private universities in India are expressly forbidden to offer any degrees off school campuses, look here http://www.dbuglobal.com/site/docs/ADBU%20-%20UGC%20Notification%20Under%202(f)%20of%20UGC%20Act.pdf and this seems to be the commonly worded terminology for all private universities.

    However before DEC India was disbanded, DBU had accreditation from them and this leads further to my confusion. If they are not allowed to conduct degrees off campus then how did DBU get approval for distance education degrees? Furthermore DBU are currently going through 4 yearly renewed accreditation with the UGC and as yet have not received their new accreditation. DBU are not in the new approved list for UGC accreditation as of 10/01/2014 see here http://www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/colleges/Press_release06CPE.pdf

    This guy has very bad things to say about BBU distance programs and is adamant that they are on the verge of a degree mill and just selling degrees, see here

    Human Resources, Business, Management and career questions blog.: Online degrees from Assam Don Bosco is not approved and it does not have UGC approval

    and here

    Human Resources, Business, Management and career questions blog.: People should not opt MBA/ PG Courses from these institutes (Distance mode)

    So you can see my dilemma. Are DBU allowed to conduct online distance degrees off campus? If no, then how did they get DEC approval before it was disbanded?

    Any assistance to put my mind at ease would be greatly appreciated. I am not doubting DBU's credibility as a university on campus just its distance learning avenues.
     
  2. msganti

    msganti Active Member

    DBU is a good school, backed by a church. U18 is a partner, and naturally they'll be interested in getting you on board in ASAP.

    I can understand Govind Sharma's (the blogger you mentioned) frustration. I myself was very frustrated at one point, as Universities used to appear, recruit people and disappear as quickly. But UGC, though late, was able to crack-down on them. Some were closed and some became good citizens. The confusion still exists, as the whole DL scene in India is in a transitional state.

    DBU has UGC and (former) DEC recognition, in addition to being member of Association of Commonwealth Universities. UGC mentioned somewhere that former DEC approvals are still valid till they come up with new process with the newly formed DEB. Also, they were mentioning that Private Universities can establish off-campus and off-shore centers after 5-years in existence - see page 2:
    http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/4756427_English.pdf

    They do mention that "As of now, UGC has not granted permission to any Private University to establish off-campus/study center". However, I feel that DBU can easily qualify as they were more than 5 years old(established in March 2008). It's only a matter of time for UGC to establish new guidelines, and I feel DBU has good chances to pass through.

    DISCLAIMER: As many members here know, I am not affiliated with DBU or any other school anywhere in the world. I am a seeker like everyone else here.
     
  3. Ed Edwards

    Ed Edwards Member

  4. msganti

    msganti Active Member

    See my post and the pdf from UGC above - things are in transition.
     
  5. Derina

    Derina Member

  6. Hille

    Hille Active Member

    Good Morning, I would love to see a school in India offering a grad program in Liberal Studies. Any thoughts? Thanks. Hille
     
  7. Ed Edwards

    Ed Edwards Member

    The OP says they can't because it would be illegal. However at these prices I would love to see them active in larger markets too. I wonder why the country has the no off campus law?
     
  8. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Then this article on a trend in India may interest you:

    Liberal arts education makes a comeback
     
  9. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    To quote George and Ira Gershwin - - "It ain't necessarily so."

    Ed - please read, or re-read post #2 in this thread. Msganti has explained things thoroughly -he always does. :smile: In a nutshell, if a school had DEC approval (as DBU did) UGC will let it continue offering distance courses until the new DEB is up and running. And I see no reason why this school would not get DEB approval at that time.

    Johann
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 2, 2014
  10. Ed Edwards

    Ed Edwards Member

    No I get it we 'hope' that they can do this in perpetuity. I hope they can too I think the more low cost options there are the better. But with 'hope' alone yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery my good friend... Just because you 'see no reason' doesn't make it a done deal (unless you are the India Minister of Education maybe?) and it would be awful for a student to sign up and do so much work only to have the rug pulled out form under them... which of course we all 'hope' wouldn't happen..
     
  11. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    OK. Definitely "Inadvisable" as you see it -- but still not "illegal" - at least not yet, for DBU, per the UGC (University Grants Commission), according to our knowledgeable friend.

    And yes - what you say could happen. In the case of DBU, I doubt it; but nothing's impossible.

    Johann
     
  12. Ed Edwards

    Ed Edwards Member

    I'm okay with this language..
     
  13. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I must admit, Ed, that bad things have happened in the past, to some westerners eager to get involved with seeming DL "bargains" from India. 8 or 9 years ago, a bunch of universities sprang up under State Approval, in the (then) relatively new state of Chhatisgarh (I hope I used enough "h"s). :smile:

    Most of them offered distance courses at remarkably low rates - almost incredibly so for western students. Some people on the "boards" were very enthusiastic. Then there was an Alabama-type crackdown and IIRC around 27 universities were ordered closed. End of story.

    However, I don't think anything on this scale will happen here - or that anything bad will happen re: DBU. I think the DEB-under-construction fully realizes the schools need this revenue and they will control distance education, but not be unreasonable. If a school is sound and has proper degree granting authority, I think it should be OK.

    Admittedly - I could be wrong. That's happened more often than I like to admit. :smile: Let's hope I'm not.

    Johann
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 3, 2014
  14. msganti

    msganti Active Member

    Wow...Johann!!! you have an amazing memory.

    For me too, this seems the way new DEB is going. Most universities (that survived) on their list have "Continuation of Recognition" status for 2014, which is a good sign. I guess they'd continue extending year-by-year till they come up with proper guidelines for online & dl education.

    It occurs to me that any university that's not offering technical (BE/BTech/MTech) and advanced (MPhil/PhD) by DL means will be allowed to continue. MBA/MCA might be allowed, as they are not considered fully technical.

    Also, DEB might be encouraging the "good" universities to establish and extend online education to overseas students as it'll naturally be a good financial and Forex booster.

    BTW - Here's the current status of universities:
    http://www.ugc.ac.in/deb/pdf/Recognitionsaccordedunivandinsts.pdf
     
  15. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    My thoughts too ... exactly. :smile:

    Johann
     
  16. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    I'm actually considering enrolling in Amity's Bachelor of Business Administration program. I'm about 34 credits away from completing a BA in Communications with Excelsior, but since starting my degree journey my needs and interests have changed. I'm more interested in a business degree now, and it would actually make more sense in my career field. I'm not sure if schools in India grant transfer credit, but even if I had to take the full 3 years of courses, it would still be cheaper than the courses/exams I have left to take at Excelsior. Although I would finish earlier with Excelsior, I'm finding it hard to get motivated to take courses and exams that don't interest me.
     
  17. PuppyMama

    PuppyMama New Member

    This is very interesting. Until I joined this group, I never even considered the idea of western students attending schools in India online. My knee-jerk reaction would be one of caution... even if the school is legitimate, I would wonder how the degree itself would be received by employers and western schools. It sounds, though, like there are people here far more informed than I am.

    Good luck with everything!
     
  18. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    The way I look at it, American students go abroad to study all the time. We now live in a global economy, and foreign college graduates come to the U.S. to work. I'm sure an Indian degree on an American's resume might look strange to some, but if the company does a lot of foreign business it might even be seen as an asset.
     
  19. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    We're no strangers to Indian degrees here in Canada. Basically, if it's from a good school in India, it's most often a good degree here. I've also heard that, the 3- vs. 4-year Bachelor difference aside, Indian degrees from proper schools tend to fare reasonably well with credential evaluators in the U.S.

    Overall, degrees from universities in neighbouring Pakistan don't seem to be received quite as well - at least here.

    Johann
     
  20. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    Someone else's research for US students.
    "The United Kingdom remained the most popular destination, with a total of 32,683 (a 4 percent increase). Italy is second, (increasing 2 percent to 27,940), followed by #3 Spain (25,411, up 5 percent), #4 France (17,161, up 2 percent), and #5 China (13,910, up 2 percent). Other destinations in the top 25 were: #6 Australia (9,962, down 11 percent), #7 Germany (8,551, up 3 percent), #8 Mexico (7,157, down 2 percent), #9 Ireland (6,798, down less than 1 percent), #10 Costa Rica (6,262, down 2 percent), #11 Japan (6,166, up 7 percent), #12 Argentina (4,835, up 3 percent), #13 South Africa (4,313, up 4 percent), #14 India (3,884, up 44 percent and moving up from #21 the prior year), #15 Greece (3,700, up 2 percent), #16 Czech Republic (3,409, down 7 percent), #17 Israel (3,146, up 61 percent), #18 Chile (3,115, down 11 percent), #19 New Zealand (3,113 up 12 percent), #20 Brazil (3,099 up 12 percent), #21 Ecuador (2,960,up 4 percent), #22 Austria (2,701, down 5 percent), #23 Netherlands (2,369, up 2 percent), #24 Peru (2,316 up 7 percent), and #25 Denmark (2,228, down less than 1 percent). "
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 5, 2014

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