Zimbabwe Open University?

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

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  1. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    You may be be correct in what you say but how do we know that you have a clue about it? It would be nice to know your expertise pertaining to your comments.

    However there is so much negative news reported in the media of both the USA and the UK and by other organizations* it is not hard to imagine that many employers may be distrustful of degrees from Zimbabwe.

    * e.g. this press release points out good and bad with higher ed: http://www.sarua.org/files/publications/SARUA%20VC%20Dialogue_%20Cape%20Town%20Accord_Final.pdf






    Such as???
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 10, 2010
  2. Lukeness

    Lukeness Member

    Yes, it is legitimate and a breakaway of UniZim, but it is still relatively unknown, even within the region and the country itself. Of course that does not mean that there's anything wrong with it, but acceptance takes time.

    Another issue is the Zimbabwe factor. As other posters have correctly pointed out, the fact that the university is firstly in Africa, and secondly in Zim, will no doubt sound suspicious to many, particularly uninformed potential employers. I know of many well degree'd Zimbabweans working in SA in menial jobs in professions where there is still a demand. Engineers, teachers, etc etc. Because even in SA the Zim degrees are often overlooked, in what is perhaps and arrogance because of our high academic standards here (which is understandable, South African institutes have been responsible for many massive steps forward in various areas. The first heart transplant is one example that will forever enhance the credibility and international stature of our medical degrees).

    I'm been told that Zim standards are excellent, but most people believe the standards went down like everything else (currency, agriculture, quality of life).
     
  3. jj1

    jj1 New Member

    l have read almost all the postings on this forum about ZOU. Not a single person is writing from Zimbabwe and therefore all that has been said is heresay. l stay in Zimbabwe and have studied with ZOU and have first hand experience. l did my bachelor's degree with ZOU and proceeded to do my MBA with UCT in south africa and here l am today singing praises about ZOU all the way. lt is a genuine university with genuine learning structures in place and top of the shelf modules. l have compared modules from ZOU with those from UNISA and believe you me ZOU modules are far ahead both in content and objectivity. My MBA from UCT is first class and all this is because l got the foundation from ZOU. Food for thought.
     
  4. okydd

    okydd New Member

    Thank you for this post. Most of the members of degreeinfo are very open minded and respect other nations public institutions. Can you tell us a bit more about your experience at ZOU; cost, response time, etc? UCT is a worldclass institution from the ranking; sometimes in the top 100 MBAs.
     
  5. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    And often their private ones, such as Strathmore University in Kenya.

    -=Steve=-
     
  6. Cephas

    Cephas New Member

    The credibility of the zimbabwe open university

    I am MBA finalist with ZOU and currently residing in Cape Town, RSA. I run the finances and administration of one of a well established Film Production companies in South Africa. Prior to this job I was a business consultant and helped a lot of South African business start-ups and existing businesses in distress with turnaround strategies - these are tangible contributions in Africa's biggest economy.

    I obtained my strategic management skills from the ZOU MBA programme and I believe I am capable.

    Hence, one can have PHDs from Havard but rock the whole of the world's financial system - its what you do with the knowledge that matters. The same American and european textbooks are used for ZOU programmes. ZOU is also part of the international universities structures and hence the degrees are acceptable anywhere in the world.

    Come on lets raise the flag on behalf of ZOU and it will be renowned and all the fears and doubts will be gone within no time (Zimbabwe is in a natural transition process that America and Britain went through to image as great nations we know of today - mark my words you will see).

    Food for thought.
     
  7. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    I know, old thread but I was looking up something on the University of Zimbabwe and came across Zimbabwe Open University. ZOU seems to be legitimate (according wiki and other sources). I think the unfortunate problem remains that Zimbabwe may have a good educational system at the university level (judging by a few partnerships, rankings and so on) but what is going in Zimbabwe creates a problem. The economy has picked up according to the IMF since the unity government but here is a scenario:

    Robert Mugabe passes away just as you turn in your dissertation (Thesis) after 3 years of hard work
    Various Factions struggle for control of the financially, politically and socially ill country
    Suddenly you cannot get a hold of professors at your Uni in Zimbabwe who are more concerned with life and death issues, riots and so on. Records destroyed, etc.

    My thought, is you are better of with a South African degree due to greater stability and the excellent reputation (academic) of South African schools.

    Note: Robert Mugabe may be a dictator and have run his country into the ground since he took over but he is a well educated dictator. Dude should be posting on the DL forums (all that and the guy could not do better than financially and socially nearly destroy his country after taking over from Ian Smith).

    He qualified as a teacher, but left to study at Fort Hare in South Africa graduating in 1951, while meeting contemporaries such as Julius Nyerere, Herbert Chitepo, Robert Sobukwe and Kenneth Kaunda. He then studied at Salisbury (1953), Gwelo (1954), and Tanzania (1955–1957). Originally graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Fort Hare in 1951, Mugabe subsequently earned six further degrees through distance learning including a Bachelor of Administration and Bachelor of Education from the University of South Africa and a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Science, and Master of Laws, all from the University of London External Programme.[15] The two Law degrees were earned while he was in prison, the Master of Science degree earned during his premiership of Zimbabwe.[16] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 8, 2011
  8. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    The assumption there is that he gives a shit about the financial and social development of anyone other than himself, and it's abundantly clear that he doesn't.

    -=Steve=-
     
  9. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I find it interesting that the 2 people who spoke positively about ZOU registered just to make one posting and never answered any of the questions that were asked of them. Anonymous proponents of such schools are doing no favors by making drive-by postings and then disappearing when the questions arise. My opinion remains unchanged. I can not imagine why, under current circumstances, anyone would take a chance on this school, especially when there are places like UNISA right around the corner.
     
  10. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    I have to agree but still bizarre. Very well educated and completely unconcerned not just about his people but his own legacy. He took over from a white run government, was supposed to usher in an era of equality and his legacy is to start with the bread basket of African and turn it into an amazing mess (wiki says 60% of the animals have died off, massive de forestation which is bad for a tourism dependent country, hyper inflation, lower life expectancy....etc). He not only harmed his countrymen but has left an enduring legacy attached to his name. Began with high hopes and has ended with terror and poverty.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 9, 2011
  11. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    I do not know what their intent was in posting. The university appears legit and government run BUT I agree with you. Why choose this in a very unstable country where if things go wrong you may either never finish or you never again get transcripts when you can choose South Africa and end up with a highly credible program with great and rich academic tradition.
     
  12. newbie12345

    newbie12345 member


    So why do we care if the university is listed in the UNESCO database? If the University is listed in the UNESCO database, then does that mean we can transfer the credits to an American regionally accredited university? If so, how do we do this. Also, does anybody know one of these foreign universities that give life experience degrees or transfer all of our 120 credits toward a bachelor degree? I don't necessarily want an Africa degree, and any foreign country would do. I'm new to this forum, so forgive me if the question seems dumb.
     
  13. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    Since the IAU started charging institutions 700 to 1750 Euros a year for membership, their member institutions has dropped considerably. You can read their mission statement here:
    Latest Adopted | International Association of Universities

    Listing doesn't guarantee transfer of credits from one university to another, that is up to the receiving institution (contact them). This holds true even from one regionally accredited school to another! All this listing says is that you graduated from a school that is recognized by the United Nations. Is that a big deal? Probably not!
     
  14. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    The other poster answered the significance of the UNESCO listing. I am not sure that many countries offer life experience degrees (I could be wrong). I think this is mainly a US phenomenon. I am not a fan of it except in extremely limited circumstances. Having experienced good education in a bricks and mortar school and DL, I can say my preference in terms of depth of education is bricks & mortar. However, there are many studies however indicating even that has been dumbed down (students are not prepared for in depth discussion of material, etc). There was a PBS program and others about the issue.

    The thing I have respect for with the British and South African (Australian) system of Doctoral level education is that in their systems they expect you to be ready for independent research, especially at the doctoral level and their education system prepares you for it. From what I have read the doctoral level promoters challenge and push students to produce quality work. The problem in the US (especially and possibly mainly in for profits) is that you end up duplicating work you took at the Masters level before you ever get to the dissertation. I recall I saw this in the old University of Sarasota PhD program (now Argosy). I imagine they would argue the depth is different. So, I wonder whether we are producing scholars from for profits that are the equivalent of bricks and mortar schools or bricks and mortar schools of say the 1950's and 60's (many programs even requiring additional languages).

    In any case, in South Africa for instance they (many schools) do not recognize the 90 credit hour MDiv as meeting entrance requirements for a PhD program in Theology. They require students to first enroll in the MTH (this would also be true of good academic schools in the US) unless the MDiv had a Thesis component or the person had the DMin (as prep for PhD studies). One person who applied to Stellebosch posted he was told his MDiv was the equivalent of the SA BTh and he would need to first enroll in the MTH program before entering the DTH.
     
  15. nanoose

    nanoose New Member

    Even here in NA, the MDiv is a very different degree than the MTh.

    The MDiv focus is less academic than the MTh. It is more concerned with the practical aspects of pastoring.

    I can absolutely understand that 'British model' requirement.
     
  16. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    Have you considered Excelsior College? For me, it was worth the effort and I was able to get into a top notch graduate school with the Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts. There are many pitfalls when trying to "shortcut" your education. Going to a foreign school may have its advantages but I recommend sticking to a U.S. Regionally Accredited school for the undergraduate degree (a very personal preference). At a minimum, make sure the institution is listed in the CHEA: Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) (2010)

    This is a database of schools that may not be regionally accredited but meet some sort of accreditation standard recognized by the US Department of Education.
     

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