Nexford University

a one-year old start-up

https://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2019/02/01/LN40201

 

Well, I am skeptical. There is nothing innovative.

 

DC licensed. "Accredited" by ASIC.

 

If ASIC would just be a little more selective they could elevate their rep/status pretty effectively. I notice that they've cut a number of laughable programs, but still, it's going to take some time for them to gain ground in the respectability department because they've spent so many years accrediting garbage.

Nexford sounds like a CBE program for a low price, and that's a good thing provided that the educational quality is strong enough. If using ASIC is a stepping stone toward the goal of obtaining more respectable accreditation, then I can sort of see a point in going that route.

The way I see it, to be fair, regardless of accreditation, a school needs to prove itself as an individual institution before respect (or ridicule) can be given. So whether it's regionally accredited or otherwise, I wait to see what type of outcomes the school produces. If Nexford is bad, it may not take long before we hear something about it since for some reason the negative word seems to travel faster.

 

Agreed.

Their only programs are a B.B.A. & M.B.A., already available at a bazillion other, more established schools.

 

I never paid any attention to ASIC simple because of the micky mouse institutions it was accrediting. Anyway from ASIC’s website it looks like it has a very similar accreditor status as DEAC.

“ASIC is an independent, government approved accreditation body specialising in the accreditation of schools, colleges, universities, training organisations and online and distance education providers, both in the UK and overseas“ASIC.

Just for comparison I changed asic to deac and uk to usa, and i get two indistinguishable institutions.

DEAC is an independent, government approved accreditation body specialising in the accreditation of schools, colleges, universities, training organisations and online and distance education providers, both in the USA and overseas.

Where was I mistaken?

 

What is the meaning of ASIC government approval? Is it only for Visas to students who want to study in the UK? They appear as an accreditor of non-degree-granting adult education programs inside the UK.

DEAC government approval means that the agency is recognized by the Department of Education of the USA. That means something very different than government recognition of ASIC.

 

I am very open to being convinced there is a difference in recognition between DEAC and ASIC. From ASIC, “ASIC is an independent, government approved accreditation body specialising in the accreditation of schools, colleges, universities, training organisations and online and distance education providers, both in the UK and overseas“. What makes ASIC an inferior accreditor to DEAC?

 

1. ASIC's British government recognition doesn't seem to be as a university accreditor. In the UK, there is really only one university accreditor, the QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education). My understanding is that all institutions that award recognized UK university degrees must by law be overseen by the QAA. ASIC is indeed recognized by the UK Border Agency as an accreditor of non-degree further education programs, the ESL schools, dental assisting schools, truck-driving schools and so on, making foreign students eligible to receive student visas for enrolling in them.

DEAC's recognition is from the US Department of Education (not ICE). DEAC is recognized as an accreditor of university degree programs, up to the doctoral level in some cases.

2. The credibility of an accreditor is ultimately a function of the lineup of schools that it accredits. The list of foreign (not-British) "universities" that ASIC accredits has included and continues to include some doubtful things. This board has a number of old threads discussing some of them.

 

An expert has told us that ASIC has no remit outside of UK. It was originally conceived as a government-approved "accreditor" whose function was to see that schools were free of immigration scams, there were 'real' classes and the school wasn't harboring undesirables under cover of student visas etc. Academic oversight and judgment of programs wasn't really their job - as long as classes were there - and real - everything was OK. Most of ASIC's accredited schools then were NOT degree-granting. It morphed ITSELF into an "international accreditor" of largely degree-granting schools. ASIC is honest in that it insists its accreditation does not confer or enhance degree-granting authority; the schools rely on their degree granting authority in their own countries.

It always pays to ensure just how much of that authority ANY overseas school you're contemplating has. From the foregoing, I believe the idea of equating ASIC with DEAC is seriously problematic. 'Way Different!

ASIC has mistakenly accredited a couple of AXACT schools and has subsequently yanked the accreditation. ANY recently-opened school with "Ford" in its name sounds like it could easily be another AXACT (scam school) to me. I hope this one doesn't turn out to be AXACT.

 

I think you’re being too nice. Part of my problem with this whole thing is understanding how anyone could “mistakenly” accredit an Axact thing. I mean, they don’t even exist.

 

Axact schools like Orlando U, schools later bought by Axact like Paramount California University and schools run by individuals who in the past ran companies acting as vendors for Axact in the UAE. And schools founded by St Regis graduates as well as schools with Vice-Chancellors who are St Regis graduates.

Well, in this case, I don't think there's any connection. Also, new Axact schools are and will be using the .education TLD, like the recent hatchlings Olford Mount University and Hempster Shire University, omu dot education and hsu dot education.

 

What about schools with GM or Chrysler in their names?

 

Yes - I probably was being far too nice. Going against my own policy. Snap out of it, Johann!

GM - OK. Chrysler - fine, as long as they're not Dodgy! I like that French GM school - Université Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac. I'm hoping for a full-ride scholarship.

How comforting to know that quite a few of the myriad Axact honchos and profusely productive diploma-stampers are not in custody and are zealously plying their felonious trade.

 

Well, it seems the school is in no way an Axact thing. That's a relief. However, I'm unable to find any evidence that Mr. Al Tarzi, the president of Nexford U., has experience in the education industry. He's social-media savvy, having created a business called SOCIALEYEZ, but being skilled in creating hype doesn't seem, to me, enough to guide a fledgling university to eventual success - even an online one. IIRC , in our forum we recently had a sad tale of a business school, created by a person certainly experienced in marketing hype , that came to a bad end - even though that person had prior experience in running online universities - a couple of them, in fact.

I wish Mr. Al Tarzi better luck than that other guy - - but I have my doubts... Anyway - all they've done so far is announce that round A of raising money is beginning. I figure It'll be a while yet before we see anything - or not.

 

Well for me personally I've met with a couple of Nigeria students who are undertaking an MBA degree at Nexford University, and they seemed very happy with what they are experiencing so far.
Their feedback was that their Academic team is very professional and they have assistance around the o'clock and for them, the best thing was they still can take care of their jobs and families and study at their own preferred pace.
I think I'd rather go with a comment from someone who paid money for the actual program, rather than a few generic comments mostly reflecting a read here and there but not getting to the bottom of the school.
Whether it's ASIC, QAA, DEAC accredited or not doesn't matter much as long as the quality of the education is there. These accreditations are about time mostly, and as I see they started in 2017 so they are still fresh and probably in 2 more years they will have the full accreditation needed to raise their credibility to students or academics reviewing Nexford university.
The point about the president being into Social Media or Education doesn't really matter too, it's a business and the CEO of a tech company can be of Legal background, it's all about the team of professionals specializing in different areas. Maybe the CEO's added value here is in creating the hype and strong online presence, yet again the academic and admissions teams can be as good or even better as it's more about the individuals working there, and I've reviewed a couple of names working there like Dr.Joe Cappa the Director of Business Program who has a vast experience in business education as he previously worked in Universities like (Colorado Technical University, Southern New Hampshire University, Argosy University)(https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-joe-cappa/)

 

If you say so. But the fact is - without recognized accreditation, the degrees may be perfectly legal but have no standing. In most cases, that means NO JOB for the person who earned it. Plus possibly some legal trouble, depending where that person lives.

 

I can't see a reason to go with a school from an unrecognized accreditor unless it's offering something you can't get anywhere else and you fully understand and accept that your degree will be treated as unaccredited.

 

Yes - OR unless you're somebody who knows they can't get into - or complete study at an accredited school. Back when, I liked some unaccredited schools that did a good job at low cost. Many of the better ones have closed - some because of tighter rules and accredit-or-die legislation. Most of those still left, (with oft-noted exceptions) are no longer of the standard of the schools I used to like. The cost difference has long evaporated and there is far less reason today for ANYBODY to seek out or accept an unaccredited school, even if looking for a bargain.

Years ago - you got what you paid for - or more, in the case of the better unaccredited schools. Today, you're lucky to get anything. In North America, the party's over, but possibly that statement is too general for all other countries.

 

We’d like to address your concerns and provide some additional clarity.

· We are licensed to issue university degrees by the HELC, based in Washington DC: The Higher Education Licensure Comission (HELC). https://osse.dc.gov/service/higher-education-licensure-commission-helc This is the same organization that licenses all physical universities operating in Washington DC

· Nexford University is accredited by Accreditation Service for International Schools, Colleges and Universities (ASIC) which is an independent body providing accreditation services for independent, further and higher education colleges.

ASIC accreditation helps students and parents make a more informed choice and will also help a school, college, university, training provider or distance education provider, demonstrate to the international student body that they are a high quality institution. https://www.asicuk.com/institution-profiles/nexford-university/

You can find more information on our website: www.nexford.org/accreditation.

Regarding US accreditation, we do not yet have regional accreditation as that is a process that takes multiple years, but it's on our roadmap, we can assure you!