FYI: Columbia Southern's Chinese Program site

http://event.netbig.com/cus/

 

I've translated briefly the chinese introduction of Columbia Southern University from the webpage given by Jonathan. See below:

Columbia Southern University, located at Orange Beach, Alabama, of the USA, is a prestigious institute of general education. Its mission is to train professionals and competent individuals in today's modern and competitive world, so that they will be able to outperform their competitors and stand out from the rest. As such, CSU is recognized by the United States commission on higher education, and it's highly reputable institution.

Among the many outstanding programs offered by CSU, the MBA program should deserve the most attention. CSU graduates, because of their motivation, hardwork, persistency, and deep understanding of practical business in general, are very well regarded by major corporations. Our MBA graduates hold important senior positions in companies such as Boeing,Kodak and other Fortune 500 companies. Also, many of the corporate giants will pay for our programs for their employees to attend. Indeed, our MBA degrees have become a very important goal of life for almost everyone.

Byran

 

Oops...I forgot to add.

We know that CSU is DETC accredited. But because of their highly-exaggerated descriptions of themselves, I couldn't help but to think of their shaddy past prior to DETC accreditation.

Byran

 

It kills me that schools use the "prestigious" label so freely. Both Columbia Southern and MIGS proclaim themselves to be "prestigious", yet I own shoes that are older than both of them.

Not to mention that they are the ones proclaiming themselves prestigious. That's like me saying "I'm a really nice guy, just ask me".

It appears that DETC accreditation didn't change CSU's marketing procedures much.

Bruce

 

Actually, MIGS didn't call itself "prestigious." It did, at one time, refer to the CEU as such. I criticized it as hyperbole; it was soon changed.

Using the search engine at the MIGS site, I find one use of the word on the Faculty page, used to describe the nature of the schools from which their faculty members graduated.

I talked with staffers at the Secretary of Education's office in Nuevo Leon. They thought very highly of the CEU. However, it wasn't clear to me if the Macarena lessons were included in their approval of MIGS.

Rich Douglas

 

Rich is right. MIGS provided "world class" degrees issued by a "prestigious" Mexican university, the CEU. But to their credit, they toned it down and removed the superlatives.

And to be fair, quite a few schools blow their own horn. Furman University in South Carolina is a very good school, but their website is enough to make you queasy:

"Renowned for its superb faculty and beautiful campus, Furman is much more than one of the nation's top liberal arts and sciences colleges with an exceptional record of placing students in the finest graduate and professional schools."

And that's just the first sentence. There's a whole page like that.
http://www.furman.edu

Most schools praise themselves, and a few kind of go over the top.

BTW (OT note), my own little CSUDH won the 2000 NCAA division II men's national soccer championship! Go Toros!

Even the little guys brag now and then...

 

Actually Rich, it hasn't changed. Our old buddy Enrique Serna, Chairman of the Board at MIGS, has this to say in his welcome on the MIGS website; (http://www.degree.com/chairman-letter.htm)

"It is my sincere pleasure to Chair the Board of Trustees of this prestigious Institute".

Like I said, they're a prestigious school, just ask them.

Bruce

 

It is one thing to write something in an open letter, quite another to put it in a banner headline. Still, hype is hype, and Bill rightly points out the hype in Serna's letter.

BTW: I've never understood any of MIGS's self-promotion. When I first got involved, I thought they would promote the opportunity to earn a CEU degree. They got off that message in a hurry by making MIGS sound like a stand-alone institution (which is simply isn't), only to find themselves slowly moving back to it. But what's done is done. This was a self-inflicted wound, which will make the healing all the harder--and longer.

Rich Douglas

 

I agree, I think that MIGS would be much better off advertising itself as the external program of CEU, and highlighting the history and legitimacy of CEU.

Bruce

 

It seems that CSU has marketed itself very well in China for all these years. Not many people in China really understand the difference between RA and DETC.

 

According to Education Online of China, CSU has more than 800 MBA students in China (including 200 from Canton, and others from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, changzhou) and Taiwan as well. CSU claims its graduates holding important positions in Boeing, IBM, Kodak etc.
http://202.205.109.111/20051117/3161330.shtml

Interestingly, some other China education website doubts the quality of this school:
http://www.siphrd.com/training/emba/news03_07.htm

CSU is now expanding its business to Taiwan:
http://www.hfu.edu.tw/~pr/97/97word1-4.htm
http://english.hfu.edu.tw/sp.asp?xdURL=./school/school_1-1_overview.asp&ctNode=6179&mp=1013