Degree from UMUC: is it appropriate not to mention that it's from UC?

AUTiger00, how do you feel about a Auburn Univeristy Montgomery (AUM) graduate claiming Auburn University.

I know a UMUC student and he tried to sell me that BS.

 

It depends on when the individual graduated from AUM. For many years AUM graduates received diplomas with Auburn University on the diploma. In later years AUM started to issue diplomas under it's own name.

 

I didn't know that.

 

I didn't know that either.

I would feel mislead if an AUM student tried to pass themselves off as an AU grad. It is not a college inside Auburn University and is not considered to be of the same caliber as Auburn's main campus. Like a previous poster said, it would be the same as a student/alumni at UMass-Dartmouth, University of Missouri-St. Louis or any other state institution's smaller branch campuses claiming they attended UMass, Mizzou or any other flagship state school. I feel it's a lie by omission.

 

AUM was an Auburn branch campus not unlike UAH and UAB were for Bama years ago before they attained separate accreditation. Nowadays all issue diplomas under their names.

 

Representing a degree as coming from Auburn when you earned it at AUM is deceitful, it was a lie when the two schools shared accreditation and it is a lie today, as is claiming you attended BAMA when you attended UAH, claiming The University of Tennessee when you attended UT-Chattanooga, etc, etc, etc.

This brings up an interesting issue, if you are ashamed of, or feel the need to misrepresent the degree you earned, you probably should have selected another university. Lying or misrepresenting where your degree is from does nothing other than diminish the reputation of your alma mater when the truth is brought to light. If you don't respect the school you attended why should a potential employer?

 

Said perfectly, and applies to the OP for UM vs UMUC.

 

An idividual should list the school that is on the diploma. A branch campus is just that. While I can appreciate your position it doesn't reconcile with distance learning or folks who study at any number of satellite campuses (including military bases) and never set foot on a physical campus yet receive a degree from a school. If, however, an individual is listing a degree from a school not on the diploma then I agree with your position.

But you have to keep in mind that individual circumstances will vary, including your own, when you complete your ALM degree form the extension school. Will you list Harvard University or Harvard University Extension School? We exhausted that discussion as well in other threads. I merely was responding to the poster who brought up the Auburn/AUM issue and wanted to provide some historical background that might complicate that particular issue. In addition, Auburn and AUM currently have a joint PhD program where study is done at both campuses. How do you reconcile that degree?

Joint PhD

 

You bring up some valid points. Let me address them individually:

1.) If a student earns a degree via distance learning (as many people on this board do) then they should list the name of the institution issuing the degree. In the OP's situation the degree should be listed "University of Maryland-University College". Simply listing the "University of Maryland" is a gross misrepresentation of the credential, especially considering that people, particularly those along the eastern seaboard and the greater Washington DC metro area, will almost always connect the University of Maryland with the University of Maryland-College Park.

2.) I do think that it needs to be clarified that a branch campus and a satellite campus are not the same thing. For example, if a serviceman or woman earns a degree from Troy University through one of their satellite campuses then they are within their rights to list the degree as "Troy University....Troy, AL", just as I list my degrees as "Auburn University...Auburn, AL" and "Vanderbilt University...Nashville, TN". If someone graduates from the University of Maryland-University College then simply says they attended the "University of Maryland" they are being deceitful.

3.) I don't think you can compare the situation of the OP with my situation and HES. HES is a school inside Harvard University, UMUC is not a college inside the University of Maryland-College Park. When a potential employer looks at a resume, if it is so vague that it only says "University of Maryland" that person will likely presume the degree was issued by UM-College Park. Personally, my resume lists "Harvard University, Harvard Extension School...Cambridge, MA", "Vanderbilt University, Owen School of Management...Nashville, TN", "Auburn University, College of Business...Auburn, AL". That said, I am not opposed to an HES student/alumni listing "Harvard University...ALB/ALM" because they aren't being dishonest, they are presenting the degree they earned. When I talk to people and the topic of where I went/go to school comes up I am guilty of being vague and just saying "Harvard", not because I am ashamed of HES, but because in a social situation I don't feel like spending an extended amount of time explaining the extension school to them. My situation can be exasperated because I am in the government track. When people ask what you are studying at Harvard and you reply "Government" individuals with only a vague understanding of Harvard often assume you are at the Kennedy School. When that assumption is made I quickly correct them, I have no intention of misrepresenting myself or an institution I have become quite fond of (as an aside, technically government would be studied through the Graduate School of Arts and Science as the Kennedy School of Government focuses on Public Administration/Public Policy). I know that there are students inside HES that misrepresent the credential (claiming an AM when they are earning an ALM) and I find that appalling. But again, I think it is a completely different situation to say you attend Harvard while at HES (a college inside Harvard University) compared to saying you attended the University of Maryland when you attended UMUC, or that you attended Auburn when you attended AUM, or that you attended Mizzou when you attended the Univ. of Missouri-St. Louis, etc.

4.) To your point regarding Auburn/AUM, I know that you weren't attempting to be argumentative and didn't take offense to your post. I am simply of the opinion (as I believe most people from the state of Alabama would be) that declaring you are an Auburn alum when you attended AUM is deceitful, regardless of when the degree was issued. If you attended a branch campus you need to clarify that. In regards to the joint PhD you mentioned, in that case the line becomes blurred and I would not be offended or question someone's character if they said they earned their doctorate from Auburn in casual conversation. In a professional setting I feel you should be more upfront/forth coming and explain that it is a joint degree from Auburn/AUM.

One final point in regards to the OP, I think that if you come to a message board in an attempt to have someone validate your attempt to be consciously vague in the listing of your credential(s) you already know the answer to your question. You've earned a college degree, I have to believe that you are intelligent enough to know how it should be presented.

 

I’ve seen some list Prairie View A&M University as Texas A&M University at Prairie View. PVAMU transcripts say Prairie View A&M University of Texas 1876 on the school seal. Pragmatically speaking, I suppose they could all be considered correct. Go figure…

 

IMO, it doesn't help when the school system doesn't do much to make any sort of distinction. For example, all UMass diplomas look exactly alike; the only differences are the name of the campus (Amherst/Boston/Lowell/Dartmouth) and the signatures of the chancellors.

My UMass-Lowell diploma looks exactly like the UMass-Amherst diploma earned by a co-worker, and the same as the UMass-Dartmouth diploma earned by a friend of mine, with those minor distinctions. They all look like this;

http://www.healingovertime.com/images/umass.jpg

 

Well...that's correct in probably 9 out of 10 cases, but schools have a talent for making things complicated even with diplomas. I am doing a certificate at Washington State University Vancouver, a branch campus of WSU (in Pullman, WA). WSU certificates and diploma say "WSU" when earned from Pullman, but "WSU Vancouver/Spokane/Tri-Cities" when earned from one of the branch campuses. Nevertheless, no one would seriously suggest that these tiny campuses are independent institutions. I guess the only failsafe method is to check the CHEA website if the campus in question is independently accredited.

 

If you earn a degree from a satellite campus, then the degree comes from the university. In my case, I earned a degree from a Florida Tech satellite campus, but my resume just reflects Florida Tech. My transcripts do not make the distinction so neither do I. If someone were to ask, then of course I'd say that I earned my degree from a satellite campus.

In the UMUC case, you need to list the UC. The University System of Maryland has 5 University of Maryland's which are all different. The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) is part of the University System of Maryland but is an entirely different university than the other 4 University of Maryland's. To only list University of Maryland on a resume is not accurate.

University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
University of Maryland University College

http://www.usmd.edu/institutions/

 

I agree with this point. I also agree most of the other points by folks who posted. But I think that in many instances, due to changes in institutions, etc... there will be areas that may need to be clarified should a question arise. Especially when a DL degree is earned.

On a side note you folks in Washington state are a little different anyways. I stopped in a Starbucks in Walla Walla a couple of years ago and asked the barista how the town came to be named. Her short answer was that the place was so nice it had to be named twice. Made my day.

On another side note, anybody besides me notice the views on this thread?

 

I can see my resume now: Graduated from the University of Kansas-Fort Hays. Lmao!

 

UMUC - Cyber Security

Find a major that would differentiate you from the "prestigious" universities. For UMUC, major in Cyber Security. Personally, I will want employers to know I went to UMUC (not another University of Maryland), and majored in Cyber Security.

UMUC cybersecurity team wins an international competition - The Washington Post

 

In some very rare cases, even though there is no distinction on the diploma/certificate, it is important to state the delivery method. As an example, it is important to have Air War College creds of some kind for advancement in the Air Force, and it is very prestigious to attend the Air War College in residence. However, most military people will note on their bios that they attended War College in residence, by seminar, or by correspondence.

I also went to Florida Tech without setting foot in that state for educational purposes. However, FIT does not make a distinction on my Master's Diploma, so I generally do not, either, but I did attend one of the extended campuses, and if the subject comes up, I do not hide this fact. My gut feeling is that if there is a distinction to be made, then make it. UMUC is what it is, a separate part of the University of Maryland system.

 

As a UMUC Graduate(Proud One) you should absolutely list it fully as University of Maryland University College. Honestly, your college attended, especially for established professionals is a very small part of your resume. If a company is so inclined as to look over all my accomplishments elsewhere in order to just look for certain colleges their loss and I look forward to punishing their folly as we compete against each other in the future. Like many who have mentioned it, I started my degree in the military. I had a couple prospective employers when I was getting out of the Army that asked why I had chosen to attend UMUC and explaining that they have campuses in many deployed areas including Baghdad generally speaks for itself.

Listing the method of delivery or satellite campuses though is overly goofy. Resume space is extremely limited, the only duty your really incur is not to misrepresent yourself or your accomplishments. I took classes from UMUC in 2 different ways (online and in-person) including 5 different campuses; I'm certainly not going to list all of them. If someone wants to discuss it generally I'm happy to, if they are hyper focused on delivery method, they may not be the right company for me anyways. Either way I'm certainly not going to list University of Maryland University College , Online and In Person Classes, Baghdad, Kuwait, Adelphi, and College Park Campuses. Anymore than listing Virginia Tech EMBA National Capital Region Campus would make sense. University of Maryland University College is already a mouth full no need to compound it. There is a difference between being hyper accurate and not being deceitful.

Again, resume wise its one or two lines , I have two degrees from UMUC (Associates and Bachelors) , so I list both but honestly as my resume gets more jammed I've considered dropping the associates. I also don't spend a particular amount of time these days when I review applications to work for my current company with where the persons degree is from. Part of the problem is too many people have the concept that there is "A" or Ivy League schools and then there are "B" schools. That is inaccurate, there are A schools , B schools, C schools, D schools, and fake schools. The more prestigious the education, the more I do value it, but its one very minor factor in evaluating a potential employee.

 

Sorry I'm late to the party, but as this is a school I will be taking courses from soon, was reading through this thread with interest.

I would never try to misrepresent my educational credentials by not using the full name of the school I attended (where the partial name is same/similar to a more known and prestigious school).

However, I would like to mention that UMUC was in fact started as an offshoot from the University of Maryland as a way to educate working adults (long before it was called UMUC). Eventually UMUC broke away and became its own separate entity.

So while they are both completely different schools now, UMUC has its DNA from the founding mother school, University of Maryland. Just food for thought

 

Hello.