A Question About WHED

What is the utility of the World Higher Education Database as it relates to discerning the legitimacy of educational institutions?

 

WHED does not list accredited religious/theological institutions, if they do not offer any secular degrees. That's a big issue, at least for me. They also has a rule where a country’s accredited institution will not be listed until a certain period of cohorts passes, so new institutions are excluded right off the bat. Inaccuracies abound, both in terms of the authorized degree program listings and the number of currently operating and accredited degree-granting institutions in a given country. One could use WHED for reference purposes, but I would hope that it won’t constitute the sole guide to recognition due to its significant shortcomings. Ministries of education and country’s accrediting authorities are a much better source of up-to-date information on recognized/accredited higher education institutions within a specific nation.

 

Is it a safe bet to assume that if an institution is included in WHED, it is accredited or the equivalent in its respective nation?

 

It's safer to assume that it was accredited at a certain point.

 

https://www.whed.net/detail_institution.php?KDo2MF0sQzhZLiM8YApgCg=%3D

According to WHED, Charisma University's location is "United States of America - Outside US". Well, the school is in the Turks & Caicos Islands, but until December last year I believe, it was registered as a company in Puerto Rico. Don't know if Charisma is still accredited by the German agency ACQUIN, but if so, I don't think it means that much. When I asked the Germans about it, I was told that German accrediting agencies can use a simplified process when accrediting foreign schools.

 

They are headed for TRACS accreditation. Dr Ehab El Shamy is one of the "dedicated members of our Ethical Committee, working tirelessly to uphold integrity and ethical standards in every facet of academic life."
Link: https://charisma.edu.eu/about/governance-leadership/

 

Maybe not. I don't think it needs to. Charisma is now well into its Candidacy status with a US Regional Accreditor. I never thought I'd be seeing this, or making this statement - but I think there's every chance it will become a US Regionally Accredited school, in the near future. It's not going to need ACQUIN.

As a certain DI poster quoted to @mbwa shenzi, myself and a few others, some years ago: "Surprise, surprise - Gol-lee!"

 

one correction: not regional but institutional. TRACS is sometimes classified as a faith-related accreditor.

 

Of course. I should have said "A recognized US National Accreditor" - not Regional. The memory is going... I actually forgot it was TRACS. They are one of only a few National accreditors with formal Candidacy periods. Everything else I said - I stick to.

 

I remember replying to surprises that I thought there could well be a place for Charisma University in higher education in the future and I was being honest. He sued me for libel anyway, after suggesting I was a member of the Boko Haram.

 

Yes. I was also on the list for that lawsuit. Surprises never accused me of being Boko Haram - but I think he once asked for my "true Nigerian name." I took that as a compliment.

 

As an aside, Christians are supposed to be averse to litigiousness. In fact, it is against biblical law to sue another Christian.

 

It's run from California. That's where the owner lives and that's where he sued me for libel. (I won that judgment, and also an anti-SLAPP judgment against him. But the costs of collecting would have exceed what I could have recovered, so I let it drop.)