AN accredited degree from Latin America for an Adam Smith University degree?

According to the Adam Smith University Website

Adam Smith University of America

You can now transfer a Adam Smith University degree and credits to a private government accredited university in Latin America (and then I guess try to have it evaluated by a degree evaluating agency for equivalency in the USA)
They do not list the university. It is considered a dual degree program.

 

Unless we know the name of the school, this deal is of little value in my opinion. Not because the school is accredited in it's country, it means is automatically recognized in the US. You would need to get it accepted by credential evaluators like WES. For credential evaluators to accept it, the school needs to be accredited and recognized. In some countries like Panama and Mexico, an accredited school can be opened in a basement with little money so I am sure that places like WES know about this and would only accept schools that actually have campuses, libraries, full time faculty, research, etc.

This type of deals where a school offers recognition from a place with lax standards is old news and has been tried in the past from places like Liberia, Mexico, etc.

 

The thread is nearly three years old, btw.

 

Darn right it can. Degrees of this one are worthless in US. I followed the e-mail address from the Adam Smith site ([email protected]) and it led to a Facebook page belonging to THIS place:

International University

This place (aka Universidad Internacional) is "legal" enough - It's a private university established under Panamanian Law. Its degrees do NOT have the standing of those of a mainstream Panamanian Uni. These businesses are easily set up -- and do not place themselves under the jurisdiction and authority of the University of Panama. Consequently, their degrees have no standing. University of Panama supervision, etc. is required, to be the equivalent of "accredited."

This school is an outgrowth of some sort from the ever-unaccredited "International University" of Missouri. I read somewhere (on these "schools' " sites) that the Panama school had "merged" with the US school -- or the reverse.

Forget it - worth no more, no less than an Adam Smith U. degree. In the US that's zip, bupkis. In Panama, nada. :smile:

Johann

All bad roads lead to Grandview MO.

 

I said "darn right it CAN," Steve, because RFValve said such a school CAN be opened in a basement with little money.

And he's right.

Johann

P.S. Also, the school CAN sell these worthless degrees, because it has the proper permit to do so. The only thing they CAN'T do is make the degrees worth anything. And they don't have to...

 

BTW - It's a situation analogous to the "Swiss Cantonal Approval" situation - not really to the US. State laws have banished Unaccreds from many jurisdictions, e.g. Wyoming. Only about half of States have rules permitting unaccred. religious schools to confer degrees. California allows Unaccreds (I'm talking secular again) but, to operate legally, they have to qualify (at least honesty-wise) with the BPPE.

In Switzerland, it's kinda like Panama, only better, on average. The degrees of Cantonally-approved schools have no institutional accred. or equivalent, although some of the better Cantonal schools have good programmatic accred - ACBSP etc. Even so, many of those "better" schools' degrees are not accepted in nearby countries - e.g. Germany.

Part of the problem - it's pretty near impossible for a DL school to satisfy Swiss Federation requirements - buildings, number of full-time professors, etc. So they all go the Cantonal route. In Panama, the equivalent of "accreditation" comes from subjecting everything - course content, teaching etc. to the authority of the University of Panama. As I said, these "private" schools aren't required to. Hence they can legally confer degrees that won't really get the recipients anywhere.

AFAIK , the "private university" dodge is available in Panama, Mexico and Nicaragua. In this forum, we've hosted-and-roasted schools of this type from all three countries in recent days.

Johann

 

Right. I said both things, pretty much.

Understood - both points. (Took a while -slow today) Looks like I was quibbling, too. :smile:

Johann

 

A friend of mine that was working as an TESL teacher in Mexico a while ago, told me he was doing a PhD in TESL at a Mexican institution. I visited him once, and I remember the school being located at a small of office of about 200 square feet. I told him that it seemed like a scam but he showed me a copy of an accreditation document for the school granted by the minister of education of Mexico. I realized then that schools in Mexico can be opened quite easily, this was a PhD granting institution in a location that probably cost about $100dlls a month to rent. Faculty was all rented and most likely with doctorates from the same institution.

I believe that places like WES would only recognize schools in Latin American that are actually universities like UNAM, Getulio Vargas, University of Chile, etc and not small businesses that are opened to make a quick buck.

For this reason, in the international job market, most employers would only recognize degrees from USA, Canada, Australia and Western Europe as it is very hard to know if a school from other countries are actually real or just quick set ups.

 

I believe that, too, RFValve. I have faith in "real" evaluators, as do you. Hopefully, we're right in our belief. Just nice to "unmask" the specific h Latin American school that Adam Smith U. has the arrangement with. I believe Prof. Dr. Stephen Barnhart of International U. (Missouri) and Rev. Dr. Robert Ray Hill, Academician, WIDU VP hold high offices in IU of Panama. Their pictures were on the original IUP site which is gone/replaced now.

Perhaps you have heard of them. The search-gadget will likely bring up their names!

Johann

 

I don't know if it is the same "international university", but found this picture of "Universidad Internacional" that gives you the idea of the typical basement operation in Latin America.

http://www.enlineadirecta.info/fotos/Z_Universidad23.jpg

 

Incidentally, there is another thread on International U. of Panama here:

http://www.degreeinfo.com/accreditation-discussions-ra-detc-state-approval-unaccredited-schools/37231-international-university-panama-accredited-legitimate-acceptable-2.html

It contains a riposte of absolute comedic genius by Kizmet (President of Egypt -Hans Doofensmirch). :smile:

In it, a poster named "Devil's Advocate" claims that International U. of Panama degrees can be evaluated in US to high standards, by ACCRAO and CUFCE. CUFCE is an unrecognized evaluator (non NACES non ACCRAO) in California. In the real academic world, its evaluations are worth bupkis!

Rev. Dr. Robert Ray Hill of IUP was also on the CUFCE team, the West Coast U. (Panama) team and, despite protestations that his real name was "Harley," he was believed by some to be the person behind the "Devil's Advocate" handle, here at DI and elsewhere. :smile:

Johann

 

Appears to be a competitor, in Ciudad Victoria, Mexico. Found no connection with IUP, athough the Panama one is part of a chain of several throughout Latin America. Those uh--"campuses" are listed on the IUP page. I went to the site of the Mexican school in your picture. Unfortunately, it was "closed for maintenance," although a DL page was working.

Here is the working site: Centro de Educación a Distancia

I agree -it is a typical low-buck operation.

Johann

 

So it is...Holy Guano, Batman! I'm GLAD it got necromanced. It's been fun! :smile:

Johannes "Hans" Doofensmirch

 

If you're going to be Dr. Doofenshimrtz, can I be Vanessa? (By the way, it's Heinz, not Hans)

fftopic::hijacked:

 

Hope the Panama's version doesn't look like the outfit below:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CJP_H7Ohiy8/TYT2uQYLjxI/AAAAAAAAA30/kTquzuo0NUQ/s1600/Patito.JPG

This makes look "Universidad Internacional" in Mexico look like Harvard. "Universidad Lingua" claims to be recognized by the Minister of Education of Mexico (SEP). I wonder what would be the value of a PhD from Lingua when the full school is not worth more than thousand bucks.

A business person in the US can open a school for few thousand bucks in Nevada and then claim that degrees are granted by an accredited University in Mexico. The American student will never know that the mother school looks like your average corona beer corner store.

 

Well, about the only things I can say on the GOOD side for Universilingua are:

(1) It's doesn't seem to be posing as "Universidad Lingua" as far as I can tell. Certificates only, from what I read. No mention of Ph.Ds or other degrees, thank goodness!

(2) It does appear to have a main building (2-story commercial?) with some classrooms. See below.

All I could find was this Youtube video, a couple of Facebook alumni pages and some blog-ads and hostings on advertising sites. No stand-alone website for the school that I could see. The state of their "branch office" or whatever that garage-pic was, does not speak well for any school! I thought it was in Karachi, until I saw the Spanish signs!

Here's the vid: Universilingua - YouTube Neither a University nor a degree-mill, as I see it. Not a great-looking school, for sure, but....

Oh yes - here's another rather blurry vid, where the proprietor proudly shows the school's gov't license. Sound was turned off on the computer I was using -- so I have no idea what he's saying....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoVZlQm1-u4

Johann

 

Sorry. It doesn't...

Johann

 

Kizmet - you can be whoever you want, provided I can, too. I had no idea these people actually existed in any form, cartoon etc. I saw it as a stand-alone, hilarious moment.

By the way - here's your original quote. You wrote the name as Hans...not Heinz.

Johann

PS - now I've Googled Perry and I see he's from Phineas and Ferb - something I never watched. BTW Doofenshmirtz - the "shmirtz" part looks derived from German/Yiddish "Schmertz" - trouble, woe, heartbreak (or sometimes a noxious odor.) Good name!