Central University of Nicaragua Degree Scheme

Empresarial Univesity, renting its degree-granting authority to a guy in the U.S.

I wonder how such a degree would be evaluated today?

 

Similar to Azteca and UCN, most of the CR operations are also black listed with WES. Probably if you look hard enough, you can still find a NACES service that will be willing to evaluate them.

I think the model that Azteca and UCN follows was taken from CR. I heard that Empresarial is now offering on campus programs as they did in the past

The main difference is how you defend the dissertation. If it is professional, many times it does not have to be a viva presentation but just examined by external faculty and just validated by internal faculty. If it is an academic dissertation, it has to be defended in viva with external and internal faculty that are research experts in the field. The second one normally requires full time faculty from the university and the first one can be outsourced to contract faculty many times as you don't need research experts due to the professional nature of the dissertation.

For what I can see, the UCN degree seems to be more professional than academic but they use the title PhD just to make it appealing but most likely dissertations are not defended with UCN research faculty or Azteca faculty. Maybe Dr. Coleman can help here with the dissertation defense process at Azteca. Do Azteca full time faculty with research expertise are the ones who examine the dissertation?

 

Just out of curiousity, what are the rules for using the title "Dr. John Doe" in the USA? Can you can yourself Dr. ... with a propio from azteca?

 

It really depends on the context and logistics. Azteca’s Propio alone is evaluated as a regionally accredited institution/ “unaccredited program” by IEE. However, I believe if any institution is legally able to grant a Doctorate, you technically can call yourself a Dr. unless prohibited by authorities in your area to do so. It’s definitely a grey area because the institution is recognized in this case but the program is not which is why it was laundered through UCN with their partnership. In a vast majority of cases , I doubt it will matter.

 

Somewhere here I read that the 1500 Euro DBA from Uni San Miguel was evaluated as RA equivalent Doctorate by "Validential". Would that be sufficient to call yourself Dr. X on your business card or e-mail signature in the USA?

 

I don't see how this changes the meaning of diploma, all that much. In many countries, guiding and supervising the process and evaluating the product are much less connected than in US. Hence, the concept of an "external" candidate, a variation of which exists all over Eastern Europe at least. Here's the information from a public university in Lithuania:
External PhD defence - MRU (mruni.eu)

 

Many states and organizations accept Validential for employment and education purposes so if they view the evaluation as legitimate, then the Dr. title would be accepted. In fact, I believe that as long as it comes from a recognized school, the status of the actual program won't matter as long as an authority recognizes the legality of the degree. Schools that are "state-authorized" or religiously exempt are able to grant a degree title that technically permits the "Dr." title use for earners on a business card or email signature as well. It depends on the purpose of the "Dr." and where you plan to use it.

 

The dissertation defense was done with Azteca and they were the ones who issued a document with the thesis results. This was then sent to UCN with all of the faculty involved being listed on UCN's diploma supplement (transcript). However, there is no mention of Azteca's inter-university partnership on the diploma supplement.

 

All dissertations are academic. Some are scholarly, some are professional.

 

There are no laws directly addressing this. It comes down to use and intent. No one is going to lock up Julius Erving. But the use--or misuse--of a title can get one into trouble if it is used to commit a fraud. Employment is where we see this the most.

 

It looks like the Doctorate from Azteca is legally granted, it just lacks formal recognition. A bit similar to state approved or religions exempt degrees in the US. I agree that holder is entitled to the Dr designation but the degree cannot be used to practice regulated professions where the doctorate is required:

https://avrio.edu.eu/es/usc/azteca-university/own-degree/

 

Technically a Doctorate from the universal life church a can also allow you to be called Dr.

 

"I put my hand on a rock, looked up in the sky and said, 'I am a DOCTOR!'" -- Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner

 

Exactly right! For example, if Mr. Smith has a valid PhD and goes by Dr. Smith in a medical setting to deceive people into thinking that he's a medical doctor then he's committing a crime.

 

Thanks for this info. A person that I know is planning to get a work permit in the US as a business intelligence analyst. If Validential can be used for employment and immigration purposes, the ENEB degree might help to qualify for employment.
For Faculty positions, most need at least a NACES member evaluation certificate.

 

USCIS also expects a NACES member be used for educational evaluation, though the manual doesn't specifically call this out. The Department of State does make the distinction. A Validential report might be able to squeak by, but if there is any kind of appeal or Request for Evidence (RFE) they will likely get a negative adjudication. Some updated forms (e.g. the I-944 introduced in 2019, though later withdrawn) explicitly require(d) NACES. It's definitely a dice roll if ENEB would work for them.

 

Thanks for this info. Do you know if there is any expiration date for a certificate for USCIS purposes? He has an NACES evaluation for his first degree but it is more than 10 years old. The Validential certificate would not be used of Visa purposes but mainly for employment but the first degree is from a traditional well known on campus university.

 

There might be rare cases where it matters (like a school's accreditation changes or something), but in general an old evaluation should be fine.

 

It looks like Azteca is growing. It is always possible that the school starts converting all these qualifications as RVOE approved qualifications. As the school starts growing and getting more investment, it will have the resources to make these qualifications stronger.
I started my DL journey with the Southern California University for Professional Studies (SCUPS). The program was only 5K for the doctorate but I dropped because I did not believe in the school. However, the school grew into Northcentral University and then merged with National University.
All the schools start unaccredited but with the right amount of resources and planning can grow into an accredited journey.

 

Couple of things here:

(1) It took SCUPS nearly 30 years from first door-opening, to initial accreditation.
(2) And it did NOT grow into NorthCentral, which was a separate school, although under the same ownership.

SCUPS became California Southern U. and was first accredited by DETC, now DEAC. For a long time, it was regarded as a "feeder" school for RA North Central, because North Central would accept CSU grads who had NA (DEAC) degrees.

Yes - some schools become accredited - but it's hardly worth waiting 30 years. And the odds? About the same as the casino or the track. A crapshoot - at best.