Hello! Seems that Woolf University offers a free one with Metis College. If someone wants to do more recherche than I did (almost none): https://woolf.university/academics/degree/1af37248-b453-4fe0-be37-7401f55a8862 Best regards, Mac Juli
A Woolf in cheap clothing? I knew we had a Woolf U. thread before. It didn't come up in the search-gadget so I checked Google. https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/woolf-university.61654/ Woolf is accredited in Malta and specializes in co-operative programs with other institutions world-wide. Free is always good. Check it out. BTW Metis College is an Indian school. Yes - India. Nothing to do with the Métis Nation of Canada, a large indigenous group.
I've emailed Woolf University some time ago. They never responded. I generally ignore institutions that offer online degrees but do not respond to online inquiries. If someone can get a hold of the staff, it might be an option.
On the surface, it's a 2250-hour, 90 ECTS degree program. For free? That sounds awesome, but do your homework first. If it sounds too good to be true...
I just checked their chat option. I immediately got bounced off and was given a link to another online form. I've once used such a form and never heard back. I've also e-mailed them with no success. But again, maybe someone else here will be lucky...
Sounds like my experience with IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University, India). I've been waiting 17 years....
"Notably, the Metis College provides its MBA program tuition-free to all Athena employees, an investment valued at $50,000 or ₱2.7 million in their professional development." (Link: https://www.athenago.com/news/achieving-more-with-the-metis-college-mba-program-enabling-professional-excellence) Either they've expanded the tuition-free offer or the program is only free for certain specific target groups.
The Woolf institution in Malta is not named Woolf University. Its name is simply "Woolf." The Malta Further and Higher Education Authority does not allow institutions in the category of which Woolf (Malta) is a member to be named "University."
Good point. A lot of European schools have achieved the accredited "higher education institution" status without possessing a university status. In some EU countries, the advertising of such an institution as a university is strictly forbidden. In other countries, it is only forbidden if done in the language of the host country. In Poland, higher schools are allowed to be called 'university' in English and other languages, though I have seen cautionary notes being written concerning this issue.
Thanks for the info, Jonathan. I guess it belongs in the same group as a former Swiss cantonal school, now "accredited in Malta" that we've discussed on the forum before - a school that called itself a "University" till that became forbidden by Swiss authorities, to all schools that were not Swiss-Federation accredited as universities. What I'd like to know is: Since these "Malta-accredited" schools do not have standing as Universities -- what sort of standing do their degrees have -- if any. What are they worth in Malta? What are they worth in other European countries? What are they worth (in foreign credential equivalency) here? Is this another propio-to-grad-cert-to-unaccredited-dustpile scenario, or are they simply -- nothing-- at all, except degree-looking papers? I'm beginning not to like this outfit --- at all. I'm guessing it's probably legal, though. ...At least I think so. Maybe...
I am not sure what to think about this outfit based on my experience. But I can't say anything bad about their status as a higher education institution in Malta. They are legit on that score. Not having standing as a university is not a negative point in Europe. It just highlights the nature of an institution. College degree vs. university degree kind of thing. Not bad, Johann. It's not a propio scenario.
Whether it is worthwhile to attend Woolf is another matter. But I think that positive evaluation in North America should not be a major issue. See this website: https://woolf.university/legal/degree-mobility-and-immigration Foundation for International Services, a member of NACES.org since 1987, has evaluated Woolf. FIS deemed a master’s degree from Woolf to be equivalent to one “from a regionally accredited institution in the United States”. Comparative Education Services is part of the University of Toronto and is an authorized evaluation service for the Canadian government. CES reached the conclusion that a Woolf degree to be “from a recognized university” and CES accepted a Woolf master’s degree for purposes of immigration and citizenship. As I said, the issue has to do with the nature of an institution and whether it should be referred to as a college or university. It is comparable to a university degree.
It looks like, potentially, a staffing/outsourcing company called Athena having their training program for employees, and using Woolf to accredit it as a degree. Which tracks with Woolf's stated business model of providing program evaluation and accreditation as a service. Interesting concept. I believe there is a free PhD program in Science Woolf also lists. Upon examination, it looks like a biotech startup hiring people to a paid position with a job title "PhD student", pays them a salary, and has their work structured as a research degree program. Unusual, but not necessarily sketchy. I wonder what Woolf's cut is on this. And is it feasible to use the platform to, eg., develop and market a DBA degree with $6000 price tag.
Woolf's cut is $50,000 per year, and it's a little more complicated in that one must tie oneself into their information systems. It's not as freewheeling as one might assume. My understanding is that Woolf itself doesn't really offer any programs directly, but that its associated institutions (its customers, if you will) do. So if an institution that works through them can make a $6000 DBA work with that overhead, I guess there's no reason they couldn't do so.
Independent of how good a degree program Woolf (Malta) might offer, I’d really hesitate to sign up for a degree program in which the name of the school granting the degree is one proper name, such as “Woolf,” on its own without any descriptive qualifier (College, Academy, Institute of Higher Education, anything).
Cooper Union and The Citadel have longer formal names I could use if need be! I also wonder how long either would have lasted if their written common names were simply “Cooper” or “Citadel.”
I see Jonathan's point. Of course those are OK. Because we know them. What do we know about Malta? Besides that it's the newest popular place for degree-granting schools that are not Universities to get themselves accredited as - uh, something less. This one-name thing may be de rigueur in Valletta, for all I know -- but I just don't. I suppose you do?