Humanities Institute - University

Recently, I came across this website;
http://humanitiesinstitute.org/
http://users.neo.registeredsite.com/6/1/9/12924916/assets/catalogue-2020-05-111325.pdf

Back in 2015, I remember that I've even inquired about this particular school. They had a genuine BPPE degree-granting license in California and offered free degree programs. That was pretty unusual at the time. You could still access their old website here;
https://web.archive.org/web/20150208164608/http://humanitiesuniversity.org/UnivLicensing.html

I was intrigued by some of their programs. But I've never received a reply when attempting to contact them via e-mail. So, I was suprised to see that they are still around, long after the expiry of the California license.

What do you guys think? Odd, eh? They have a pretty interesting faculty though.

 

The general concept looks fascinating, but the website leaves much to be desired. Their single-page graduate school description looks incredibly amateurish. Even a handful of Fiverr webdevs could probably improve their web presence significantly.

Given the sloppy site, one wonders if there is any value to the education offered.

 

Just about the most interesting unaccredited program left in California, I'd say - but I think all hope is gone by now. The faculty does indeed look interesting, as Tadj says. Real academics, real schools, some with credentials that really command respect (from me, anyway). Only two programs. A certificate worth 9 grad credits (but from an unaccredited school) and a Doctor of Arts degree, also with no accreditation - but the material they draw from looks fascinating.

Yes - the website is very sparse, but at least the English is perfect. It looks like something that could be put together on "Feebly" or similar with zero training. Well, the principals don't list themselves as professors of web design - and perhaps there were not funds for professional help - or the founders misjudged the importance of a decent-looking site. I'm thinking the school will be out of business shortly, if it isn't already, due to an accredit-move-or-die edict from the State. Too bad. This school looks like it had sincerity and purpose. I was surprised to search our site and find no previous threads.

I didn't notice fees anywhere in what I read. Just out of curiosity, did anyone else see them? I probably got too carried away with the content. Thanks, tadj. Interesting find of the week. There should be an award for that.

 

I checked again - NO FEES! NONE! Here's what it says:

"Tuition and Fees
Humanities Institute does not charge its students tuition or fees. All successful students are
eligible to apply for Pre-doctoral fellowship from HI.

Financial Condition
The school is in excellent financial condition. It does not have a pending petition in bankruptcy,
and is not operating as adebtor in possession. It has not filed a petition within the preceding
five years and has not had a petition in bankruptcy filed against it within the preceding five
years. It has never had a reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy
(11 U.S.C. Sec. 1101 et seq.)."

Overall, this school reminds me a little of Signum U. - without the fantasy or spa-like aspect.
Definitely no spa. But interesting - and, I suspect, rigorous.

Signum U. is more like an Athenian school - Humanities Institute - very Spartan. Well, more civilized than Hesiod's hard-scrabble farmland in Boeotia, at least... but the work might be almost as hard.

 

That is true, Johann. The English is above and beyond what you find on mill sites and the usual fly-by-night operations.

If the programs are tuition-free, might it be worth trying one of the freebie "certificates" (stand-alone courses)?

 

I'd say YES - if you can get a response. I think the school may be padlocked now, possibly by BPPE accredit-or-die deadlines. Tadj reports no success trying to contact by email - so it kind of looks like an orphan site.

I'm still wondering why the rest of us didn't see this before --- maybe it's a SEO problem (i.e. none) stemming from the 1994-looking website. I'm going to try looking up the BPPE record. Later. Busy now.

 

Checked the BPPE. Got nothing on the Approved schools site. It did not seem to be working properly. I even got a "403-Forbidden" when I tried to access Terms of Use. Tried the Denied Schools page. It's a simple list. Humanities Institute was not on it. Frustrating. Maybe someone else will have better luck.

 

The address, Humanities Institute 8450 Byers Street / Downey CA is a 3-bedroom house. You can see it on Google etc. I think we're S.O.L. on our WWW search for a D.Arts, here. Just for the heck of it, I went to the archived Humanities University site. Learned nothing except that it was located in a different town - Whittier - same Founder - a physician (MD) and Ph.D. Gonna try the BPPE again, see what happened to the University.

 

ZIP-nada-bupkes at BPPE under Humanities Institute or Humanities University. This is gonna put me in the Insanities Institute pretty soon. I give up. Maybe the school did, too.

Turns out the owner of the school is - as I said - an MD. He is now practising in Texas. I'm not calling his office.

 

Since they referred to themselves as a non-profit foundation, I've looked it up here; http://rct.doj.ca.gov/Verification/Web/Search.aspx?facility=Y
When I type 'Humanities Institute', I can see this reference. It does point to Texas and 'delinquent' status;
http://rct.doj.ca.gov/Verification/Web/Details.aspx?result=9171af86-9e48-47a5-b273-94bc36a303cc
Even back in the day, I saw that they had zero enrollments according to BPPE enrollment reports. That was kind of concerning, but the license served as an assurance of a sort. It looks like a failed effort now.

 

A sad commentary. A labour of love - approved by State Agency - small faculty but great credentials - yet no takers, even for FREE. A sign of the times.

 

Oh, the humanity... :-(

 

Not much irony here. I think it is sad. There are quite much IT and business courses out there, but projects like there are seldom. If they are (likely) a failure, it is sad.

 

You beat me to it, Mac. I almost wrote "too bad they didn't open a Python (programming) bootcamp." And, yes - I think we can finally take it that the University/Institute has crashed and burned like the Hindenburg you alluded to. Fortunately, no one was hurt. No students aboard. Founder and faculty - miraculously not injured, I hope, except for minor bumps and bruises to the spirit. I'm sure they'll recover from those and I wish them well.