Knightsbridge U. Part of Immigration Scheme

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by Rich Douglas, Nov 6, 2005.

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  1. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I didn't parse the statement like Bill did, but I tend to agree with Quinn's interpretation. The authorities seem willing to allow Knightsbridge to do what it does, but it would have to go through an accreditation process to allow its students to obtain bursaries. This also fits Knightsbridge's interpretation. However....

    This is all B.S. Degree are proxies. They're supposed to represent something. But in Denmark, Knightsbridge degrees are unrecognized and not useful. Whether Knightsbridge causes Fyrst to see his banker or his parole officer isn't the point. The point is that his business sells degrees that are not recognized in his own country. (Nor anyone else's, for that matter.)

    Would I love to read about Danish police pulling up to the "university," sirens wailing like something out of "The Diary of Anne Frank," then hauling off computers and boxes of records? Sure. But that isn't the standard, either.

    Knightsbridge degrees are meaningless, and their owners must certainly be concerned about the general public finding this out.
     
  2. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Wholeheartedly agreed...

    ...unless, by chance, the unaccredited degree is in pursuit of some kind of state licensure. Clearly, in that narrow case, it has legitimate utility. Licensure as a social worker or psychologist in California, for example, may be obtained via unaccredited, but state approved, institutions. Or, to list another example, one may get a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from one of California's several unaccredited, but state-approved (and California Bar-registered) law schools; and then sit for the California bar exam and end-up with the very same, unrestricted bar card in one's pocket that someone from an ABA-accredited (which may also be regionally-accredited) law school has.

    And there are many other, state-specific examples.

    That said, it's still far, far better for the degree that one pursues in order to achieve state licensure to be accredited.

    Additionally, I would argue, in order for it to have the greatest utility, it should be regionally accredited; and, if there's a logical professional accreditation that makes sense for a given degree, it should have that, too. That said, national accreditation is still accreditation; and if that's all that one can afford or get into, it's better than no accrediation at all.

    Or so it is my $.02 worth... which is probably all it's worth.
     
  3. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    le medecin malgre lui

    Mr Hume, inadvertently, summed it up:

    "...him to issue degrees."

    Individuals don't confer degrees; universities do.
     
  4. davidhume

    davidhume New Member

    Re: le medecin malgre lui

    You are right on both counts, uncle.
     
  5. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Here:

    http://www.workindenmark.dk/Higher_edu/0/4/0

    Parse this:

    Most -- not all. If -- not must.
     
  6. davidhume

    davidhume New Member

    As some of us have previously stated, there appears to be provision for private institutions.
     
  7. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I don't think that there's any dispute about whether there's provision for private institutions in Denmark. There is a question though whether any private universities exist, or have ever existed, in that country. Whatever private institutions might exist there seem to be smaller more specialized schools.

    The more important question revolves around whether whatever private institutions actually exist in Denmark operate without any regulation at all and most significantly, without any quality assurance oversight.

    Put another way, the question is whether or not it's legal for anyone who feels like it to operate a degree-mill in Denmark.

    Broadly speaking, this illustrates the fact that around the world the words 'private institution' aren't necessarily synonymous with what we understand them to mean here in the United States.

    In many places around the world the quality assurance function is a facet of state control, private universities seek freedom from state control, so private universities are unaccredited universities simply by definition. But here in the US, schools like Stanford University submit to the same external accreditation that schools like the University of California are subject to, but without the management (and funding) that comes from UC headquarters and the state legislature.

    More narrowly, this question about Knightsbridge's precise legal status in Denmark is no doubt fascinating to Henrik Fyrst, since it determines whether or not he's subject to legal sanction.

    But I don't really see its relevance to the rest of us. Even if it's determined that it is legal for anyone so inclined to operate a degree mill in Denmark (something that I very strongly doubt), that doesn't do anything to advance Knightsbridge University's case. If it's a degree mill, then it's still a degree mill. The implicit argument that if it's legal then it's legitimate falls flat on its face.

    As Unk told us, it's legal to eat turds too.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 17, 2005
  8. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    The Scandinavian International Management Institute (SIMI) is a private, not-for-profit institution in Copenhagen that offers an Executive MBA degree program. The program is market-priced (EUR 51,000, plus VAT), not state subsidized. State universities in Denmark are regulated by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation; SIMI is not included on their list of institutions.

    But while SIMI may be technically private, it still appears to have significant ties to the Danish government and the state university system. Its history indicates that it was founded based on the recommendation of a government committee, the government has matched private contributions to its endowment, and a U. of Copenhagen professor sits on the Board of Trustees.
     
  9. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    It occurs to me that if I am chosen as Philosopher King, I will make illegal all universities, public or private, religious or state-run, that operate entirely from private unmarked homes.
     
  10. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Long live the King.
     
  11. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    When are the Philosopher-King elections? By the way, will you allow home based universities to legally operate if the proprietor puts a university sign in his front yard?
     
  12. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    You mean as long as it doesn't share the signpost with a sign reading, in part:
    • Tarot Card Readings | Palms Read | Fortunes Told
    right?

    :cool:
     
  13. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Ted:
    By the way, will you allow home based universities to legally operate if the proprietor puts a university sign in his front yard?

    John:
    Sure, as long as all students, alumni, prospective students, media, and regulators have full and open access to the campus during regular business hours.

    Gregg:
    You mean as long as it doesn't share the signpost with a sign reading, in part:
    Tarot Card Readings | Palms Read | Fortunes Told
    right?

    John:
    Or "Bad Dog."
    Or the one that was on Santa Monica Blvd. in LA when I was going to Jr. High there:
    HIGH COLONICS and PIANO TUNING
     

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