New universites or degree mills in EU?

European New University - European New University
Université Nouvelle Européenne, Bruxelles - Universite Nouvelle Europeenne
Lessing-Hochschule zu Meran - http://www.lessing-uni.net/
(Lessing-Hochschule zu Meran (Italien) / Lessing-Hochschule zu Meran - Die Europäische Universität der Senioren).

Are these universities degree mills?

 

Don't know.

 

The following link might give some answers for Belgium & Netherlands:
Hogeronderwijsregister

European New University seems to be next-door neigbour to IPF Multiversity and to the University of Northwest Europe ... sort of academic cluster ...
Impressum
Impressum
Contact - University of Nothwest Europe

IPF has the Lessing-Hochschule zu Meran on its "Partner" link and Universidad Azteca refers to UNE as one of their European partners:
Partner
Universidad Azteca International Network System - Partners & Affiliations

 

Any experience?

Did any of you contact any of these institutions?

 

Forgot to mention: the official Dutch reference is the Central Register of Higher Education (Centraal Register Opleidingen Hoger Onderwijs - CROHO). BTW, ENU / UNE are not listed.

Looking at the campus environment photos, I was deeply impressed, because they are located within the historical compound of the 900 year old Abbey of Rolduc. However, taking a closer look, some of the pictures are taken from the Hotel Rolduc Conference Room Info. They either own the place or rent upon requirement.

Other curiosities, while googling/wikipeding through:
* Rolduc Abbey information mentions a nearby college and theological seminar, but now word about the University
* Kerkrade (population < 100,000) is proud of the EUREGIO (Netherlands-Belgium-Germany) strategic location and promotes local colleges, among others, but doesn't mention their universities.
* Academic programmes: Multiversity and its partners are organizing themselves to become an "international Higer Education Institute", giving the impression of some future development, University of Northwest Europe specializes on Integratology (defined as "Human Integration Science"), while European New University and Université Nouvelle Européenne, Bruxelles are in urgent need for a web designer, and apologize for the website being temporarily unavailable.

Overall impression: They need more time to consolidate academic offering and promote their local presence. ;-)

 

My initial reaction - far from impressed. Reason: Sites "down" for European New University and its Brussels counterpart. Supposedly gearing up for post-summer holidays, but it hasn't happened yet. Seems amateurish and un-academic to dismantle entire site over hiolidays. Lessing Hochschule site seems not to lead to anything degree-related. They talk about seniors, regional development, Nicholas Negroponte (whom they quote) - everything except specific distance degree programs.

Not a fan of newly-hatched Belgian schools - very lax laws have led to recent proliferation of mills. Not a fan of Lessing, partly because I had to fight my web-way there (once) from a site very concerned with push-marketing all kinds of stuff to seniors. I'm an old gummer myself (68) and I hate that! Besides, despite my pen-name, I have NO German background and my knowledge of the language (from school 50-odd years ago) is not good enough (never was) to pursue a degree with German as the language of instruction.

Nein, danke!

Johann

 

I persevered a bit (with my weak German) and the Lessing (Meran) site linked me to the (100 years old or more) Lessing Hochschule (Berlin). Again, no mention I could find of specific degree programs among its cultural activities. Some quotes comparing it with the Sorbonne and College de France...in regard to the arts. It may very well serve as a hallowed art - and cultural events - venue, but if it offers degree programs, I did not see them listed.

The Lessing (Meran) site (founded 2000) said (I believe) that it operates separately, as it differs from the Berlin school in that it offers special seniors' programs. Wha?...

Johann

 

Not a fan of anything partnered with Universidad Azteca. Reason: Azteca's been widely cussed-and-discussed in the fora and many feel its degrees are of questionable utility. See here: http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/37764-universidad-azteca-4.html

Johann

 

Finally! Tried the Lessing "Italian" link - German again! But linked to a page that had "50 plus" in its name - and there were the Lessing "courses!" As I said before - no degrees. Health, beauty, travel, eating/drinking, home renovation, that kind of course -- great if you want to know (in German) the importance of vitamin C in old age, or build a "no-fall" bathroom etc. End of story.

Johann

 

In my posting I forgot to insert a .

 

I admit that I did get fascinated by the pictures of the campus environment – actually the 900 year-old Abbey of Rolduc. However, a few clicks later I realized that several of the "campus environment" pictures of NW-University of Europe were actually "borrowed" from Hotel Rolduc's ad on their conference rooms.

The descriptions of the medieval abbey compound do mention a secondary school, no uni- nor multiversities.

Moreover, Kerkrade is strategically located at walking distance to Germany and Belgium, close to Maastricht. Universities would be a definite plus for the region and advertised accordingly. Neither the city’s homepage, nor the corresponding Education (Onderwijs) link mention anything related.

Could it be possible, that these *versities are unknown to muggles?

 

The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science publishes a list that can be downloaded at the Central Register of Higher Education. None of the above institutions are on the 50000+ list of academic programmes.

 

Went back again - English

Thought I'd try again on the "Lessing (Meran) Trail" - and inadvertently found the tiny English button! There are University and Courses pages -- but they are blank.

I stand by all my previous remarks - and it doesn't look like anything is currently happening there re: degree studies. Also, the Berlin school seems to host arts-related tours, festivals and seminars - as I said before, no mention of degree programs I could find.

Johann

 

50plus is the URL of an Austrian internet service provider (".at" domain name) - they are supposed to communicate in German. URL="http://translate.google.com"]Google translator[/URL] does an excellent job in this context - you just insert the complete URL.

Here is some wild guesswork:
South Tyrol is an attractive region for vacationing, where the majority of the population speaks German. The domain name 50plus and the surname of “the European university of the seniors” indicate a market segment.
This fits into a busines strategy, targeting at German and Austrian population above 50, with enough time, leisure (and Euro in their pockets) to spend quality time in a privileged surrounding of the southern Alps. Besides, an invoice related to academic activities could easily qualify for tax deduction and would be considered an additional incentive. All in all, a so-to-speak win-win situation for higher income prospects.
Does this make sense?

 

Sorry for duplicating the content of my post. When I checked the thread this morning I couldn't spot the above post and thought it was lost in space & time. Also, the EUREGIO reference is incorrect, because it refers to an area a little more north. I just wanted to point out, that Kerkrade's location is a definite competitive advantage.

 

Hi

Yes, DCHS, what you say about "50plus" makes perfect sense. I just didn't expect to encounter something like this from a degree-granting school -- which I was erroneously led to believe that this might be. I was further frustrated when I pressed the "Italian" button (I read that language a little better than German) and got the German 50+ info.

I have no problem with what the Lessing (Meran) site is offering via 50+ -it's perfectly legit. I was just expecting it to be a degree-granting school and it's obviously not. I wish them success, catering to the prosperous retirees of South Tyrol.

Thanks for pointing out that the schools are not on the Netherlands Ministry-approved site. That alone should serve as a warning to the unwary. As I said, Belgium has become a bit of a haven for schools that deal in unauthorized degrees. The laws are very, uh..."flexible," let us say. Egregious examples are the WIDU-monstrosity (World Information Distributed University) and Carolus Magnus University, with its many international un-campuses.

Additionally, UNE does not inspire confidence, being linked to Universidad Azteca. Very good catch - Abbey of Rolduc as the "campus" of UNE. Typical mill-trick, using someone else's premises on a website. Often, the mill-meister will Photo-shop his own "school's" sign into the picture as well.

And yes - I'd agree. These *versities are indeed unknown to us "muggles" and in this instance, I'm glad to be one.

Johann

 

Google maths:

a) European +New +University +Université +Nouvelle +Européenne +IPF +Multiversity => efaculty.eu

b) IPF Multiversity (NL) + Université Nouvelle Européenne (B) + European New University (NL) + Institut für Integrale Studien (D) => Social Transformation Labs (LUX)

c) ... etc ...

 

Sounds like Academic Vaporware to me!

Thanks, DCHS. I went to the eu.faculty site - sounds like someone's ideal of a "multiversity" where everyone gets an enjoyable, inspiring learning experience without any "academic torture" (yes, that's a quote) and all their prior learning of any kind is recognized in university-level credit. Quality assurance ideas purportedly modelled on most known Euro-sources - NARIC, etc. (They're careful. Nowhere does it say that their courses, which don't appear to have been announced yet, will be recognized by NARIC or the other agencies mentioned.)

They seem to have garnered sponsorship (money?) from some corporate heavyweights - Heidelberg Printing Presses etc...

Only problem - not much seems to have "happened" yet... the associated Uni websites are down, as noted before. Any way you slice it, right now it looks more like processed bologna than Bologna Process. Time will tell. If I'm right, it'll go away. If I'm wrong:

(a) I'll look silly.
(b) It'll be the perfect version of academia-for-everyone.

I wouldn't mind looking silly. I'd like to be wrong, this time. We'll soon know.

Johann

 

Buon apetito!

 

Johann,
this thread is about an educational kaleidoscope ...
If you take a close look at the company info (Impressum) above, you will notice that there is a reference to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. So, I looked for Kerkrade Heyendallaan 64 in their search engine, and guess what ...

eight different companies at the very same address.