Warsaw Management University

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Pappas, Oct 26, 2019.

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  1. tadj

    tadj Active Member

    Stanislav,

    I kind of get what WMU was trying to do. It's small school with zero status capital. You need to build that. It probably wanted to establish this capital through an association with some partner college in London, a world-famous city. That way, the candidates could get the message: "Sure, we don't have a partnership with Coventry University or some other big shot institution (as would be the case with some other Polish colleges and universities), but we're also partnering with a famous college in London". It's kind of absurd. However, it doesn't strike me as some nefarious plan. Just a stupid marketing ploy. Keep in mind that a lot of these higher schools are in a race for survival. Something close to a half of all the Polish non-university higher schools have closed down since the 90's. A lot of educational institutions are in that same race for status, although I would have even preferred ASIC accreditation over this Apsley creation. I am actually not overly excited about their attempts to grant Polish degrees through some unknown partner colleges in the Czech Republic and other places. It never looks good. It doesn't give them a good start. I would agree on that. That said, I won't attempt to evaluate the quality of their programs. I'll leave that to the local assessors. I am sure they'll be visiting the school in the near future.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2019
  2. Pappas

    Pappas Member

    And this could be in just one sentence summarized the whole discussion around WMU and the degrees that "offers".
    That said, I perfectly trust that this is not the norm in the Polish education system ...and I think tadj in his posts makes this clear ;)
     
  3. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Then brace yourself for another shocker, Tadj. For some time, Shaq has held an EARNED Ed. D. from Barry University. And show some respect. Shaq lives in a beautiful 60,000 sq. ft. house. You don't. Come to think of it, I don't, either. Neither have I earned a doctorate. I find your remark about "even handing out degrees" to Dr. O'Neal highly offensive. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/sports/basketball/shaquille-oneal-earns-his-doctorate-in-education.html

    @Stanislav -And for the record, Stanislav, there was more to his doctorate than a video.

    "O’Neal compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.813 while completing 54 credit hours at Barry, mostly through online courses and video conferencing over the last four years."
     
    chrisjm18 likes this.
  4. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    That's the quote of today, right there!

    Many European schools are engaged in a search for money that makes them do desperate things. Also in Poland, the totally-legit University of Dąbrowa Górnicza made an alliance with a Swiss Cantonal school that they later regretted and cancelled. The thing with Apsley and WMU looks OK on the surface, but not so much, when you dig. Apsley can't confer British degrees - so they farm degree-granting out and take a commission from a foreign school that can confer degrees in its own country . Now if the foreign school starts granting degrees in a form that is no good in its own country - like MBAs and DBAs in this case - then that's bad.
     
  5. tadj

    tadj Active Member

    Johann,

    I just hope that you're aware that I was quoting someone else. I did not make the remark concerning Shaq. I wasn't expressing my views. My views probably align with yours. I have nothing but respect for the guy.
     
  6. tadj

    tadj Active Member

    Also, I agree that it does not look good. That's why I've made the following remark: "I am actually not overly excited about their attempts to grant Polish degrees through some unknown partner colleges in the Czech Republic and other places".
     
  7. tadj

    tadj Active Member

    I was defending the Polish qualification of "studia podyplomowe". I have no interest in defending the school. At the same time, I generally follow the advice of the Polish Accrediting Commission with regard to the quality of schools here. If they produce a negative report on this institution (as they have done on many specific programs of higher schools in Poland, which then led to their demise), I will watch the Collegium Humanum boat sink without any sympathy whatsoever. But no, I do not follow some of the self-appointed quality assessors, who engage in virtual assessment, often done on the basis of a school's website.
     
  8. tadj

    tadj Active Member

    I am glad that the University of Dąbrowa Górnicza cancelled that alliance. As for the Apsley degree-granting procedure that you've outlined, it is indeed deeply worrisome. This is why people should be super-cautious about getting degrees through these college partnerships. If you're not studying directly in Poland, you should really think twice about enrolling. Aspley doesn't have any degree-granting authority in Britain (I suspect it was mostly set up as part of the status-boasting effort here in Poland).
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2019
  9. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Shaq's TV persona is rather clownish and if you believe that little piece of acting then it is an indication of his marketing skills. I've seen Shaq interviewed on serious subjects and he comes across as intelligent and articulate, just as you'd expect of someone with two grad degrees.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  10. tadj

    tadj Active Member

    Johann,

    Apsley is a real mystery case. For example, I was under the impression that they offer their qualifications in cooperation with Collegium Humanum (this relationship is also emphasized on the accreditation page of Collegium Humanum). However, if you look at Apsley's current website, the "awarding partners" section mentions Humanum. However, the bottom logo on the "doctorate awards page" section points to a different Polish school (the one from which they actually separated), mainly Wyższa Szkoła Menadżerska, on older higher school in Warsaw. Mind you, none of these private schools has doctorate degree-granting rights in Poland. It would be interesting to see how Apsley would respond to a telephone or e-mail inquiry as to the nature of the qualifications that they offer through these schools. Still, I am not sure how the British procedure of registering a school in order to offer foreign qualifications works. London hosts a number of such options. For example, the Islamic Azad University of Iran in Oxford. Maybe the degrees that Apsley advertises are actually offered through their partnership with the Tibilisi Teaching University in Georgia instead of Collegium Humanum. I've noticed that they list them on the site. What they refer to as "vocational doctorate awards" could be referring to the Collegium Humanum's "studia podyplomowe" offer. For clarity's sake, it would be kind of helpful if they would show which schools provide the specific awards and degrees.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2019
  11. tadj

    tadj Active Member

    one correction: Azad is an actual campus in Oxford, so it's a different situation. I wouldn't include that for illustration purposes.
     
  12. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    I am with you. However Tadj said that it is the Polish’s law that designs the Doctor of Business Administration a certificate and not a degree. It is weird, so there is even more need for disclosure.
     
  13. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    That seems to be true. However, Polish schools can and do offer DBA programs that are comparable to an actual DBA - tadj links to one (having additional distinction of coming from a research institution of the Polish Acedemy of Science; that's a prestigious affiliation). Polish law may designate these programs in a non-degree category, but it doesn't dictate their structure. Some of those are even ran jointly with foreign schools. WMU's 2-semester wonder cannot be one of these.
     
  14. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Here in Canada, I've met precisely ONE UOP grad and that was some years back. He was a friend of my son's - both were high school teachers and this man was finishing up his distance Master's - I believe it was an M.Ed. - at U. Phoenix. I found out later that after completion of his degree, the guy was catapulted up the pay grid and the degree helped him further. Within a very few years, he achieved his objective, becoming a principal.

    My take: The degree worked. UOP must be doing the basics right, whatever its detractors say.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  15. Mac Juli

    Mac Juli Well-Known Member

    No, what we really need is an intervention from a moderator.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 16, 2020

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