03-20-2009, 10:31 AM
Many countries in Central and South America operate under a system similar to the Costa Rican one. (I hear that Malaysia also operates this way.) The government approves the university to operate, but also authorizes the degree programs. Checking to see if the university is approved is only half the chase; you also have to see if the degree is government authorized.
Some of these schools (like Empresarial) offer unapproved degrees by DL to people outside their country, hence taking advantage of the gray area. The school isn't violating any local law because they aren't offering the unauthorized degrees to locals. Nobody outside the country has any jurisdiction to complain.
Aside from the obvious quality issues raised by Little Arminius here and the poster Roberto Hernandez at DD, the potential legitimacy issue is a real one too. Most employers (assuming they check at all) probably aren't sophisticated enough to check beyond confirming the existence of the university, its government approved status and the fact that the degree was issued. However, anyone required to use a credential evaluator likely could encounter problems. If the lack of government approval for the degree didn't knock you out at the first step, the Ring-a-Ding and churrascaria type issues likely would at the next.
From what Roberto Hernandez posted it sounds like at one point Empresarial was doing a legit program, contrary to what the clones have always insisted. But it also seems they got off the track due to some greedy med school administrators. That's a shame because the market underserved by conventional programs continues to grow. A legit, affordable and accessible offshore program could prosper. Costa Rica is a lot closer for a thesis defense for most of us than South Africa is, and a whole lot safer.
It would be interesting to see what sort of results Roberto Hernandez or Dr. Ewald at NCU would get if they ran their respective degrees through several different credential evaluators. Given that both appear to have been granted during the early phase of the operation, I would expect most would come back as RA equivalent.
Some of these schools (like Empresarial) offer unapproved degrees by DL to people outside their country, hence taking advantage of the gray area. The school isn't violating any local law because they aren't offering the unauthorized degrees to locals. Nobody outside the country has any jurisdiction to complain.
Aside from the obvious quality issues raised by Little Arminius here and the poster Roberto Hernandez at DD, the potential legitimacy issue is a real one too. Most employers (assuming they check at all) probably aren't sophisticated enough to check beyond confirming the existence of the university, its government approved status and the fact that the degree was issued. However, anyone required to use a credential evaluator likely could encounter problems. If the lack of government approval for the degree didn't knock you out at the first step, the Ring-a-Ding and churrascaria type issues likely would at the next.
From what Roberto Hernandez posted it sounds like at one point Empresarial was doing a legit program, contrary to what the clones have always insisted. But it also seems they got off the track due to some greedy med school administrators. That's a shame because the market underserved by conventional programs continues to grow. A legit, affordable and accessible offshore program could prosper. Costa Rica is a lot closer for a thesis defense for most of us than South Africa is, and a whole lot safer.
It would be interesting to see what sort of results Roberto Hernandez or Dr. Ewald at NCU would get if they ran their respective degrees through several different credential evaluators. Given that both appear to have been granted during the early phase of the operation, I would expect most would come back as RA equivalent.
