Montferrat University, Montferrat Collegium University

[colinlezama]

I have recently come across another one of those "life experience" websites, this one all the way in Liechtenstein. However, instead of referring to themselves as accredited they say "Montferrat Collegium University is registered in Liechtenstein as a degree-granting Educational Foundation (Stiftung)
Meierhofstrasse 5, Vaduz 9490, Liechtenstein."
They even offer to have the do***ents apostilled. While the Montferrat site is quite amateurly done, the Montferrat Collegium site (offering only graduate degrees) is a tad more convincing especially since this one makes no mention of "life experience."
Can you esteemed board provide some insight.

http://www.montferrat-uni.net/
http://www.montferrat.org/

[johann]

Hi -

The apostille process -in this sense - is meaningless. We've covered this fully before in other threads - please look at them! The apostille is a valid legal device for ensuring that (mainly) financial & legal do***ents going from country to country are genuine.

If you get a degree apostilled, all it means is that it's a genuine do***ent - i.e. it was genuinely issued by the school named thereupon. There is NO assertion as to whether it's a good, bad or worthless degree!

Summary: If it's a "mill" degree with an apostille, then it's a GENUINE mill degree issued by the worthless school named on it. If it's a "good" degree, it's no better for an apostille -except you can be reasonably sure it's not counterfeit.

As far as the schools themselves go - the University is an obvious SHAM! 100% Life experience (tell them what you want them to hear) and about a $600 price tag. No credit card - so you can't cancel or have any hope of getting the transaction rescinded and your money back! C'mon! What did you EXPECT us to tell you?

The Collegium (at the same address) costs 10 times more and tries to be way more respectable-looking, but I wouldn't send them any money!

For starters, it doesn't look like you do more than write a VERY few papers for a Graduate degree. ANY proper school would require MUCH more work. A few papers and no exams gets you an M.B.A. Yeah, right!

I won't comment further on their umm..."liberal" policies for doctorates except to say that IMO, these guys sneak up on the otherwise valid concept of competency-based learning, knock it down and stomp all over it! (And then add an apostille!)

For the kind of money asked (quite a LOT - 6000 euros and up), you could earn a REAL doctorate from a South African school like www.unisa.ac.za . For a little LESS, you could earn a GOOD MBA from the same country -maybe from www.mancosa.co.za or www.milpark.co.za . You'd have a good degree - that you worked HARD for!

You could certainly get good quality in the US but it would cost more. The least expensive US doctorate with CHEA-recognized accreditation I know of would be a DBA at Columbia Southern www.colsouth.edu at somewhere around $22,000. Darn good school, darn good program, darn good value...but somehow I don't think you're looking for this kind of quality or academic rigor.

I hope I'm wrong. :-)

Johann

[colinlezama]

Much thanks
"somehow I don't think you're looking for this kind of quality or academic rigor." you are bleeping wrong. But thanks for making the information public.

[johann]

Hi

Very cheeky of me - that last sentence! I DID say I hoped I was wrong - as indeed I was - but that doesn't excuse my bad manners. I'm truly sorry for my tasteless remark. You're obviously NOT someone looking for a too-easy route or to get "ge-stiffed" by the Gestift.

There are quite a few unaccredited-but-impressive-looking schools operating legally in Switzerland and obviously at least one in Liechtenstein.

I have seen several expensive but not properly accredited distance schools in Switzerland, targeting English-speakers, primarily North Americans and stating truthfully somewhere in their sophisticated-looking web-pages that they had some kind of Cantonal or other Swiss government authority to run a school -and in all cases they did indeed have what they said.

BUT - I was assured by people 'way smarter than me (as almost everybody is) that none of these schools' permits amounted to a proper charter to confer degrees meeting Swiss standards. In other words, these entrepreneurs could legally operate the schools and nobody would prosecute them for issuing paper, but their degrees were in no way accredited or attested to for quality by any Swiss (or other country's) authority empowered to do so. And as I said before, apostille = meaningless advertising gimmick, in this context.

This Gestift seems to be a creation of some relatively savvy "non-accred. higher-ed" marketeers. Although their blurb is quite well-worded, if you read it closely, it is obvious that their degree requirements do not entail the normal level of work associated with grad (or most undergrad) study at a properly accredited school - anywhere.

Information on any government's approval/accreditation is also conspicuously absent. Although the word 'accredited' is used at one point, we're not told by whom. If the school was accredited/chartered to Liechtenstein's own higher education standards, they'd tell us, I'm sure.
Yes, a person would do some work for a degree, so I can't call the place a mill. I can't call it great either, because no accrediting body calls it anything.

Their grad degrees costs quite a lot of money for the dubious distinction of an unaccredited degree that may well not require the effort needed by conventional (accredited/chartered) means. But - if that's what any one person wants, then let 'em buy it. We all have to pick our poisons in life and if one of these degrees (which I consider sub-standard) is someone's cup of tea - then they can plunk down their 6,000Euros and go for it. I won't stop 'em - but one of these is just not for me. From what you've told me, I don't think it's for you, either.

Anyway, Colin, I apologize again for my impertinent remark and I wish you every success. :-)

Johann

[colinlezama]

Once again, I thank you for adding further insight into this "whatever is" semi- diploma mill (for want of a better definition)? And your apology is most graciously accepted.