Rushmore University

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Rushmore University is an unaccredited institution of higher learning offering master's and doctoral degrees in a variety of business-related fields, exclusively via distance learning.

Contents

[edit] History

Rushmore was started in 1996 in South Dakota by Michael Cox (1952-2006), who is said to have held a PhD in Accounting from Oklahoma State University and to have previously taught seven years at the University of Arkansas and Sam Houston State University.[1]

As of June 4, 2006 Rushmore had a mailing address in the Cayman Islands.[2] The Maine Department of Education lists it as having been located in South Dakota, Wyoming, Georgia, and the Cayman Islands.[3]

[edit] Accreditation

Rushmore's promotional material claims that the conventionally recognized system of educational accreditation in the United States is irrelevant and that Rushmore has instead attained "independent accreditation," as measured solely by the success of its graduates.[4][5] In the past Rushmore had claimed approval from a variety of agencies, none of them recognized[6] by the United States Department of Education (USDE) or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation(CHEA).[7] The Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization has no evidence that this is an accredited or otherwise acceptable provider of postsecondary education meeting Oregon standards. Oregon employers should consider degrees from this supplier to be substandard unless each degree program is evaluated in detail by an external evaluator acceptable to ODA.[8] The Maine Department of Education and State of Michigan also list Rushmore as non-accredited.[9]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rushmore University: In Memoriam
  2. ^ Rushmore University website
  3. ^ Maine Department of Education, Non-Accredited Colleges & Universities
  4. ^ Rushmore University: Accreditation (accessed June 20, 2007)
  5. ^ Joseph Georges, Putting the 'Education' Back Into '.edu', The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 4, 2002. Article states that "until recently" Rushmore's website said "academic accreditors force those schools who seek their approval to work like a McDonald's fast-food franchise."
  6. ^ John Bear, Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, Ten Speed Press, 2001
  7. ^ CHEA website
  8. ^ Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization, Unaccredited Colleges
  9. ^ Maine Department of Education, Non-Accredited Colleges & Universities and State of Michigan, Colleges and universities not accredited by an accrediting body of the Council on Higher Education Accreditation

[edit] External links