Universidad Empresarial de Costa Rica

Universidad Empresarial de Costa Rica
Motto Opportunitas (Latin)
Motto in English
 Opportunity
Established 1997
Chancellor William Zamora Gonzalez
Location San Jose, Costa Rica

Universidad Empresarial de Costa Rica, also known as UNEM or Business University of Costa Rica, is a private university in the city of San José, Costa Rica. It is not among the universities accredited by the Sistema Nacional de Acreditación de la Educación Superior (SINAES), the national accreditation agency of Costa Rica.[1] In 2013 it was described by the Costa Rica Star as "infamous" for its involvement in several diploma mill allegations, in cases where students paid to receive degrees without following a course of study.[2] The university has awarded PhD degrees to people in Germany and the United States.[2] A 2008 investigation by Der Spiegel failed to find any legitimate campus or professors associated with UNEM.[3]

History

UNEM was founded in 1992 as an international graduate school, and acquired its present name in 1997.[4] In that year it was approved by the Consejo Nacional de Enseñanza Superior Universitaria Privada, the national council of higher education of Costa Rica,[5] to award undergraduate degrees in accounting and business administration, and master's degrees in business administration.[6]

The university reported no graduates in 2007, and enrolled no students in 2010; it may be inactive.[7]

Hun Sen, the Cambodian prime minister, was made an "Honorary Professor of Diplomatic and International Relations" in July 2008.[8]

Also in 2008, Yahya Jammeh, president of The Gambia, was awarded an Universidad Empresarial honorary professorship in traditional medicine by the International Parliament for Safety and Peace, a private Italian organisation.[9]

Rankings

Universidad Empresarial de Costa Rica was not among the five hundred top universities world-wide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2014–15,[10] nor among the top five hundred in the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities for 2014.[11] It was not among the eight hundred universities in the QS World University Rankings for 2014,[12] nor is it among the thirteen Costa Rican universities listed by Quacquarelli Symonds.[13]

In the 2012 Classbase rating of web presence, it was not among the top one hundred universities in Latin America;[14] it was rated eleventh of the thirteen universities listed for Costa Rica.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Instituciones miembros del SINAES (in Spanish). Sistema Nacional de Acreditación de la Educación Superior. Accessed December 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jaime Lopez (12 August 2013). Quality of Education and Cost of Tuition Increase in Costa Rica: Sham Universities. The Costa Rica Star. Accessed December 2014.
  3. ↑ Oppong, Marvin (2008). "Umstrittene Titel: Professoren und Doktoren made in Costa Rica" [Controversial Degree: Professors and Doctors Made in Costa Rica]. Der Spiegel (in German).
  4. ↑ Business University of Costa Rica. International Association of Universities: Worldwide Database of Higher Education Institutions, Systems and Credentials. Accessed October 2014.
  5. ↑ Lista de Universidades Privadas aprobadas por el CONESUP (in Spanish). Ministerio de Educación Pública: Consejo Nacional de Enseñanza Superior Universitaria Privada (national council of higher education). Accessed October 2014.
  6. ↑ Nombre Universidad: 38 - Empresarial de Costa Rica (in Spanish). Ministerio de Educación Pública: Consejo Nacional de Enseñanza Superior Universitaria Privada (national council of higher education). Accessed October 2014.
  7. ↑ Silvia P. Castro (2010). Costa Rican higher education, its universities and students. Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania. Accessed December 2014.
  8. ↑ Biography of Hun Sen
  9. ↑ Office of the Gambian President (19 November 2008). Officials of International Parliament for Safety and Peace Present Three International Awards to President Jammeh. State House, Republic of the Gambia. Accessed February 2015.
  10. ↑ World University Rankings 2014-2015. Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Accessed February 2015.
  11. ↑ Academic Ranking of World Universities 2014. Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Accessed February 2015.
  12. ↑ QS World University Rankings 2014/15. QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Accessed February 2015.
  13. ↑ All Results. QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Accessed February 2015.
  14. ↑ Top 100 Universities in Latin America. Foreign Credits Inc. Accessed February 2015.
  15. ↑ Universities in Costa Rica. Foreign Credits Inc. Accessed February 2015.