Robert Cavelier University Journey

[armstrongsubero]

So I came across this school and you know what I decided to take the plunge. They offer an MBA program that is currently on 70% tuition discount. I figured its because they are a new school (2021) and need to meet certain requirements for accreditation. 

Online USA MBA Program | Robert Cavelier University (rcu.education)

So far the school has been really helpful and responses have been quick and solid. No complaints on the administration side. 

They are not accredited, they are however conditionally licensed by the Board of Regeants in the state of Lousiana and digging around on the Baord of Regeants website I see they are indeed licensed and seeking accreditation with the legit DEAC. I didn't see anything on the DEAC side, so maybe they're in the early stages. 

Licensed-Institions-for-WEBSITE-11.2.21.pdf (laregents.edu)

They are definitely not a diploma mill. 

The reason I signed up is simple. I remember when both smart.ly and University of the People were unaccredited, I got into their programs and got scared of non-utility and lost out on a deal. 

They require standard stuff for a grad program entry, undergrad transcripts, cvs, degrees etc etc.

I applied, got accepted and classes start the 18th of March. 

I know its risky cause they have no accreditation yet, but they seem to be trying to do the right thing and I'm hoping they do succeed, then I would have gotten a cheap MBA. I think it def has more merit than something like ENEB lol. Its a legit but unaccredited school. 

I was wondering what are you guys thoughts, classes start the 18th March and looking at the schedule, it will be done next year around this same time. Worse case I learn something, I mean I was thinking of doing the Thunderbird grad cert and hoping it will give 15 credits, but I may cancel that and focus on this. I mean it is a legal degree and I will learn something so its not a problem.

[openair]

Right now, the institution isn't even at the "applicant for initial accreditation" stage with DEAC. Once they get to this stage (if they do at all), the accreditation outcome isn't guaranteed. If you get the real Universidad Isabel I degree (as opposed to the ENEB-only degree), you are getting something which has value (albeit limited to some extent), since it is a genuine university-issued propio award. In the U.S., the state license means very little. No one cares about it, as it only takes care of the bare minimum legality aspect for the operating institution. I would stay away from RCU at this stage and only consider it once accreditation is granted. But saying that "it definitely has more merit" is kind of baseless.

[armstrongsubero]

Well I read what people said about ENEB and the quality of coursework doesn't seem stringent. I read on either this or the sister forum, some evaluators won't even evaluate ENEB anymore. For me its not only about getting the paper but actually learning, I think I'll learn more from this MBA than ENEB.

I understand the propio and level system etc etc.

It definitely has more merit in terms of EDUCATIONAL VALUE not necessarily recognition. ENEB currently has more recognition but less educational value in my opinion. This university is very traditional and I think they'll have no problem getting accreditation eventually.

I also understand its a bare minimum requirement to make a degree legal, it however make the degree legal. I won't be turning any heads with the degree, but I also won't be locked up by the cops if I place it on a resume. I'm working already and have my business, I'm hoping to get skills I can use.

The institution has to start somewhere. If I had kept with UoP (now regional accreditation candidacy) and Smart.ly (now Quantic School of Business and Technology) and even NationsUniversity (after unaccredited for 2 decades, now DEAC) then I would have had nothing to worry about I would have gotten a BSc at UoP for free (yes it was completely free) and an MBA from Smart.ly for free as well. Instead, I listened to persons just like @openair and avoided them....

Somebody somewhere has to take the risk. A legal MBA where I actually learned something is better than a legal postgrad cert where I really didn't learn much IMO.

Unaccredited doesn't mean "fake" or "mill". Schools need to graduate students and prove they can sustain themselves and meet certain requirements before they get granted institutional accreditation or even programmatic accreditation.

I think #1 goal for education is "can the program help me meet my needs?". The answer for me in this case is yes. I may actually learn some business skills I can apply and get a legal paper in the process. At this stage in my career I care less about what papers I have and more about what I can learn to apply to my needs.

Worse case they close down and I would have did some business courses. I see they also already have an articulation agreement in place, so I'm sure that school will accept them it's how I stumbled across them in the first place looking at schools in the UK asked about a program and the school mentioned the articulation agreement they had with RCU. I had a discussion with RCU administration and decided the program will meet my needs.

If they do crash, the school they have the articulation agreement with I believe will take some of their credits, cause like I said unaccredited doesn't mean fake. I remember a few years ago board members on either this or the sister forum stated Liberty University would have accepted credits from NationsUniversity even though they were unaccredited.

What I do notice is as the recognition went up, so did the pricing.

Accreditation from day 1 doesn't guarantee a school will be successful. I've watched a school with a diploma mill sounding name (University of the People) go from offering free unaccredited degrees to cheap NA and now having RA candidacy and now there are schools that are cheaper with similar value prospect...I also watch a respected school (Patten University) go from having RA to going to NA and then unaccredited and closing. Also saw CIE go from being a respected NA school, a pioneer as a matter of fact to losing accreditation and closing.

Thanks for your views though. I'm hoping to lock in this school with promise while its still in the early stages. Someone has to enroll sometime for the school to become accredited, its a risk but your reward is a low-cost degree. When it does get accreditation the price will inevitably go up and as prestige grows so does pricing....

I'll keep updating as I go along...

[openair]

First of all, I am not saying that you should avoid them. It's a gamble. It's entirely your choice. I've received a NationsU MTS degree after their accreditation. The people who did work on these degrees prior to accreditation frequently had to do plenty of make-up courses to get the DEAC-accredited degree. For all the success stories with pre-accredited or applicant DEAC institutions, I can give you plenty of examples of schools that never made it. West Coast Bible College and Seminary even collected money from students in order to push through with the accreditation process. They were featured on the official list of DEAC accreditation applicants. At a certain stage, they got into some heated arguments with the accreditor and subsequently got withdrawn from applicant status.

Also, you need to keep one thing in mind: In most cases, If you get your degree prior to accreditation, you will still end up with an unaccredited degree. That's kind of important, at least for most people.

As for ENEB, I don't know how they are going to fare in the future. I've received a dual degree, one from ENEB and one from Universidad Isabel I for the MBA and HRM program. In each case, I've received a graduate certificate equivalency from a NACES evaluator. You may say that this isn't the best outcome. But my evaluation report clearly states that my university (UI1) is accredited. This cannot be said about the supposedly superior RCU.

[klone]

Complete waste of money. I would avoid at ALL costs.

[armstrongsubero]

@openair well you did say avoid them until accreditation is granted. Like I said ENEB is risky, I remember reading somewhere (WES or WES Canada?) no longer evaluates them.

Like I said on paper ENEB has more merit, but we both know the reality is the coursework is subpar compared to a masters and for me that's kinda a deal break, evaluation aside.

Yes I am also aware of schools that didn't make it. What about all the ACICS schools that didn't make it when the accreditor wasn't recognized anymore?

Like I said education is in personal value. If I go to a legit unaccredited school and I get associate degrees in hairdressing and business management or motorcycle repair and business management. Does it really matter if the school is accredited or not if I open a hair dressing saloon or motorcycle repair shop and learn enough from my business management degree as to how to keep books, manage expenses, market my business etc etc?

Similarly, if I take courses from RCU and learn about project management, business innovation, marketing management etc etc those are skills I can put to use and legally if I put MBA on my business card and give it to clients then I won't be committing fraud and will have the skills.

Somewhere some people forget degrees are supposed to transfer to real world skills.

This forum is dedicated to education and alternative, fringe techniques for getting recognized degrees. Remember the FEMA craze? Or Schmoop? Someone had to do it. When Study.com first came out with CS credits, I blindly enrolled and hoped with would transfer to fulfil my degree requirements. I rused in early at rick they would not even got accepted, got in the time frame when all were accepted and after they were grandfathered in, a few months after some did not fulfil requirements anymore. Some people did courses that were initially UL and got downgraded to LL.

What I learned from my years browsing this board is that new means opportunity. Grab new things, its risky, but more often than not it pays off.

If I do get a degree and the institution becomes accredited after, if I want to do a DBA I don't think most schools will make that an issue. That applies for institutional accreditation though I know for some programmatic accreditation its retroactive. Even if someone does dig up on you after accreditation, they will most likely check to see if the school is accredited or not.

Once its not an outright degree mill where you pay money and don't learn a thing or take a class it won't cause too much of a problem in my book.

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@klone Why would you say its a waste of money? You don't learn from the classes?

[openair]

I said "I would stay away from RCU at this stage and only consider it once accreditation is granted." I was pointing out what I would do (personally, not saying what everyone else should do), even if I liked the program from the appearance. I would still take the "wait and see" approach and consider them seriously after they reach the accreditation milestone. I am not an opponent of all non-accredited schools. But I would only go with any such school under a very limited number of circumstances. For example, a religious exempt seminary may be okay for someone (especially from the U.S.) who wants to be a minister in a particular denomination that also happens to run an unaccredited seminary in some state. On the other hand, the MBA market is huge and you can find plenty of good deals (yes, I would place the dreaded Universidad Isabel I degree as a very sensible option for some, the regionally accredited MBA from HAU as an even greater value bestower). Maybe you see something valuable in this RCU business program. That's alright. But since this is a degree recommendation board, we can also give some pushback on various programs. A lack of accreditation is a big issue to consider. It usually gets you demerit points, even if you don't outright reject all non-accredited school options.

[klone]

@openair well you did say avoid them until accreditation is granted. Like I said ENEB is risky, I remember reading somewhere (WES or WES Canada?) no longer evaluates them.

Like I said on paper ENEB has more merit, but we both know the reality is the coursework is subpar compared to a masters and for me that's kinda a deal break, evaluation aside.

Yes I am also aware of schools that didn't make it. What about all the ACICS schools that didn't make it when the accreditor wasn't recognized anymore?

Like I said education is in personal value. If I go to a legit unaccredited school and I get associate degrees in hairdressing and business management or motorcycle repair and business management. Does it really matter if the school is accredited or not if I open a hair dressing saloon or motorcycle repair shop and learn enough from my business management degree as to how to keep books, manage expenses, market my business etc etc?

Similarly, if I take courses from RCU and learn about project management, business innovation, marketing management etc etc those are skills I can put to use and legally if I put MBA on my business card and give it to clients then I won't be committing fraud and will have the skills.

Somewhere some people forget degrees are supposed to transfer to real world skills.

This forum is dedicated to education and alternative, fringe techniques for getting recognized degrees. Remember the FEMA craze? Or Schmoop? Someone had to do it. When Study.com first came out with CS credits, I blindly enrolled and hoped with would transfer to fulfil my degree requirements. I rused in early at rick they would not even got accepted, got in the time frame when all were accepted and after they were grandfathered in, a few months after some did not fulfil requirements anymore. Some people did courses that were initially UL and got downgraded to LL.

What I learned from my years browsing this board is that new means opportunity. Grab new things, its risky, but more often than not it pays off.

If I do get a degree and the institution becomes accredited after, if I want to do a DBA I don't think most schools will make that an issue. That applies for institutional accreditation though I know for some programmatic accreditation its retroactive. Even if someone does dig up on you after accreditation, they will most likely check to see if the school is accredited or not.

Once its not an outright degree mill where you pay money and don't learn a thing or take a class it won't cause too much of a problem in my book.

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@klone Why would you say its a waste of money? You don't learn from the classes?

If it isn't accredited, it is worthless. ENEB is worthless too. Waste of time and money.

[TINASAM]

Just saying that University of the People is nationally accredited and a candidate for regional accreditation.

Also Hellenic is only $3k and its a B&M school with institutional accreditation just not an AACSB-Accredited MBA Program.

Plenty of cheap, accredited, MBA schools out there.

[bjcheung77]

Basically, it depends on the student and what they need or want, there are so many variables at play.  From someone who also went to CIE/World College before they lost their accreditation, I know exactly how you feel.  They were the 'oldest and longest accredited' DETC (now DEAC) institution, I was thinking they would continue keeping their accreditation until one day I looked at their website and the AAS were missing... I invested energy, money, time on their dual degree AAS, plus BSCIT & BSEET as the degrees share 18 courses, practically half the classes required for the degree majors were different.

Anyways... For someone starting off, you can follow through with my first sentence, post #2 on your previous thread as that would be the cheap, easy, fast and has ROI/Value plus the balanced mix/match trifecta of certs, degree, experience: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...8-Diplomas - "My recommendation is to decide which degree, institution, you want to complete, then create a pathway to that final destination.  Here's an example, Pierpont BOG AAS, UMPI BAS, ENEB 1&2, Level 8 UK diploma, US/UK DBA/DProf."  

In your shoes, however, since you have the Associates & Bachelors, you can do the Level 8, and ladder that up to a DBA or DProf, US/UK option of your choice.  You don't really need the ENEB 1&2, but those would 'bridge the gap' between the Bachelors and Level 8 UK diploma before you start a DBA or DProf.  I would do the ENEB over the non accredited RCU due to greater chance at transfer of credit, they are ECTS equivalent Level 7's, thus they can transfer into US/UK institutions after an evaluation of credit.  You can get both ENEB for $300 Euro using my AMBASSADOR314, skip the diploma/exam add-ons, and complete assignments for learning.