Is Multiversidad legit?

[jr2341]

I'm not sure about a Mexican university called Multiversdad Mundo Real Edgar Morin, is it legit? In the website appears that they have RVOE (I understand that is a kind of accreditation), Apostille and US credential evaluation by California University FCE. Do you know something about that? I'm interested in one of his programs, but I'm not sure if this is legit or worth it. The only ranking that I found it that university is AD Scientific Index.

[Kal Di]

Thanks for sharing this university with us!

I believe the value of that degree is similar to ENEB. It is unlikely to get a degree equivalent evaluation from NACES or AICE evaluator, but it may get it from Validential. Due to the reputation of California University FCE, many forum members agree that it should be your last option for a foreign credential evaluation.

Multiversidad Mundo Real Edgar Morin has RVOE, but it is a state RVOE rather than a federal RVOE. There is a difference!

A degree with federal RVOE is recognized nationwide and meets the requirements set by the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP), which is the federal government’s education authority in Mexico. The federal RVOE is generally required for universities and higher education institutions that want to offer degree programs that will be accepted across the country.

A degree with state RVOE is only valid within the state in which it was issued. This type of degree is approved by the state-level education authority (in this case, La Secretaría de Educación y Cultura de Sonora). The degree is recognized as valid within the borders of that state (i.e. Sonora). Depending on the educational requirements of other state educational authorities in Mexico, it may or may not be recognized in other Mexican states.

If you are from the USA, a state RVOE would be the equivalent to a college that has been approved by the state's department of education to award degrees in that specific state. It may be adequate if you only intend to work for companies based in that state. However, it is still not a U.S. regionally accredited (i.e. federally recognized) degree. If you ever wanted to work for companies based in another state, the degree may or may not be recognized there.  

One graduate had her doctorate degree in complex thinking* evaluated by a NACES evaluator about 10 years ago, and SpanTran's result was that the degree is a "Doctor of Philosphy from a regionally accredited institution of higher education that lacks accreditation in the United States".

While it is true that the university is not accredited by a regional accreditor in the USA, SpanTran has given degree equivalent evaluations to other foreign universities who are not accredited in the USA. I think they were conservative in their evaluation because the university is only accredited by one state in Mexico. As implied before, Validential is a more flexible evaluator, who may offer a degree equivalent evaluation to graduates of that university. 

As of 2022, the price of their doctorate degree in complex thinking* was about $1,300 USD, which I found from another website. Their current price is not published, so you will need to contact them about their current pricing. 


*The raw English translation of the major, "complex thinking", may have partially affected the result of SpanTran's evaluation. As a bilingual expat in Mexico, the name of the degree major "pensamiento complejo" roughly translates to "critical thinking", which is more accurate than the raw English translation, "complex thinking". While there may not be a significant difference in meaning between the two terms, "critical thinking" is the more commonly recognized term.

[Avidreader]

This is the first time I have heard of this university UMEM, they specialize in sociology adjacent masters degrees and psychology adjacent certificates that don't seem to be offered elsewhere. I am certain there will be people that will be interested in getting degrees in these niche areas.

As for state vs federal RVOE, it seems like a similar situation to the UVEG which is a statewide degree for Guanajuato. However, it is a sort of grey area where people get degrees in Law at the UVEG and have zero issues practicing their degree nationwide. If they ever had difficulty getting a job in academia, they could simply get a masters degree for the federal cédula.

It would be worth looking around and see how UVEG degrees are evaluated. There has been some alumni with Computer science or IT bachelors degrees from the UVEG that got positive evals from WES and could obtain work visas in Canada.

Official website of the UMEM in case anyone wants to check it out.

https://umem.mx/

[jr2341]

Thanks for your answers! I understand that the state RVOE means that it's a legit degree, right? So in theory is legal to use it in Sonora, MX. and you can try to do a recognition in another states or countries, not like ULC (Universal Life Church) PhDs or degrees from some other random unaccredited place. I think that complex thought should be a more accurate translation that complex thinking, because it's about the Edgar Morin's philosophy.
Depends of the country, but generally for postgraduates studies, the university or college that your send your resume, check if your degree is legit in the country or state of origin, with the bachelor's degree is different and you need to do an homologation by law.

[Avidreader]

That is correct. If a degree has RVOE, it is accredited in Mexico. Public universities do not require RVOE, some schools like the UVEG and UNIVIM registered RVOEs nonetheless. Private Mexican universities forcibly need RVOE for their degrees. The only situation a degree doesn't have it is if the program is 100% new and nobody has graduated from that specific degree yet.

[bjcheung77]

For some reason, the first thing that comes to mind when I read this title was... Metaverse, Multiverse, and Icelandverse (Yes, that YouTube video that copied Facebook/Meta). US accreditation is very different than Mexico and other countries, if you have a state approved or authorized degree, and those institutions follow NC-SARA for distance education, it's acceptable in respective states as well.

In Canada, there is no federal accreditation, it's all provincial. Australia, it's handled by the federated states and territories. New Zealand doesn't actually have provinces or states, they're regions, thus - they're RA (regionally accredited in their own right), and just like the UK, these countries have the Royal Charter to do so. TLDR - I think this Multiversidad institution is legit!

[cacoleman1983]

This is an interesting program option for life-long learners or perpetual students.

SpanTran's result was that the degree is a "Doctor of Philosphy from a regionally accredited institution of higher education that lacks accreditation in the United States"."

That sounds really convoluted although that was 10 years ago and they may just give it full recognition now. We know that it lacks accreditation in the US because it is a foreign institution so it should have just read as a US regionally accredited institution to begin with. Although I can see that it generally states that this degree is recognized in part but not as a whole for the US. Thus, accredited but not widely accepted due to location restrictions.

If I see this evaluation as an admissions officer or employer, I would just accept this evaluation without penalty.

[Kab]

Regional rvoe has the same value than federal rvoe actually. Time ago could have been different but actually is not. But rvoe is for each degree and method of teaching (presence, mix or distance). Rvoe is for each study. Universities need to be also accredited.

[Kal Di]

Regional rvoe has the same value than federal rvoe actually. Time ago could have been different but actually is not. But rvoe is for each degree and method of teaching (presence, mix or distance). Rvoe is for each study. Universities need to be also accredited.

In Mexico, state RVOE and federal RVOE is not the same. It is why there is a distinction.

While NACES or AICE foreign credential evaluators grant degree equivalency to graduates of Mexican universities with federal RVOE, I have yet to see an example of a NACES / AICE evaluator who granted degree equivalency to someone who graduated from a Mexican university with state RVOE. If there is at least one recent example, would anyone be willing to share it with us?

The only way that we will truly know is for a forum member to graduate from the university and display their NACES / AICE foreign credential evaluation.

Until then, I would instead recommend Validential for any graduate who wants to improve their likelihood of getting a degree equivalent evaluation.

[Kab]

I have several degrees from Mexico universities, they have a federal RVOE and recognized as regional in the US. I have also nearly finish a licenciatura in UVEG (regional rvoe) and the degree info for recognition of the credits I have is regional and the credits where recognized without a problem.

The Mexican education system was reformed long ago and both regional and federal degrees with respective rvoe, are recognized equally all over Mexico.