Ghana: The accreditation challenges in transnational educational ecology

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Abigail Azasu 9 years ago

Our country is educational system is bedeviled with fraud. From the presidency to the classroom teacher, the frauds is unimaginable. I appreciate that some of you have taken this issue up

Our country is educational system is bedeviled with fraud. From the presidency to the classroom teacher, the frauds is unimaginable. I appreciate that some of you have taken this issue up
Awuni Mohammad 9 years ago

we don't need education

we don't need education
Gideon 9 years ago

Commission on Higher Education Accreditation CHEA in USA has two prestigeous accreditations for busness programs. They are 1.AACSB and 2.ASCBP. these accreditations are the highest on the american continent for business educa ...
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Commission on Higher Education Accreditation CHEA in USA has two prestigeous accreditations for busness programs. They are 1.AACSB and 2.ASCBP. these accreditations are the highest on the american continent for business education as well as EQUIS and AMBAS. SMC is ASCBP accreditated. the first two accreditation can never accredit any higher institution without its national accreditation. so those of u who came out with this article has done a very very poor job regarding SMC. pls come again.
Soldier 9 years ago

Why don't you produce your own research and recommendations on the subject and publish. All that some of you are good at is criticism without any solutions of your own. Gerezzzz!

Why don't you produce your own research and recommendations on the subject and publish. All that some of you are good at is criticism without any solutions of your own. Gerezzzz!
Ghana First 9 years ago

Gideon, have you ever heard of any accredited one-year doctorate degree program anywhere in the West? Why not call ASCBP to find out whether SMC is accredited? Apparently, it is NOT!

Gideon, have you ever heard of any accredited one-year doctorate degree program anywhere in the West? Why not call ASCBP to find out whether SMC is accredited? Apparently, it is NOT!
Ghana First 9 years ago

Kudos! The entire educational system of Ghana is sinking! I hope the minister in charge and the president are listening.

Kudos! The entire educational system of Ghana is sinking! I hope the minister in charge and the president are listening.
THE REAL C.Y. ANDY-K 9 years ago

In fact a serious clean-up is required, having had the privilege of reading and finding out what's happening.

It MUST START NOW!

Let us have the full exposure!

Andy-K

In fact a serious clean-up is required, having had the privilege of reading and finding out what's happening.

It MUST START NOW!

Let us have the full exposure!

Andy-K
Dondada 9 years ago

Gideon. you are very funny. go and do your checks well. where is the origin of the SMC. is an online thing dey are using to collect monies from the public. how can a university accredited by a non governmental organization. j ...
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Gideon. you are very funny. go and do your checks well. where is the origin of the SMC. is an online thing dey are using to collect monies from the public. how can a university accredited by a non governmental organization. just check the domain name n you will is not a university SMCuniversity.com. Gideon which university on earth have such a domain name.
Makafui Charles Gbedemah 9 years ago

Abigail,you are right.Every institution in Ghana is corrupt and in a mess.It's time we look or take things seriously.Thanks to Prof.Tsikata and Dotse.

Abigail,you are right.Every institution in Ghana is corrupt and in a mess.It's time we look or take things seriously.Thanks to Prof.Tsikata and Dotse.
Dan Amakpa 9 years ago

I have just finished reading the whole report. Professor Tsikata and Dotse, how do I access you folks? Our Ghanaian compatriots are so ignorant and cant read and do simple search online before they even comment on very import ...
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I have just finished reading the whole report. Professor Tsikata and Dotse, how do I access you folks? Our Ghanaian compatriots are so ignorant and cant read and do simple search online before they even comment on very important issues. You guys did a great job. It is up to our useless government to do something about this. Once again, you guys did a great job.

P.Y. Tsikata 9 years ago

I normally do not get involved in the arguments. But I think Ghana is asleep. The level of ignorance in the system is legendary. If those fake institutions think I have soiled their names, they should head to court and I will ...
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I normally do not get involved in the arguments. But I think Ghana is asleep. The level of ignorance in the system is legendary. If those fake institutions think I have soiled their names, they should head to court and I will follow them to the court room.
A. Kobla Dotse, Ph.D. 9 years ago

No wonder government agents are preventing the full article (56 pages) and the accompanying PowerPoint presentation to be published by the media. What you have here is just a Policy Brief. We presented to the Ghana Embassy ...
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No wonder government agents are preventing the full article (56 pages) and the accompanying PowerPoint presentation to be published by the media. What you have here is just a Policy Brief. We presented to the Ghana Embassy Ambassador and the Senior Staff on Thursday July 2, 2016 at Washington, DC.

Please let us know if you are interested in the two reports.

Warmest regards.

A. Kobla Dotse, Ph.D.
Jeffery 9 years ago

Swiss Management University (SMCU) has private University status in Switzerland. Since it is a private institution of higher education, it is authorized to confer university degrees. SMCU University is accredited by the Europ ...
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Swiss Management University (SMCU) has private University status in Switzerland. Since it is a private institution of higher education, it is authorized to confer university degrees. SMCU University is accredited by the European Council for Business Education (CHEA) www.chea.org and the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) www.acbsp.org. Equal to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACB), the ACBSP is a national accreditation body in the United States and recognized through the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Degrees obtained from online institutions, which hold a CHEA recognized accreditation, are recognized internationally. Furthermore, Swiss Management University is a member of the Academic Council of the United Nations Systems and Swiss Federation for Adult Learning (SVEB). Swiss Management Center. SMC ranks amongst the leading institutions in its field. As an example, The Doctorate of Management (DOM) and Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) is ideal for those who wish to acquire an extensive academic and industry related exposure. The online PhD and Doctorate programs are accredited by the ACBSP (CHEA recognized), and by the European Council of Business Education, an ENQA affiliate.
Read Wide 9 years ago

There are thousands of universities in the US that only have programme accreditation and not institution accreditation. By the logic of the authors( who claim to be professors in the US) are those traditional US universities ...
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There are thousands of universities in the US that only have programme accreditation and not institution accreditation. By the logic of the authors( who claim to be professors in the US) are those traditional US universities also fake?
ABDUL 9 years ago

On the accreditation issues of SMC University, the two authors get it totally wrong. First you need to understand the system of accreditation in Switzerland. Switzerland operates an open market policy when it comes to higher ...
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On the accreditation issues of SMC University, the two authors get it totally wrong. First you need to understand the system of accreditation in Switzerland. Switzerland operates an open market policy when it comes to higher educational accreditation. There are HEI that are either established by the State or the Cantons, and this HEI institutions gain automatic recognition to enable them continue to receive state funding or support. There is the second tier of HEI that are private in nature but decide to submit themselves to Swiss relevant authorities for State or Cantonal recognition, in order to enable their students within Switzerland to attract state support while they offer their programmes at these institutions. Now, where SMC University comes in is the third tier of private HEI that mostly offer international programmes meant for international students. By Swiss Law, these institutions are not subjected to any form of accreditation by any Swiss authority, and yet the law allows them to operate and they do so legally. Judgement regarding the quality of the programmes they run are meant to be decided by the market. All they are required to do is to register as companies or a non-profit. Swiss authorities will tell you that these private HEI exist and run programmes that are not compatible with the Swiss educational system but it doesn't mean they are running programmes of a lower quality. Now, having the legal right to operate as a private HEI per Swiss Law, what most of the private HEI in Switzerland do is to step out of Switzerland itself and acquire what is referred to as programmatic accreditation. It is the reason the SMC University have acquired accreditation from the ACBSP for almost all their programmes. The ACBSP is an international body based in USA, which is recognised by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) based in the USA. It is an umbrella body for private international accreditation bodies based in the USA which also recognised by the US Department of Education. Under this body comes the prestigious AACSB which is often referred to as the gold standard for business school accreditation around the World. The ACBSP follows the AACSB in terms of reputation. But both are internationally recognised. Reputable educational institutions in EUROPE and AMERICA carry either of these accreditation labels.
Let me conclude by saying that I am not associated to the SMC University in anyway. I don't have any relation or friend doing a course at SMC. But I have studied quite extensively accreditation systems around Europe and America and with the matter of SMC I thought it was important to share this, so that innocent people will not suffer. I hope this helps. Thank you.
A. Kobla Dotse, Ph.D. 9 years ago

There is a difference between accreditation of institutions and accreditation of programs! SMC as an institution is nor accredited!

There is a difference between accreditation of institutions and accreditation of programs! SMC as an institution is nor accredited!
cocorico 8 years ago

Please my brother educate those useless oeganistion

Please my brother educate those useless oeganistion
Ampong Dan 9 years ago

“Blowing out the other person’s candle does not make yours shine brighter”. This is exactly what the so-called ‘investigative report’ by Dr(?) Prosper Yao Tsikata and Dr(?) Kobla Dotse are trying to achieve with the ...
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“Blowing out the other person’s candle does not make yours shine brighter”. This is exactly what the so-called ‘investigative report’ by Dr(?) Prosper Yao Tsikata and Dr(?) Kobla Dotse are trying to achieve with their sponsored publication.

In embarking on the ‘research’ the authors stated that they were guided by four considerations viz. to:
1. Seek truth and report it
2. Minimize harm
3. Act independently
4. Be accountable and transparent

One begins to wonder if at all they were guided by these rubrics.

Firstly, they stated that they selected institutions and individuals concerned for interrogation. This however, is false because the individuals and institutions mentioned denied being contacted by anybody as regards their accreditation or educational programmes. At least, this rebuttal by the institutions and individuals concerned gives credence to their methodology i.e. ‘purposive comparative framework’ for which the purpose is best known to them.

Secondly, apart from the email communication between the writers and the executive secretary of NAB as contained in the appendix, they relied on secondary sources of information like newspapers sponsored or owned by politicians and Facebook pages etc. One doesn’t need to be a Dr. to know how to copy and paste and then add sources, any ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’ can do what they just did. This therefore, cannot be called an investigative report. All they did was to simply copy and paste contents retrieved from various online sources (majority with questionable pedigree).

Thirdly, the report can best be described as a sponsored publication aimed at tarnishing the image of well meaning Ghanaians who through their hard work are recognized by these institutions when the local universities stick to their analog ways of doing things in a digital age. One can also perceive jealousy on the part of the writers. Distinguished Ghanaians are being recognized with an honorary doctorate for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the society while others have worked hard and earned their doctorate, the writers feel the market is becoming too competitive for them but rather than striving for excellence, they have resorted to a PhD (Pull Him Down) syndrome which sadly, is an African problem.

Finally, Drs(?) Prosper Yao Tsikata and Kobla Dotse have deliberately attempted to misinform the general public through their report because they have failed to distinguish between an unaccredited, unrecognized and fake a institution. An unaccredited institution by the government doesn’t mean that the institution is fake. It only means that the institution is not recognized by the government or it could even be that the institution is working towards getting its accreditation. For example, in the United Kingdom, a college may not be accredited but can work in partnership with accredited universities to satisfy their market needs and this doesn’t make the college fake. Similarly, there are legitimate organisations that employ people but are not on the list of Tier 2 sponsors. However, for immigration purposes these organisations need to apply and get approval to be able to sponsor migrant applicants. If the migrant applicant already has a visa, they can go ahead an employ the migrant. These are standards set to control certain excesses but is doesn’t make the other organisations who cannot meet the standards illegal. A fake institution is that which is not legally existing but operating. It is evident that the word ‘fake’ will generate the kind of attention they would expect, just like a newspaper headline, the reason the writers preferred the use of the word ‘fake’. The general public is therefore, advised to take this report seriously at their own peril because the self-acclaimed journalist Dr(?) Prosper Yao Tsikata is just trying to make a living.
James Amponsah 9 years ago

I would like to commend Dr. Tsikata and Dr. Dotse for this bold initiative. Your report has identified over 10 institutions and about 45 individuals by my count. None of these institutions have come out to challenge the repor ...
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I would like to commend Dr. Tsikata and Dr. Dotse for this bold initiative. Your report has identified over 10 institutions and about 45 individuals by my count. None of these institutions have come out to challenge the report except the SMC. What it means is that 99 percent of the report is accurate; meaning Ghana is in trouble. The 1% that is challenging the report to head to court, so you can have a well-organized platform to debate this issue than people throwing mud here and there. My own checks have shown that the SMC is unaccredited by the Swiss authorities. The school os fake.
cocorico 8 years ago

Dont mind them they are just looking for a way to take money from people we go should with smc and other school like aiu university sniffff nab warned the public mu foot kwasia like that

Dont mind them they are just looking for a way to take money from people we go should with smc and other school like aiu university sniffff nab warned the public mu foot kwasia like that

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Ghana: The accreditation challenges in transnational educational ecology

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