'Legit or Not' of the Week: Akamai University

[J]

www.akamaiuniversity.us

An interesting one, this, with links to the late Greenwich University. The President is Douglass Capogrossi, who was an officer there. There has been a suggestion that Akamai is to a large extent an extension of the Greenwich ideal.

Akamai is Hawaii state licensed and is not accredited. However, the programs it offers appear to be of substance.

[Robert J.]

On this one I voted thumbs down. Their Accreditation/Recognition page seems a bit squirrely to me.

[dhfr]

On this one I voted thumbs down. Their Accreditation/Recognition page seems a bit squirrely to me.Their accreditation statement seems quite straightforward to me:STATEMENT OF ACCREDITATION

Before undertaking any program of studies in higher education or training, Akamai University strongly advises interested applicants to consult with licensing authorities, professional associations, colleges and universities, and prospective employers to determine with clarity if the study program will meet their professional requirements.

AKAMAI UNIVERSITY IS NOT ACCREDITED BY AN ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZED BY THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. Please note that in the United States, many licensing authorities require accredited degrees as the basis for eligibility for licensing. In some cases, accredited colleges may not accept transfer courses and degrees completed at unaccredited colleges, and some employers may require an accredited degree as a basis for eligibility for employment.

[Robert J.]

Their accreditation statement seems quite straightforward to me:STATEMENT OF ACCREDITATION

Before undertaking any program of studies in higher education or training, Akamai University strongly advises interested applicants to consult with licensing authorities, professional associations, colleges and universities, and prospective employers to determine with clarity if the study program will meet their professional requirements.

AKAMAI UNIVERSITY IS NOT ACCREDITED BY AN ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZED BY THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. Please note that in the United States, many licensing authorities require accredited degrees as the basis for eligibility for licensing. In some cases, accredited colleges may not accept transfer courses and degrees completed at unaccredited colleges, and some employers may require an accredited degree as a basis for eligibility for employment.

Well that's required by Hawaii law, I mean all of the non-accreditation noise that is there as well, such as ICDE membership, Incorporation Documents, and Secretary of State this and that and the other stuff that really doesn't mean anything.

[adamsmith]

Dr Doug is a good man and a good academic. I would give his venture the thumbs up!

[dhfr]

Well that's required by Hawaii law, I mean all of the non-accreditation noise that is there as well, such as ICDE membership, Incorporation Documents, and Secretary of State this and that and the other stuff that really doesn't mean anything.Yes, you're right. The accreditation statement is buried in a page full of irrelevancies.

[Bill Dayson]

I just voted 'thumbs down', not legit. But I have the same kind of reservations as I had for the Cal Coast poll. While Akamai doesn't strike me as a legitimate university at the present time, it does have some positives. I think that it's probably sincere and if it was managed properly, conceivably it could turn into something very interesting.

To justify my vote, I fall back on (yes) Google results.

A Google search for "akamai university" site:.edu generated four hits. Two were apparently irrelevant ("...akamai, university of...), and two were different addresses of this page:

http://shm.atsu.edu/shm_partassoc.htm

One thing that I noticed was that Akamai seems to be an umbrella organization that provides an institutional affiliation to an assortment of non-traditional educational activities and independent scholars.

"Center for Ecological and Envrionmental Studies":

http://www.envirolink.org/resource.html?itemid=200303041313400.0690197&catid=1

"Institute of Global Ecology" has some kind of relationship with Akamai

http://www.ecopsych.com/appbasiclttr.html

Akamai offers programs in association with the "School for Spiritual Psychology":

http://www.transformationsusa.com/admissions.html

Frankly, I kind of like this 'umbrella' model, but before it can presume to offer credible university degrees, the central administration has to have some kind of solid academic quality assurance system in place. I just don't see that with Akamai at this point.

What I do see is enough marketing to choke a horse. A Google search for "Akamai University" generated 5,120 hits.

A search for the precise text-string: "Hilo, Hawaii, offering a variety of distance-based graduate programs" generated 532 hits.

guiadelmundo.com, ucmore.com, google.com, travel.co, politinfo.com, inperth.com.au, travel-directory.org, giosearch.it, ansme.co, sserv.co, klevze.si, dominion-web.co, nodeworks.c, adilo.net, allfind.us, abc.net, creativevoyager.com, mizmoz.com, incywincy.com, interactiva.org, warsaw-hotel-discounts.com, uksprite.com... and many, many more.

[George Brown]

Dr C appears to be a genuine and sincere fellow, determined to offer non-traditional education offshore in Asia. Whilst the sincerity is there, the utility and acceptance of state approved Hawaiin degrees in that part of the world could be a challenge. There was some issues on another board re-allegations from individuals and I offered to perform a site audit on my travels back from Hong Kong - the offer was not taken up but I would be pleased to provide an independent assessment in the future.

Cheers,

George

[adamsmith]

Your independent site visit would have been useful. However, what you may have found may have been a shock to the university!

Overseas affiliates are usually a law unto themselves unless under constant scutiny. But this is something the universities cannot afford to do financial wise. But they suffer in reputation in the longer term.

[dhfr]

I voted "legit" but there are some aspects that concern me: Decoys on the accreditation page (as Robert J. pointed out).
Some questionable qualifications amongst the faculty.
Possible issues with affiliates/franchisees.

Akamai has some interesting programs, in many cases in disciplines not served well by more conventional institutions. Even the business administration program has some interesting majors -- e.g. not-for-profit administration, economic development (for developing countries), etc.

I like it. This is an example of what non-traditional education can offer in a world awash in standard programs.

[adamsmith]

Well that's required by Hawaii law, I mean all of the non-accreditation noise that is there as well, such as ICDE membership, Incorporation Documents, and Secretary of State this and that and the other stuff that really doesn't mean anything.


ICDE are no longer renewing the membership of unaccredited schools. This will help remove the confusion surrounding this worthwhile membership.

Membership to ICDE was always meant for accredited schools, but obviously inexperienced staff have not picked up the difference. I am the accredited schools have now made them aware!

[Robert J.]

ICDE are no longer renewing the membership of unaccredited schools. This will help remove the confusion surrounding this worthwhile membership.

Membership to ICDE was always meant for accredited schools, but obviously inexperienced staff have not picked up the difference. I am the accredited schools have now made them aware!

Very good information adamsmith. Thank you for providing it.

[ray1212]

There are many nonaccredited universities out there that provide a valuable service to those seeking their credentials. Personally I don't know about Akamai University, but what I can tell you is that many of the members posting here who hold staff positions at other nonaccredited institutions have no right to judge.

[adamsmith]

You make a very interesting point! Can you name any of those who posted to this thread who are in this position?

[J]

Guys, we are not going to go down this road.

Not all unaccredited institutions are the same and whatever one's relationship with any one of them, this does not preclude having a view on others.