What are the steps to obtain CHEA accreditation?

[Merlin]

Cecil - "WGU actually only has the licence and its website and it is a "registered" university."

Me -  WGU (Western Governors' University) has a LOT more than that. It is Regionally Accredited as shown below. This is the highest form of accreditation. Ergo, it has been found by its accreditor to have the financial resources, equipment, premises, teachers/professors and curriculum  etc. it needs to be a fine, established distance university, which awards meaningful degrees. It is no amateur, startup or shoestring operation as you imply.  It has had a good reputation for a lot of years. As we've established - all that costs money - real money - lots of it. Start talking to your investors...

Not only that, but WGU has been around for more than 23 years. They started out with a $2 million budget in 1997 as a nationally accredited college but eventually earned regional accreditation in 2003. In fact, WGU is also the only college out there that has been awarded regional accreditation from four different regional accreditation bodies. They currently have a student body of more than 120,000 students which makes them one of the largest colleges in the United States.

So, if you want a school to model, you might want to look at University of the People, rather than WGU. Unless you have investors who are willing to shell out a billion dollars or so.

[Johann]

Even if you're rich, there are no guarantees. Remember "Trump University?" Even all THAT guy's money couldn't make a go of it - certainly, it was never accredited. I remember something about New York Board of Regents not liking the use of the word "University" and forcing the school to change its name. Well, that was (a small) part of the problem, anyway.

[Merlin]

Even if you're rich, there are no guarantees. Remember "Trump University?" Even all THAT guy's money couldn't make a go of it - certainly, it was never accredited. I remember something about New York Board of Regents not liking the use of the word "University" and forcing the school to change its name. Well, that was (a small) part of the problem, anyway.

I believe that colleges are not supposed to use the name "University" unless they offer accredited graduate degrees. So an unaccredited school would need to use "College" or "Institute". I remember that it was a big deal when Thomas Edison State College (TESC) was finally able to rename themselves to Thomas Edison State University (TESU).

But yeah, that was only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything that went wrong with that particular school.

If I had the kind of spare change required to fund the creation of a good online college or knew someone who would foot the bill for me, I'd jump at the chance to set up and run a school. It would be a ton of hard work but I'd enjoy every moment of it.

[SteveFoerster]

Even if you're rich, there are no guarantees. Remember "Trump University?" Even all THAT guy's money couldn't make a go of it - certainly, it was never accredited. I remember something about New York Board of Regents not liking the use of the word "University" and forcing the school to change its name. Well, that was (a small) part of the problem, anyway.

That's because it wasn't trying to be a university, it was only a training seminar.

[cecilgambe7]

Cecil - "WGU actually only has the licence and its website and it is a "registered" university."

Me -  WGU (Western Governors' University) has a LOT more than that. It is Regionally Accredited as shown below. This is the highest form of accreditation. Ergo, it has been found by its accreditor to have the financial resources, equipment, premises, teachers/professors and curriculum  etc. it needs to be a fine, established distance university, which awards meaningful degrees. It is no amateur, startup or shoestring operation as you imply.  It has had a good reputation for a lot of years. As we've established - all that costs money - real money - lots of it. Start talking to your investors...


From the site:

"WGU is regionally accredited, the highest form of accreditation. Western Governors University is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), a regional accreditation body of colleges and universities in a seven-state region that includes WGU's headquarters of Utah."

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More facts about WGU. Their yearly budget is 800 MILLION DOLLARS. They have around 120,000 students. There are over 3,900 faculty and over 5,000 administrative employees. You may find it interesting to read how WGU started - as the brainchild of Governors of 19 Western States. So they have WAY more than "only a licence and a website" as you put it.

All this info and much more is here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Go...University

I'm sorry, i mean WQU

Worldquant university

https://wqu.org/

[SteveFoerster]

I'm sorry, i mean WQU

Worldquant university

https://wqu.org/

They're relatively new and have a license from Louisiana, and are not accredited yet. They're also doing a few things I consider wise, including focusing on a single discipline and gathering considerable personnel and financial resources before proceeding.

[cecilgambe7]

I'm sorry, i mean WQU

Worldquant university

https://wqu.org/

They're relatively new and have a license from Louisiana, and are not accredited yet. They're also doing a few things I consider wise, including focusing on a single discipline and gathering considerable personnel and financial resources before proceeding.

The business in my mind is to create a business with University name but offer non-degree, non-post-degree courses but training courses high value content in specific areas. Like Trump University...

It is possible to get the licence for this purpose?

Louisiana licence is more easy to get??

[Johann]

Trump U. calling itself a University led to problems. They were forced by the New York Board of Regents to change the name.
However - we're talking about Louisiana. Love the place! Aiyyeeee - laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll.)

Yes - over the years, Louisiana has been more friendly to non-traditional schools - some good, some not so. I was quite taken with WorldQuant - I saw some introductory stuff of theirs a while back and I thought - this is where I might want to go, if I were headed for Hedge Fund Management. Unfortunately, at 77, I think that ship has sailed. I wish them every success, in any case.

Anyway - yes, I believe it's a less-restrictive climate for new schools in that State. The only thing that worries me is - you have no intention of offering degree programs - that might lead to some authorities telling you not to call your school a University. Then again, this is Louisiana. So.... it might not. You could always ask.

[SteveFoerster]

The business in my mind is to create a business with University name but offer non-degree, non-post-degree courses but training courses high value content in specific areas. Like Trump University...

What's next, the Bernie Madoff School of Finance?

[cecilgambe7]

The business in my mind is to create a business with University name but offer non-degree, non-post-degree courses but training courses high value content in specific areas. Like Trump University...

What's next, the Bernie Madoff School of Finance?

If it don't offer degrees but training courses and it promote in this way i think the business is honest.

---

Trump U. calling itself a University led to problems. They were forced by the New York Board of Regents to change the name.
However - we're talking about Louisiana. Love the place! Aiyyeeee - laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll.)  

Yes - over the years, Louisiana has been more friendly to non-traditional schools - some good, some not so. I was quite taken with WorldQuant - I saw some introductory stuff of theirs a while back and I thought - this is where I might want to go, if I were headed for Hedge Fund Management. Unfortunately, at 77, I think that ship has sailed.  I wish them every success, in any case.

Anyway - yes, I believe it's a less-restrictive climate for new schools in that State. The only thing that worries me is - you have no intention of offering degree programs - that might lead to some authorities telling you not to call your school a University. Then again, this is Louisiana. So.... it might not. You could always ask.

Maybe it could offer a Master like WQU in order to being accepted as University