FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: What is a Global University? 

A: The concept of a global university is new to the world.  We are used to seeing a large complex of buildings in some part of a major city with a large sign over the threshold, which pronounces “ University of XYZ”. We find that buildings have classrooms, laboratories, and libraries housed in them.  We see a mass of young people, and a few mature people sitting around, usually the mature persons talking and the younger people either listening or writing, or doing things according to the instructions they receive from the mature person.  We recognize this as a “University Campus”, where the select youth of a nation are being trained for their leading roles in the future of their community.  Now imagine that we spread this campus in such manner that instead of thirty rooms in the “Science Building” of the campus, we have 3 rooms in Katmandu, 4 rooms in Bangkok, 10 rooms in Glendale, 5 rooms in Hove and 8 rooms in Taiwan.  The relationships are the same, the contents are the same, and what happens in XYZ also happens in this scattered Global Campus.  Instead of educating a few select in a given place, now a much larger group from all over the world receive the same education.  This is the sum total of what a Global University like AUHS is. 

Q: What do you mean by Multimedia?

A: Simply the use of any instrument that can establish communication between two or more people for exchange of ideas. In the case of a university this could include sound (an audio tape, a telephone conversation, a teleconference via satellite radiophone), vision (a video tape, a book, letters, faxes), a combination of sound and vision (a live lecture, a teleconference on the Internet), boundless use of spaces (communicating in a large or small group anywhere that is more convenient to all parties; in an actual classroom, in a virtual class, under the shade of a tree in a park, in front of a fireplace in a home, at a tool bench in a factory, or reading and writing in the solitude of your own bedroom), through any verbal or non-verbal means of communication (conversation in a language that the parties understand, sending written material, sign language, presenting a thematic project), at any convenient time (9 AM to 5 PM Monday to Friday, in the evenings, during the weekend, 2 days once a month, or whenever suitable for all parties), in any accepted timeframe to all parties (everyday of the week, every Sunday, once a month, once every six weeks).    

Q: Is AUHS the only university of this kind in the world?

A: Not any longer. Up to 1997 it was one of the kind, but in the past few years others have entered the arena, including a number of universities from the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. We have some presence from the United States as well, but unfortunately this is a mixed bag; some bona fide institutions as well as some adventurers who are using the situation to their own financial advantage. We will talk about this a little later. 

Q: What is Accreditation and are the universities from the United Kingdom, Australia or Canada accredited?

A: Accreditation is a process peculiar to the United States.  It is a PRIVATE, VOLUNTARY & NONGOVERNMENTAL PROCESS between the traditional universities in this country.   The reason for this is mainly because higher education has never been centrally regularized by a Federal Governmental body in the United States, as it is in almost all other countries of the world, where there is a Ministry of Education, or Ministry of Science or Higher Education, or a Governmental Commission for Higher Education and so on.   In the United States universities are independent institutions and the responsibility for their good standing vis-à-vis the public rests with the authorities of each STATE.   Now there are 50 States in the United States of America; some of these States have very stringent rules about how an institution can call itself a university, some only require meeting a minimum of criteria, and a few have no rules and regulations regarding who can register as a university in their State, as long as they do not break the State and Federal Criminal laws.  With more than 17,000 establishments that call themselves institutions of higher education in the country, obviously the ones with a name and repute have to distance themselves from the questionable and sometimes even fraudulent operators.  Since there is no central governmental control, the reputable institutions came together to form a PRIVATE CLUB, which they called an Accreditation Agency. Membership of the club was made subject to meeting a number of criteria and standards.  Today there are 165 Accrediting Agencies in the United States, some covering certain regions of the Union (Regional Accrediting Bodies such as North Central, etc.), some of them covering the entire country (National Accrediting Agencies such as American Board of Funeral Service Education, Association for Clinical Pastoral Education Incorporation, etc.).  Since some of the institutions that did not meet the criteria of these clubs decided to open their own private clubs (Accrediting Body), in order to distinguish between the dependable clubs and unreliable clubs, political pressure was brought about to have a list of recognized clubs, an Office of Postsecondary Education was set up within the Department of Education in Washington (which as you remember has no jurisdiction over higher education as such), and this office established some kind of criteria for recognizing Accrediting Agencies.  The Office presently circulates a list of the agencies it has recognized (about 70). Some maintain that this action is  not constitutional, since a Government Agency cannot endorse certain private companies over others; they argue that it will be like an hypothetical Office of Discotheques in the Department of Commerce circulating a list of recognized discos and disc jockeys. Others argue that the list at least extends some protection to the public against the unscrupulous operators. A number of very good institutions refuse to join even the reputable clubs, saying that they will not subject their own independence to the dictates of an outside body.  In all, it is a very confusing situation, particularly for people from outside the United States. Of course the universities from the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, who have been established and are subject to the laws and regulations of their own countries, do not require to be, nor they should be “accredited” by any of US Accrediting Agencies, whether recognized by the Department of Education or not.   Let us repeat ourselves once again for the peace of mind of all concerned:
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF HUMAN SCIENCES IS NOT ACCREDITED BY AN ACCREDITING AGENCY RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.
Note: 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 for transfer courses and degrees completed at unaccredited colleges, and some employers may require an accredited degree as a basis for eligibility for employment.

Q: In that case why we see some institutions, say in Far East, advertising themselves as accredited by certain US Accreditation Agencies?

A: This is a sales gimmick.  Any body can register a private company in  some of the States and name it say; “Global Accrediting Agency", or "World Education Accrediting Association”.  The person then can charge a fee and surrender to buyers a piece of paper stating that they are accredited. It does not mean a thing.  The only valid accreditation agencies in the United States of America are those that appear on the official list of recognized accrediting bodies issued by the US Department of Education.  To View these please go to: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html

Q: Is AUHS accredited?

A: The simple and straight answer is “NO”, but there is more to it than that.  The American University of Human Sciences is a global university, meaning that it offers quality American higher education in numerous countries of the world.  In each overseas country that AUHS has been formally and officially registered and recognized, the credentials of the University, its curriculums, syllabi, list of academic and administrative staff, etc. are minutely examined by the authority governing the higher education in that country, and it is then granted a permit to operate as a degree-granting institution of higher education in that country.  For all means and purposes the University is considered a “local” institution, and comes under the jurisdiction of the local body, which regulates higher education in that country. In certain cases AUHS will face problems if it were to obey the rules and regulations of the national governments, and those of the accrediting organizations in USA, as these may, and do, conflict. The choice is very clear; to abide by the rules of a government, or to go along with the rules and regulations of a private club in USA?  Then there are accrediting agencies that limit their activities to the boundaries of the United States, and will not cover any operation outside the Union. Fortunately in recent years the situation has improved in response to the globalization of American higher education.

Q: Then what is the legal status of AUHS?

A: The answer lies in the credentials of the University that you will find on other pages of this site. As was explained before there are 3 types of establishments in the United States that can call themselves “a university”; a) those that have the recognition of the authorities of the State in which or from which they operate, and are also accredited by a recognized accrediting agency. These are known as “Accredited Universities”, b) those that either have the control of the authorities of the State in which or from which they operate, but are not accredited by a recognized accrediting agency, yet they have all the required formats such as faculty, curriculum, syllabi, and facilities to undertake the task. These are known as “Legitimate Universities”, and c) those that are neither officially recognized or controlled by the State in which or from which they operate, nor are they interested in obtaining accreditation.  They are a small commercial operation, and to put it very crudely, selling worthless pieces of paper that they call a “degree”. They are normally and generally referred to as “Diploma Mills”.   Since the higher education system is not centrally regulated in the United States, and also the constitution of the country allows for freedom of trade, the Diploma Mills are traders that sell printed pieces of paper with titles on them. As long as they do not portend to be more than what they are, and do not enter into acts of deception or fraud, then there is very little that could be done about their existence.
Operation of AUHS in the United States is based on its claim to legitimacy and recognition by peers.  As for AUHS operations overseas, since the degrees issued by the local affiliates and campuses are generally recognized and ratified by the local authorities, then in most cases our graduates are treated as graduates from that country as far as US authorities are concerned.

Q: Could you clarify this last point?

A: Certainly.   Let us give you some examples. We have a number of graduates in Computer Science from our Campuses in Karachi, Pakistan, and Hyderabad, India. They are offered temporary jobs in the United States in the industry. For the purposes of obtaining the entry visas into the United States, they are treated as graduates of a foreign university despite holding an American degree. In their workplace they are treated equal to anyone else holding an American degree, or at times even as a preferred employee.

Q: Why do you say that AUHS graduates sometimes receive preferential status?

A: Mainly because we do not have any so-called “soft-options” in this University. Our students, in satisfying the requirements of the University and the College under which they are studying, have to complete courses that are directly and unequivocally related to their field of study. Despite our motto of “Freedom to Learn”, we do not extend this freedom to irrelevancy and waste.  So, no 4-credit units for “finger painting” or “roller-blade efficiency”, and such like, not in this University.

Q: Now suppose I enroll in an AUHS degree program, and want to transfer to a traditional accredited university, can I do that?

A: You may or you may not, depending on which university you want to go to and in what part of the world.  Some universities have accepted all our credits in transfer in the past, some have accepted only those that were on their own curriculum, and some have a policy not to accept any credits in transfer from a non-accredited like ours, or even at times other accredited universities operating from USA.

Q: What about if I graduate and want to continue my studies at a higher level; will my degree be accepted?

A: Let us put it this way.  Your degree will be accepted by a good number of the universities in the European Community and in Australia.  Right now we have our graduates pursuing Master’s and Doctoral level studies in the United Kingdom, France. Austria, Sweden, and Netherlands, and we are happy to report that they are all among the star students. You can obviously pursue your education in countries where AUHS is recognized officially.  In the United States of America the situation is the same as was given above for credit transfer.  Some graduates have been accepted by other universities to pursue a higher degree program, some have had to complete a few extra courses to replace courses not shared between AUHS and the host institution, while a majority have turned down our graduates for their own reasons.

Q: Will the situation within the United States change if AUHS is accredited, and how long will this take?.

A: The situation will probably change for the better, but it will not resolve itself completely.  We have pointed out that institutions of higher education in the United States are autonomous and independent bodies, most of them private and for-profit in nature.  There is no general rule, and each institution makes its own decisions.

As to how long it will take for AUHS becoming accredited, that is if and when it starts the process, then one has to remember that accreditation is an expensive and lengthy process, and the timeframe is determined by the official procedures of the accrediting agency.  We have very little, or practically no control, over this matter.

Q: Can I have the list of the other universities that accept AUHS qualifications?

A: Certainly, here is a short list:
- Robert Schumann University, Strasbourg, France
- University of Lund, Sweden
- University of Vienna, Austria
- Budapest Technical University, Hungary
- University of Trieste
- Edinburgh University, Scotland, UK
- London School of Business, England, UK
- University of New South Wales, Australia
- Amsterdam University, Netherlands
- Islamic Azad University, Iran
- American University of Spain, Marbella, Spain
AUHS graduates have enrolled in the above universities for postgraduate degrees and have reported the fact to us. There might be others that we do not know about, and we will be happy to learn from anyone whose credits have been accepted by institutions of higher education not on the above list.