I recently received another piece of fan mail. Unfortunately, I was not able to answer his questions very well. Steve Parscale from ACBSP was also copied on the mail, and hopefully he will be able to get this guy some quality information that I was not able to provide.
The problem with this particular piece of e-mail is that it’s really rough to answer the question “Is this school legit?” when the school is not in the USA. Here is the transcript of our session.
Hello:
I liked the above referenced discussion you guys had on the e-learners site. I NEED YOUR HELP AND ADVICE………..PLEASE. I would like to get a Doctoral Degree in Finance (affordable but accredited) online. During my search, I came across a school in Switzerland (http://www.swissmc.ch). This school is accredited by ACBSP. The following are my concerns/questions:
How can I find out whether this schools’ accreditation is equivalent to the regional accreditation that we have here in the States? They claim to have been accredited by….
Is this school legit?
Do you know any other reputable and affordable schools where I can complete my doctoral program for 10-12K?
Hello Al,
Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to answer a lot of your questions. I can't comment on European accreditation. I think Mr. Parscale would be more in tune to European accreditation that I, since it is his agency that has accredited that school. Mr. Parscale has been quite good about answering any questions regarding his agency.
Asking if "this school is legit", is a tough question. Seeing as how this school is not in the USA, it's hard for me to tell what qualifies as "legit". As you know, the US has regional accrediting agencies and agencies like AACSB and ACBSP that are pretty much a sure-fire way to tell if the school or a certain program are legit or not. This is much harder to tell with a school that is not located in the US.
I am unaware of any online doctoral programs in the price range you specify. I think that the best way to get an accredited graduate education for the price that you want to shoot for will require some homework on your part. I can suggest that you look at schools within your own state. That's one of the first things people can do when looking to save money. In-state tuition can make a huge difference. Furthermore, not all subjects at the doctoral level are taught online. You may have to select another degree program if you are just looking for the PhD, or wait until a more affordable school offers your subject.
Just because I am not aware of the schools or programs you want doesn't mean they don't exist, but in my extensive research, I have not seen anything of significance that sticks in my head. But I wish you well in your search.