Rushmore University is an unaccredited institution of higher learning offering online degrees in a variety of business-related fields, exclusively via

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

. It has been described as a

diploma mill A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fake ...

, providing illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee.

History

Rushmore was started in 1996 in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

by Michael Cox (professor) (1952–2006), whose credentials included a PhD in accounting from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and seven years' teaching at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

and Sam Houston State University. As of June 4, 2006 Rushmore had a mailing address in the Cayman Islands. The Maine Department of Education formerly listed it as having been located in South Dakota and the Cayman Islands.Maine Department of Education
Non-Accredited Colleges & Universities
/ref> As of August 2012, both the Maine Department of Education and

Oregon Office of Degree Authorization The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization (ODA) is a unit of the Office of Student Access and Completion, with responsibilities related to maintaining high standards in private higher education institutions in Oregon. ODA administers laws and prov ...

identify Rushmore as operating in the Cayman Islands and the U.S. state of Georgia.Maine Department of Education
Non-Accredited Colleges & Universities
(accessed August 5, 2012)

Approach

Rushmore offers all of its educational programs solely through

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

. It has no physical campus and has had various mailing addresses, from Wyoming to the Cayman Islands. It currently has a mailing address in South Dakota. Rushmore states that each student can design their own entire curriculum. Students are encouraged to publish their student papers on the Internet, in conventional journals or magazines, or as

self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...

books. Editors are employed by the institution to help improve students' written work. Rushmore promotional materials state that the "status as an author" that results from these publications gives its alumni "greater recognition and credibility than heircompetitors".Rushmore Programs
Rushmore University website (accessed August 5, 2012)

Lack of accreditation

Formerly Rushmore's promotional material claimed that the conventionally recognized system of educational accreditation in the United States is irrelevant and that Rushmore had instead attained "independent accreditation," as measured solely by the success of its graduates. In the past, Rushmore claimed approval from a variety of agencies, none of them recognized by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...

(USDE) or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The

Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization (ODA) is a unit of the Office of Student Access and Completion, with responsibilities related to maintaining high standards in private higher education institutions in Oregon. ODA administers laws and prov ...

has no evidence that this is an accredited or otherwise acceptable provider of postsecondary education meeting

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

standards. Oregon employers should consider degrees from this supplier to be substandard unless each degree program is evaluated in detail by an external evaluator acceptable to ODA. The Maine Department of Education and State of Michigan also list Rushmore as non-accredited. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board also listed Rushmore University as a "fraudulent/substandard institution" as of 18 April 2018. The State of Michigan has listed Rushmore as an unacceptable institution for credentialing for those seeking jobs in the state's Department of Civil Service. In August 2009, Rushmore announced that it was seeking association with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). This was announced in the August 2009 Rushmore newsletter. The Rushmore June 2012 newsletter reported that in April 2012 Rushmore had obtained CMI Recognised Center status, including approval for several Rushmore programs, though the CMI is not an accrediting organisation. In

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, work done through Rushmore is not acknowledged as PhD work, hence the Danish national state radio channel recently had to retract claims made by a Rushmore graduate presented as having an accredited PhD degree.

References

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External links

Rushmore University
�� Official website Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in the United States Distance education institutions based in the United States Educational institutions established in 1996 1996 establishments in South Dakota

History

Approach

Lack of accreditation

See also

References

External links