The Euclid Consortium is a

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

educational consortium created in 2005 by the

University of Bangui The University of Bangui () is a public university located in Bangui, Central African Republic. History Before independence in Oubangui-Chari (later to be called the Central African Republic), most students going on to higher education headed f ...

(

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

), the Université Libre Internationale (

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), and the International Organization for Sustainable Development. The original name was Euclid University Consortium, but the structure was renamed in December 2008 in order to avoid confusion with EUCLID University, which is a member of the consortium.

History, membership and programs

The Euclid initiative began in June 2004 as a cooperative project between the Human Bioethics Treaty Organization and the Embassy of the Central African Republic in Washington, DC. This led formalizing an educational extension project with the University of Bangui and the private Université Libre Internationale of Brussels (Belgium) as co-founders. In January 2006, the agreements were revised and transferred with the formation of IOSD (the International Organization for Sustainable Development) and the participation of the Université Libre du Burkina alongside ULI. The

University of N'Djamena The University of N'Djamena (, , UNDT) is the leading institution of higher education located in N'Djamena in Chad. It was created in 1971 as the University of Chad, and was renamed "University of N'Djamena" in 1994. See also * List of Islamic ...

(UNDT, Chad), became a full member of the consortium in May 2006, adding the institutional recognition of its IAU (

International Association of Universities The International Association of Universities (IAU) is a membership-led non-governmental organization working in the field of global higher education. It has more than 600 members in over 130 countries, including institutions, organizations, aff ...

) member status and the approval of its Ministry of Education to the initiative. In 2007, the

Gaston Berger University Gaston Berger University (GBU), or L'Université Gaston Berger (UGB), located some outside Saint-Louis, was the second university established in Senegal (the first being Cheikh Anta Diop University). Originally the University of Saint-Louis, it ...

of Senegal announced its intention to participate in the consortium and confirmed the same in 2008. The Consortium organizes online degree programs on behalf of the member schools and manages other joint academic initiatives of interest to the participating universities. The programs are offered in French and English, notably in Diplomacy, Sustainable Development and Religious Studies, which are structured after the

Bologna Process file:Bologna-Prozess-Logo.svg, 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo file:Bologna zone.svg, alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 256px, Bologna zone The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements b ...

(including ECTS and

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) in order to follow both

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and United States guidelines.

Structure and organization

The consortium's educational programs are managed by 4 academic units called schools: * The John Jay School of Diplomacy and International Affairs * The Blaise Pascal School of Computing and Sciences * The John Locke School of Business and Economics * The Pavel Florensky School of Theology and Ministry * The Euclid School of Education Development Since 2009, the programs are directly managed by EUCLID (University), and the original academic units were absorbed in EUCLID. EUCLID University is a recognised degree-granting institution listed by UNESCO under ID IAU-024734 and accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education of the Central African Republic and by the relevant ministries of Euclid participating states (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Senegal, Comoros, Burundi, Timor-Leste and the Gambia as documented in United Nations Treaty Series I-49006 and 49007). The Euclid Consortium is headed by a high steward, the ambassador of the

to the United States, His Excellency Emmanuel Touaboye and an executive president, Mr. Syed Zahid Ali, who is also the secretary-general of EUCLID (Euclid University). Academic oversight is under the responsibility of the oversight council, whose co-chairmen are the rectors of the participating universities.

Member universities

* EUCLID (University), primary institution since 2008 * University of N'Djamena, joint degree-granting institution in some cases * University of Bangui, joint degree-granting institution in some cases * ULI (Brussels) + * Université Libre du Burkina + * Université Gaston Berger + * Université des Comores + + Consortium members but not joint degree granters

Accreditation process and institutional evolution

This inter-university initiative was originally named "Pôle d'Extension Universitaire Euclide" and the name "Euclid University" was initially used as a short translation of the French name, hence giving the unintentional impression that the extension consortium was intended to be a free-standing, degree-granting institution. This technical and legal issue led to recognition problems in the English-speaking world. In order to correct this situation, the official English name was amended to "Euclid University Consortium" to emphasize the fact that Euclid was originally designed as a consortium, not a free-standing university with its own charter and degrees. In January 2009, the name was further changed to "Euclid Consortium." Because the international directory of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

does not list inter-institutional consortia, the registration of the extension initiative was done under the entry for the universities of N'Djamena and Bangui. Hence, the Consortium's recognition is tied to the recognition of the member universities, two of which are the actual degree granters, since the consortium itself has no direct degree-granting authority. In December 2006, IOSD signed an agreement with the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an affiliated institution of the 57 member-state

Organisation of the Islamic Conference The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of 57 member states, 48 of which are Muslim-majority. The Pew Forum on ...

, establishing the recognition of its programs and applicable accreditations. In 2008, the need for the consortium to obtain an autonomous charter and direct governmental accreditation led to the introduction of a multilateral Memorandum of Understanding which was approved by the four initial participating states. This intergovernmental agreement formalized the constitution of

EUCLID (University) EUCLID, also called ''Pôle Universitaire Euclide'' or Euclid University, is an international intergovernmental organization with a university charter established in 2008. It has official headquarters in The Gambia and in the Central African Rep ...

as an intergovernmental university framework with legal personality. This initial agreement was succeeded by a revised framework agreement, and both indicated that EUCLID would also become a member of the Euclid Consortium which remains an active partnership.

History, membership and programs

Structure and organization

Member universities

Accreditation process and institutional evolution

References

External links