Rushmore University is an

unaccredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

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 school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

. It has been described as a

diploma mill A diploma mill or degree mill is a business that sells illegitimate diplomas or academic degrees, respectively. The term ''diploma mill'' is also used pejoratively to describe any educational institution with low standards for admission and gradua ...

, providing illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee.

History

Rushmore was started in 1996 in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

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

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

and seven years' teaching at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

and

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

. As of June 4, 2006 Rushmore had a mailing address in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

. 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 pro ...

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 school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

. 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 A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

s, or as

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

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

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

competitors".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 Educational accreditation is a quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated and verified by an external body to determine whether applicable and recognized standards are me ...

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, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and ...

(USDE) or the

Council for Higher Education Accreditation The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is an American organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for academic quality through accreditation in order to ...

(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 pro ...

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

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while 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 The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. It was founded as the British Institute of Management (BIM) in 1947 or 1948, merged with the Institution of Industrial Managers (I ...

(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 Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, 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

{{reflist

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