Accreditation

For U.S. Students
Non-Accredited, Yet Equivalent

Blue Marble University Ltd. is incorporated as a domestic corporation in the Commonwealth of Dominica with the power to operate a university and to issue degrees upon  the completion of program curricula. As such, Blue Marble University is recognized in Dominica. However, Dominica has no accrediting agency for distance education institutions with no campus.

The  U.S. Department of Education  noted in their December 2018 discussion of needed accreditation reform:

“Postsecondary accreditation is a voluntary process in that a college or university need not be accredited in order to provide instruction or confer academic degrees”. [Reference at Page 1: US Dept of Education 2018:Rethinking Higher Education: Accreditation Reform]

The concept of “accreditation” is applicable only to US colleges and universities and does not apply to international educational institutions, such as Blue Marble University.

What the United States Department of Education 
Says About Accreditation and Foreign Education

(1) Most foreign education is not accredited.

This is confirmed  by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management:  “Most foreign education is not accredited by an accrediting body that is recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education”. Yet many people with overseas education use that education in the USA. They have their degrees approved as equivalent to a regionally accredited USA college or university by one of the many foreign education credential evaluation services [Page 22,  OPM Website Excerpt ] 

(2) Foreign Education Deemed Equivalent is Acceptable for Federal employment.

Foreign Education — Education completed outside of the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment. [Page 23,  OPM Website Excerpt ] 

(3) Foreign Degrees Can Be Recognized by Any Employer Alone

“Recognition of Foreign Qualifications-

In the United States, the competent authorities for recognizing previous education and qualifications include entities such as the following:

      • Education Institutions (for those seeking to study)
      • Employers (for those seeking employment)
      • State-Level Licensing Authorities (for those seeking professional licensure)
      • Federal Immigration Authorities (for those seeking to obtain/change visa status)

(4) Accreditation Does Not Guaranty Acceptance by Any Institution or Employer

“Accreditation does not provide automatic acceptance by an institution of credit earned at another institution, nor does it give assurance of acceptance of graduates by employers. Acceptance of students or graduates is always the prerogative of the receiving institution or employer. For these reasons, besides ascertaining the accredited status of a school or program, students should take additional measures to determine, prior to enrollment, whether or not their educational goals will be met through attendance at a particular institution.” US Department of Education Website Excerpt: No Automatic Acceptance Accreditation in the U.S.

Blue Marble University Degrees
Certified Equivalent
To Regionally Accredited US Colleges

Blue Marble University degrees have been deemed equivalent to U.S. universities by a prominent and authoritative foreign education reviewer registered with the United States Department of Education (click on image to make bigger):

Blue Marble University Certificate of Recognition. June 26, 2021. Be it known that the Academic Board has evaluated the Curricula of Blue Marble University, Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica, and finds the Curricula equivalent to that of regionally accredited universities in the United States of America. The world’s foremost authority on foreign education credentials, CUFCE, has passed upon the doctoral program offerings of Blue Marble University and found them equivalent to US colleges and university. The equivalency of Blue Marble University doctoral degrees to US collegesa nd universities now certified by CUFCE, the leading authority on foreign education review. Blue Marble University now accredited by CUFCE, California University Foreign Credential Evaluation Service, as being the same as any regionally accredited US college or university

The Certificate of Recognition states: Be it known that the Academic Board has evaluated the Curricula of Blue Marble University, Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica, and finds the Curricula equivalent to that of regionally accredited universities in the United States of America.

Based on the US Federal Regulations we use for how to calculate credits,
1 Blue Marble Credit = 1 USA Semester Credit. And therefore each of our doctoral and bachelor degree programs comprises at least the minimum course work for a doctoral or bachelor degree awarded by a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. Our Bachelor Degrees are 120 credits, including 60 General Education credits. See How We Compute Credits:
https://bluemarbleuniversity.com/how-course-credits-are-computed/

In the beginning, when Blue Marble University was seeking foreign education equivalency, we selected CUFCE.org which at that time was on a list of foreign credential evaluators approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Subsequently, the Department discontinued the list, instead referring students to “professional foreign education reviewers”.

California University Foreign Credential Evaluation Service  is a member of The American Evaluation Association recommended by the United States Department of Education. California University FCE does not issue college degrees per se, but degree equivalency, which requires the same scope and breadth of knowledge as someone who has actually completed a nationally or regionally accredited college program. California University FCE equivalency-degree evaluations are accepted for immigration as well as Federal, State and private employment. https://www.cufce.org

CUFCE equivalency reports are recognized in the United States as well as world-wide.  International students should also know that California University FCE is now recognized by the United Nations NGO Branch, a CHEA member under UNESCO

More importantly, for US students, Blue Marble University degrees are widely recognized. For example, the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) accepts California University FCE equivalency reports for Federal Civil Service jobs. As noted on the OPM website, “foreign education” is acceptable if “equivalent”:

“This category includes institutions that offer a curriculum which is equivalent to “conventional/accredited institutions.” Such institutions are either outside the jurisdiction or have decided not to seek accreditation from accrediting bodies recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Examples of [acceptable] “Non-Accredited/Other” education or institutions include, but are not limited to
Foreign Education.” See Section 4a2 of the pdf download from the OPM website at Page 22-23: OPM Website Excerpt

You can learn more about CUFCE here: https://www.cufce.org/index.html

Lost in the haze of the accreditation blizzard is the fact that accreditation is only required to obtain student loans, not for anything else. The main value to attending an accredited institution is that you will qualify for federal loan programs which you will need to pay for it!!  Only “accredited” institutions qualify for USA student loans. This is totally irrelevant to Blue Marble University,  whose tuition fees are so low, you don’t need a student loan. 

Blue Marble University holds no U.S. accreditation. Although the University most likely qualifies for such in that our curricula closely follow U.S. guidelines and formats, we are just unable to afford the very high cost of the process. It is not possible for our small online university, which charges only $3750 USD/year, to afford the several hundred thousand dollars needed not only to complete  the accreditation process, but also to pay annually the high cost of continuing to maintain accreditation. While the costs of accreditation are not widely published, if at all, it has been said that the annual cost of accreditation per student is $3500 USD.

“The Trail Of Tears” tells the story of another small online college that struggled financially with the accreditation process, ending up years later with essentially only one program accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission.
https://bluemarbleuniversity.com/2019/06/10/the-trail-of-tears-how-one-small-online-college-struggles-through-the-accreditation-process/

As noted in a 2018 Report issued by the US Department of Education, continuing accreditation reviews are costly, with many institutions claiming that, due to the added costs of legal support and consulting services, they can run as high as $1 million for a single institution. [Reference: Rethinking Higher Education: Accreditation Reform, 2018, Page 8]

Does this mean everyone will accept your credentials?? No.  Sometimes even online degrees from USA accredited colleges are not accepted.  Whether or not your prospective employer accepts your credentials depends on many factors.  It is convenient to assert: “Your degree is from an online college”. However, most employers now understand and see the value in alternative, non-traditional education, and if they feel you can contribute to their operation and success, you will be hired. They realize that it is the body of work and any  dissertation completed by a student in a program that is important and not so much whether a program is “accredited”.

Note: Our Equivalency Certificate is ONLY issued by California University Foreign Credential Evaluation Service (CUFCE.org), accepted by both the United States Department of State for military and immigration matters; and accepted for federal employment by the US Office of Personnel Management. If for some reason, you need to use a different service for your review, then most likely our programs are not for you. We only offer certification by CUFCE.org. There is wide variation among other reviewers as to cost and result.

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For Our International Students

Blue Marble University is accredited by the well respected International Quality Assurance for Higher Education (QAHE for short).Although Blue Marble University has no U.S. accreditation, we hold an international accreditation for our international students from Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Africa. We are accredited by a well respected accreditor: International Quality Assurance for Higher Education (QAHE for short).  QAHE is indirectly recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)  through its arrangements with the World Accreditation Commission (WAC).  You can learn more about QAHE Here:  https://www.qahe.org and you may visit QAHE and verify our accreditation at this link: https://www.qahe.org/institute/blue-marble-university/