Accreditation

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):

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.

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 generally 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. For example, The Parliament – National Assembly of the Kingdom of Thailand has recognized California University FCE equivalency degrees as equivalent to the same degrees awarded by accredited, public-state universities in Thailand. 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

Blue Marble University is Accredited By QAHE

As an international education institution registered in Dominica, we are accredited by a well respected accreditor: International Quality Assurance for Higher Education (QAHE for short). You may visit QAHE and verify our accreditation at this link: https://www.qahe.org/institute/blue-marble-university/

QAHE is indirectly recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) through its arrangements with the World Accreditation Commission (WAC).

QAHE itself is accredited by the California University Foreign Credential Evaluation service (CUFCE) mentioned above. You can learn more about QAHE Here: https://www.qahe.org

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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)

In some instances, the entities mentioned above will evaluate foreign credentials themselves. However, in most instances, they will request that you obtain a credential evaluation to determine how one’s non-U.S. credentials compare with U.S. credentials. [Department of Education International Affairs Office Excerpt: Employer Recognition of Foreign Education Qualifications ]

(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.

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.

After exhaustive study, we are very comfortable skipping the US accreditation process ENTIRELY. In the entire history of US accreditation, only one wholly online college has been accredited (Jones University), and the howls and complaints that came down from the towers of academia have made it pretty clear that no further accreditations for purely online colleges will ever occur again.

Does this mean everyone will accept your credentials?? No. There is a lot of educational snobbery and arrogance in the halls of academia. 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”.

Being a foreign educational institution whose degrees are accepted for employment in the US based on equivalency with accredited colleges is the way for us to go.

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