Yesterday I had the displeasure of overhearing a colleague
from Puerto Rico have a conversation with a representative of a certain
private, for profit institution that will remain unnamed. My colleague was
applying to the university's Master of Education program. The representative
asked him a few demographic and background information questions along the
lines of "Do you have a B.A.?" and "Do you have professional experience? "
Once the first round of questions was completed, they forwarded his call to the
admissions office. There, they asked the same routine questions, with an
additional one on top: "where did you obtain your bachelor's degree?"
My colleague answered "The University of Puerto Rico." This is when
the representative at the other side of the line said "I'm sorry, we only
accept students with bachelor's degrees from accredited universities."
My colleague was dumbfounded. The University of Puerto Rico,
founded on 1903, is an institution recognized the world over. It is ranked
among the 20 best universities in Latin America by several publications, and
its schools of engineering, education, and Caribbean studies are world-class.
Furthermore, my colleague knew that the university is accredited. When my
colleague pressed the admissions official at the other end of the line, he
stated that for an applicant to be accepted into the graduate program of the
university in question, they should come from a university that had either
national or regional accreditation.
Perhaps, my dear reader, you are thinking that maybe the
University of Puerto Rico, despite its many accomplishments as an institution,
was accredited by some sort of second-tier accreditation entity.
Not so.
The University of Puerto Rico is accredited by the Middle
State Association of Colleges and Schools (one of the accreditation agencies
with the most rigorous standards in the world), as well as by the Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology for its Science and Technology programs.
My colleague, of course, knew this. In a rather angry voice,
he explained this to the representative at the other end of the line. His
explanation was followed by a very stern "but thank you for your
ignorance".
The institution in question called back a few seconds after,
and I encouraged him to answer and take their apology gracefully while
suggesting that he do likewise for his rough tone, but he decided against it.
We then went to have a drink and talk Frozen (the topic for
my next post).
What is the point of this story? It's to share information.
To all those individuals in the decision-making bureaucracies of the world, be
aware that the University of Puerto Rico is not only fully accredited, but also
a superior institution of learning comparable to the Public Ivies in many
aspects. So, the next time someone says "University of Puerto Rico",
at least open up your browser and ask Google questions before you say something
that might make you come across as ignorant.
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