Something about Ducere Online Education doesn't quite add up
Thursday, 26 February 2015
Julia Gillard has been announced as the "Chancellor" of Ducere Online Education. In Australia, Chancellor is a term usually reserved for Universities - more on that later.
As "Chancellor" of Ducere, Ms Gillard will set the tone and standards for the "faculty". Here's a collection of Ducere's faculty talking about integrity.
Here's a link to Ducere Online Education's website.
It says this about itself:
About Dūcere
In Latin, Dūcere means ‘to lead’. This is mirrored in Dūcere’s philosophy; to transform education and change lives through an unequalled approach to global leadership and learning.
Dūcere is an Australian-based online education provider offering courses in business and management. Our courses combine comprehensively developed content with the expertise and experience of some of the world’s most successful leaders. The result is a premium educational offering that provides students with the structure and security of a formal education, while at the same time granting unprecedented access to a Global Leaders Faculty of the world’s most successful individuals.
Then at the bottom of the page Ducere offers these courses:
Courses
- Diploma of Management
- Diploma of Business
- Master of Business Administration Innovation and Leadership
It's hard to see what Ducere actually delivers. It comes very close to stating that it offers degree courses - but it can't do that as it's not a lawful provider of higher education, if it was, it would be registered with the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency.
About TEQSA
The Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) is an independent statutory authority established in 2011. It sits within the Education portfolio.
TEQSA's role and functions
TEQSA regulates and assures the quality of Australia’s large, diverse and complex higher education sector. The Australian higher education system comprises both public and private universities, Australian branches of overseas universities, and other higher education providers with and without self-accrediting authority. Qualifications available from higher education providers range from undergraduate awards, (bachelor degrees, associate degrees or advanced diplomas) to postgraduate awards, including graduate diplomas, masters degrees and doctoral degrees.
TEQSA registers and evaluates the performance of higher education providers against the Higher Education Standards Framework - specifically, the Threshold Standards, which all providers must meet in order to enter and remain within Australia’s higher education system.
But Ducere is unknown to the TEQSA.
Here is an extract from the register of higher education providers in Australia, right where Ducere would be - if it was one!
Ducere is also unknown to Universities Australia, the peak body for our universities.
Maybe all of that is no surprise. Ducere was established 3 years ago by a salesman named Mathew Jacobson. Here's his LinkedIn page.
Mathew is quite an entrepreneur, but his description of his business Ducere left me a bit cold.
Here's Mathew displaying his unique way with words - perhaps someone can tell me what it means to "innovate the education landscape".
Mr Mathew Jacobson is an entrepreneur and philanthropist working to innovate the education landscape. Mat has founded a number of businesses in Australia and overseas across property development, sales and education. Mat has sold multiple vocational colleges within Australia, with his last sale, an education-based enterprise to a global publicly listed company valued at $20M (USD). As the Founder of Ducere, Mat works together with presidents, Prime Ministers, Nobel Prize Winners, Global CEO’s and leaders in academia to deliver the most innovative disruption in higher education by combining formal qualifications from Diploma’s through to MBA’s with real world experiences of the most successful global leaders.
The Ducere foundation, a self funded philanthropy, operates in partnership with African governments, the Australian government, major universities and philanthropic leaders in the delivery of groundbreaking educational programs to some of the most disadvantaged children in the world.
The work of the foundation is broad and includes a full-time employment of 40 teachers, mentors and co-ordinators on the ground in Africa, the Ducere Publishing House based in Zambia, a worlds first initiative to capture the rich and vibrant oral story telling tradition, the Peace Centre initiative, promoting tolerance and diversity from a grassroots primary school campaign and a range of other resources ensuring adequate food supplies, uniforms, libraries and sanitation.
Both Dūcere and the Ducere Foundation are committed to developing motivated and passionate learners and leaders.