Re: Unmanned Vehicle University

[Wayne Paul]

Admissions > wrote:
> Unmanned Vehicle University is the first University in the World
> dedicated to higher education in Unmanned Air, Ground and Sea Systems
> All courses taught online over a 12 week quarter. The school offers MS
> and PhD programs in Unmanned Systems Engineering. To learn the basics
> of UAVs take the Executive Certificate Course in UAVs. Courses are
> taught around the World. The Unmanned courses are also offered through
> a Non Degree Program.
> An unmanned system is not just a vehicle. It is composed of the
> vehicle, communications, data links and control stations. Degree
> programs at UVU take a systems engineering approach. Graduates will
> enter the unmanned career field in the areas of R&D, vehicle design,
> sensor development, vehicle communications and data links, sense and
> avoid systems, human machine interfaces, autonomous control, vehicle
> navigation, alternative power and operations.
> SCHEDULE (All Courses 12 Week Quarters)
> Executive Certificate in UAV Course: May 9 (8 weeks)
> Quarter 1: June 11 - Sept 2, 2012
> Quarter 2: Sept 3 - Nov 25, 2013
> Quarter 3: Dec 3 - Mar 10, 2013
> Quarter 4: Mar 11 - Jun 2, 2013
> CALL 206-787-2807 with your credit card to register
> Accreditation: UVU is preparing for accreditation with the Northwest
> Commission on Colleges and Universities.
> Faculty: UVU has the best subject matter experts in the World. Our
> instructors have an average of 25 years of experience. Fields of
> expertise include: robotics, unmanned vehicle design, sensors,
> autonomy, human factors, flight test and communications. We also have
> former military unmanned vehicle instructors including instructor
> pilots from the Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk. After graduation,
> UVU will use established connections to aid in job placement with
> major UAS companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
> Prices: Course prices are $400 per credit (The national average is
> $400 to $1300 per credit). Executive Certificate Course is $999.
> Also Available:
> Three day short courses on or off site.
> 4 Hour Conference Courses
> 1 Hour Lunch Speeches
> CALL 206-787-2807 with your credit card to register. Visit www.uxvuniversity.com
> for more information

I find it unusual that the website extension is .com instead of .edu. ???

Wayne
(Retired College Registrar)
--
Android Usenet Reader
http://android.newsgroupstats.hk

[Robert Bonomi]

In article >,
Paul Saccani > wrote:
>On Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:20:34 -0600, "Wayne Paul "
> wrote:
>
>>Admissions > wrote:
>>> Unmanned Vehicle University is the first University in the World
>>> dedicated to higher education in Unmanned Air, Ground and Sea Systems
>>> All courses taught online over a 12 week quarter. The school offers MS
>>> and PhD programs in Unmanned Systems Engineering. To learn the basics
>>> of UAVs take the Executive Certificate Course in UAVs. Courses are
>>> taught around the World. The Unmanned courses are also offered through
>>> a Non Degree Program.
>>> An unmanned system is not just a vehicle. It is composed of the
>>> vehicle, communications, data links and control stations. Degree
>>> programs at UVU take a systems engineering approach. Graduates will
>>> enter the unmanned career field in the areas of R&D, vehicle design,
>>> sensor development, vehicle communications and data links, sense and
>>> avoid systems, human machine interfaces, autonomous control, vehicle
>>> navigation, alternative power and operations.
>>> SCHEDULE (All Courses 12 Week Quarters)
>>> Executive Certificate in UAV Course: May 9 (8 weeks)
>>> Quarter 1: June 11 - Sept 2, 2012
>>> Quarter 2: Sept 3 - Nov 25, 2013
>>> Quarter 3: Dec 3 - Mar 10, 2013
>>> Quarter 4: Mar 11 - Jun 2, 2013
>>> CALL 206-787-2807 with your credit card to register
>>> Accreditation: UVU is preparing for accreditation with the Northwest
>>> Commission on Colleges and Universities.
>>> Faculty: UVU has the best subject matter experts in the World. Our
>>> instructors have an average of 25 years of experience. Fields of
>>> expertise include: robotics, unmanned vehicle design, sensors,
>>> autonomy, human factors, flight test and communications. We also have
>>> former military unmanned vehicle instructors including instructor
>>> pilots from the Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk. After graduation,
>>> UVU will use established connections to aid in job placement with
>>> major UAS companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
>>> Prices: Course prices are $400 per credit (The national average is
>>> $400 to $1300 per credit). Executive Certificate Course is $999.
>>> Also Available:
>>> Three day short courses on or off site.
>>> 4 Hour Conference Courses
>>> 1 Hour Lunch Speeches
>>> CALL 206-787-2807 with your credit card to register. Visit
>www.uxvuniversity.com
>>> for more information
>>
>>I find it unusual that the website extension is .com instead of .edu. ???
>
>You need to be accredited to have .edu extension. UVUniversity is not
>accredited. They say that they are preparing for accreditation with
>the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
>
>As best I can determine, they have made no application for
>accreditation at this date.
>
>I find the "call with your credit card" line a little worrisome.
>Perhaps someone based in the US North-West could establish their bona
>fides?

They don't have any to speak of.

They appear to be a 'real' entity, but that's all one can say about them.

As of 2009, Suite 206 at 917 Pacific Ave was a Pierce County social services
agency office. The agency does show it is at a different location now.

They probably have less than 1000 sq. ft. of office space. (The leasing agency
for the building issues news releases for new tenants signing for as little
as 1,500 sq. ft. Spaces in the building range from 200-5,000 sq. ft.

It's a very mixed-use building -- Opera companies, including performance
space, museums, community social-services, phone answering service, various
'professional offices' (legal, psych, etc.). First floor is all retail
store-fronts.

The entire 'uxvuniversity.com' domain is on shared hosting (a single machine)
at wix.com. With email handled by Google. These do not inspire confidence
as far as a 'real' business operation of significant size. The Domain is
registered to the the University executive director, -personally- (not to
the university) at his vacation home (a slab-on-ground cabin, on an unpaved
street) in small-town Wisconsin.

They're a *BRAND*NEW* (corporation registered March, 2012) _for_profit_
with only one corporate officer. No board of directors.

With a grand total of five identified faculty. At least four of whom
appear to hold other _full-time_ positions.

This is, clearly, a operation that is 'run on a shoestring'.

Oh, in the fine print, one finds that they will 'pay' people -- with
tuition "credits" toward a PhD -- for developing/teaching courses for
them. A 'one course' credit for each such course you develop and teach
once.

This is a *nice* 'sucker deal'. Since you have to teach the course
once -- obviously to at least one student -- there's an absolute
minimum of $1,200 in 'hard dollar' income to the university. For this
they pay "$1,200 worth" of soft-dollar credits. Whoopee!!

Its also worth noting that they the 'director' was promoting the university
in press releases and interviews *before* the legal entity existed.

They've been in business for roughly 6 weeks (from the date of incorporation)
and claim the following 'clients':
The U.S. Air Force
The Navy Test Pilot School
Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory
Society of Flight Test Engineers

I -seriously- doubt that *any* of those organizations could clear a contract
for purchase of services in a mere six weeks.

In short, it looks to me like they're roughly as legitimate as any other fly-
by-night West Coast diploma mill. I'm really surprised they're not in
California, where there is essentially -zero- regulation.

You probably -will- get the 'paper' you pay all that money for ($12,000 for
a masters, $28,800 -- above the masters cost -- for a PhD). Whether it will
be 'worth anything' -- other than for, say, wallpapering the bathroom -- is
an open question.