Pretzel Logic Plans
Fri, Dec15, 2006 - Category: University
The clock is ticking. AMU's North Central Association
candidacy status (through the Michigan campus)
expired in June 2006. AMU's temporary accreditation
through AALE expires in November 2007. As of November
2006, AMU hasn't even applied for regional
accreditation through the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools (SACS). AMU is scheduled to move
to its to-be-constructed campus in a
to-be-constructed town for Fall 2007 classes. And to
make matters even more complicated, AMU decided to
tie its yet-unsubmitted SACS accreditation to a
merger with a Nicaraguan institution (for an AMU
branch campus) that must completely restructure its
majors and curriculum to meet SACS requirements. Add
to this the fact that (a) the AMU/Nicaraguan merger
has yet to be approved by the US Department of
Education, (b) that the Nicaraguan campus is run by
an enemy of the newly elected Ortega government, and
(c) that Tom Monaghan is pushing hard to uproot the
accredited and successful Ave Maria School of Law
(Michigan) onto AMU, and you have to wonder if the
Ave Maria planners have an institutional death wish.
Ave Maria College of the Americas is located in San
Marcos, Nicaragua. The College was formerly a campus
of the University of Mobile (Alabama) who sold it to
Monaghan's Ave Maria Foundation in July 2000. Since
Monaghan's purchase, the Nicaraguan college has been
accredited as a branch campus under Ave Maria
College, Michigan. As such, Nicaragua's students have
been receiving federal financial aid.
But AMC-Nicaragua has problems. The school's President, Humberto Belli, has enemies in the newly elected Ortega government in Nicaragua. Dirty politics along with corruption in law enforcement spell troubled days ahead. The most immediate problem, however, is the issue of accreditation. If the Nicaraguan campus does not transfer its affiliation from the closing AMC-Michigan to Ave Maria University (Florida), federal financial aid will be lost in Nicaragua.
In April 2006, Belli announced that AMC-Nicaragua would become "Ave Maria University, Latin American Campus" (AMU-LatinAmerica). As such, AMU-LatinAmerica must change its curriculum, including its list of majors, to help AMU apply for its Southern Association of College and Schools (SACS) application. SACS is the regional accreditor of schools in the southeast US. As of now, AMU's only access to federal funds is through its temporary accreditation from the American Academy of Liberal Education (AALE), which expires in November 2007. AALE authorized the 'affiliation' of the Nicaraguan campus with AMU pending an on-site visit in late 2006; the results of that visit have not been released.
According to an April 2006 memo from AMU President Nick Healy, the two schools are also awaiting a decision from the federal Department of Education on the acquisition of the Nicaraguan institution by AMU. That decision was supposed to be released in summer 2006. However, no announcements have been made, and the Nicaraguan campus has not yet officially changed its name from "Ave Maria College of the Americas" to "Ave Maria University, Latin American Campus". Healy stated that AMU will not submit its application for accreditation from SACS until the DoE approves the merger with the Nicaraguan institution.
But AMC-Nicaragua has problems. The school's President, Humberto Belli, has enemies in the newly elected Ortega government in Nicaragua. Dirty politics along with corruption in law enforcement spell troubled days ahead. The most immediate problem, however, is the issue of accreditation. If the Nicaraguan campus does not transfer its affiliation from the closing AMC-Michigan to Ave Maria University (Florida), federal financial aid will be lost in Nicaragua.
In April 2006, Belli announced that AMC-Nicaragua would become "Ave Maria University, Latin American Campus" (AMU-LatinAmerica). As such, AMU-LatinAmerica must change its curriculum, including its list of majors, to help AMU apply for its Southern Association of College and Schools (SACS) application. SACS is the regional accreditor of schools in the southeast US. As of now, AMU's only access to federal funds is through its temporary accreditation from the American Academy of Liberal Education (AALE), which expires in November 2007. AALE authorized the 'affiliation' of the Nicaraguan campus with AMU pending an on-site visit in late 2006; the results of that visit have not been released.
According to an April 2006 memo from AMU President Nick Healy, the two schools are also awaiting a decision from the federal Department of Education on the acquisition of the Nicaraguan institution by AMU. That decision was supposed to be released in summer 2006. However, no announcements have been made, and the Nicaraguan campus has not yet officially changed its name from "Ave Maria College of the Americas" to "Ave Maria University, Latin American Campus". Healy stated that AMU will not submit its application for accreditation from SACS until the DoE approves the merger with the Nicaraguan institution.