As an educational foundation focused on mentoring mature students to their MA and PhD degrees, the Intercultural Open University Foundation (IOUF) occupies a unique place in the world. And we recognize that it’s sometimes difficult for people to know where to “slot” us in the grand scheme of education today. We are not a bricks and mortar university with grand lawns and large libraries. We don’t have a set academic calendar focused on a traditional academic year. And our professors and academic supervisors eschew discussion of tenure and collective bargaining in favour of authentic debate about making the world a better place.

We are fully aware of the fact that we don’t fit into a traditional educational paradigm. And that’s just fine with us.

The majority of our learners and graduates also embrace a non-traditional path in the world but they are still concerned about accreditation. As well they should be.

Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process that ensures an educational institution or program has been evaluated by an external body to determine if quality standards are being met. Every jurisdiction in the world has its own standards and although they are often subject to national oversight, this is not always the case.

Because IOUF is an international entity with no physical classrooms, the task of determining jurisdiction has been challenging. We have offices in Delaware, USA, and Granada, Spain and we’ve established an accreditation arrangement with the Universidad Azteca in Mexico and the Universidad Central de Nicaragua. These partnerships ensure that our programs and the work of our learners are reviewed by an outside team of academics who themselves are accredited by the Mexican and Nicaraguan governments.

In addition, our programs have been reviewed and approved by the European Community’s HEXTLEARN project (Higher Education Exploring ICT Use for Lifelong Learning). We are also members in good standing of:

• The Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO)

• The European Distance and e-Learning Network (EDEN)

• The European Foundation for Quality in e-Learning (EFQUEL) and

• The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA)

These organizations may seem foreign to people whose starting point is a traditional educational paradigm based in a specific location, but they are all valid accredited international organizations in their own right and we are proud to be associated with them.

If you are interested in exploring further how the IOUF might fit into your plans for graduate or post-graduate education, we invite you to contact us today for more information. We have a wealth of experience in global education behind us and we are standing by to help put it all to work on your behalf.