Euclid University Consortium

The "Pôle d'Extension Universitaire Euclide", also known as "Euclid University Extension" and "Euclid University Consortium", is a distance learning or on-line educational consortium created in 2005 by the "University of Bangui" (Central African Republic), the "Université Libre Internationale" (Belgium), and the "International Organization for Sustainable Development".

History and programs

The Euclid initiative began in June 2004 as a cooperative project between the Human Bioethics Treaty Organization and the Embassy of the Central African Republic in Washington, DC. This led to the formalization of an educational extension project with the University of Bangui and the private Université Libre Internationale of Brussels (Belgium) as co-founders. The agreements were revised in January 2006 with the formation of IOSD and the participation of the Université Libre du Burkina alongside ULI.

The "University of N'Djamena" (UNDT, Chad), became a full member of the Euclid consortium in May 2006, adding the institutional recognition of its IAU member status and the approval of its Ministry of Education to the initiative. The Université Gaston Berger of Senegal has announced its intention to participate in the consortium after governmental approval in 2007.

The Consortium offers online degree programs in French and English, notably in Diplomacy, Sustainable Development and Theology, which are structured after the Bologna Process (including ECTS and Diploma Supplement guidelines) in order to be compliant with both European Union and United States guidelines.

Structure and Organization

Euclid's education programs are managed by 4 academic units called schools:- The John Jay School of Diplomacy and International Affairs- The Blaise Pascal School of Computing and Sciences- The John Locke School of Business and Economics- The Pavel Florensky School of Theology and Ministry

The consortium is currently headed by a High Steward, the ambassador of the Central African Republic to the United States, His Excellency Mr. Touaboye and an Executive President, Mr. Syed Zahid Ali who is the Secretary-General of the "International Organization for Sustainable Development".

Academic oversight is under the responsibility of the Oversight council whose co-chairmen are the rectors of the partipating universities.

Accreditation process

The name "Euclid University" was initially used as a translation for "Pôle d'Extension Universitaire Euclide", hence giving the unintentional impression that Euclid was meant to be a free-standing, degree-granting institution. This technical and legal issue led to temporary recognition problems in the English-speaking world. In order to correct this situation, the official English name was amended to "Euclid University Consortium" to emphasize the fact that Euclid was originally designed as a consortium, not a free-standing university with its own charter and degrees.

Because the international directory of the International Association of Universities does not list inter-institutional consortia, the registration of the Euclid extension initiative was done by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Chad under the entry for the University of N'Djamena which is an IAU member.

Hence, the Consortium's recognition is tied to the recognition of the member universities which are the actual degree granters, as the consortium itself has no degree-granting authority.

In December 2006, IOSD signed an agreement with the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an affiliated institution of the 57 member-state Organisation of the Islamic Conference, establishing the recognition of its programs and applicable accreditations.

In April 2008, a multilateral Memorandum of Understanding approved by four initial Participating States formalized the constitution of EUCLID (Euclid University) as an intergovernmental university with its own charter and accreditation.

External links

* [http://www.euclidconsortium.org/ Euclid's official site] , in French and English
* [http://www.euclid.int/ EUCLID (Euclid University)] , official site
* [http://www.univ-bangui.info/ UBRC: University of Bangui] , international site
* [http://www.undt.info/ UNDT: University of N'Djamena]
* [http://www.uli-edu.org/ ULI (Brussels)] , not to be confused with the Université Libre de Bruxelles
* [http://www.ulburkina.org/ ULB: Universite Libre du Burkina]