I am currently doing my MA Education through UNICAF directly and I made the mistake of not doing enough research before going into it. Terrible, I know, but it is what it is. I've made peace with the fact that I'm going to have to go through with it now but I wondered if there is anything you can tell me about UNICAF University that will give me some indication as to how useful this degree is going to be for me? I am currently working in China and wanted to pursue the MA Education to boost my teaching credentials, which at this point only consists of a CELTA Pass B and a Bachelor's Degree (from a reputable university) in an unrelated field. I'm not sure quite what you can offer but I'd love to hear any information you do have on UNICAF, as there is very, very little of it online (a sure warning sign if there ever was one - sadly I didn't take heed)

In my opinion it isn't right to discredit UNICAF as a credible source of a good online education and one that poses value for money, you get to study at your own set pace and pay your fees in installments, giving you a chance to study while you work . The opportunity UNICAF is presenting is one that many have only dreamed of, quality and affordable international education, and yes ACCREDITED internationally as well.I have done my research thoroughly and would like for you to do the same.

Obviously that degree does not have recognition from any of the three respected international accreditation bodies: AMBA, Equis or AACSB.

PS perhaps that give a flavor of the thorough research skills it teaches?

[Edited by Duncan on May 30, 2017]

PS perhaps that give a flavor of the thorough research skills it teaches?

I have followed the above discussion with interest and looked at different opinions. I think a more objective approach is to get full Information which is readily available on the UNICAF website and other websites. I really doubt if a low rated institution can have so much popularity. From my research, UNICAF has a number of reputable partners providing funds to sponsor students. This to me shows the level of confidence that people and institutions have in UNICAF.I am very much convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that it is highly reputable and has competitive pricing model.I am very comfortable to study with them.

Your reasoning is flawed. For profit colleges in the USA, for example, have been the most dynamic sector of higher education. It has grown massively, and been a huge failure with low quality courses and low graduation rates. Yet... It is popular. The burning desire for something that looks like a bargain is massive.

I think individuals should be given an opportunity to explore and research on UNICAF on their own as opposed to making decisions based on opinions. Though everyone is entitled to an opinion, no one has the monopoly of knowledge and nowadays information is readily available online. Rather than believing the side of your story, I would rather encourage people to find out more on UNICAF like I did so that they make a sound decision.

I think we can all agree on that.

Hello - i know directly about 3 people who are beneficiaries of the programme from Nigeria. As a matter of fact, 2 of them also received a free study tablet. I guess it was during their promo period or something. They are currently studying, and 1 should be rounding up. He's my close friend, studying in University of South Wales, UK, through UNICAF Scholarship.

I also checked them up on Google and found them on Forbes - https://www.forbes.com/sites/montymunford/2016/11/25/unicaf-brings-western-university-degrees-to-africans-for-20-of-price/#407d60f73e18

Anyone can write for Forbes, but if it works for your friends then that is great. However, I would recommend anyone to be careful about these for-profit colleges. At the moment, for example, is is now presenting itself itself as a partner of Western universities even though it issues degres from its own private university in Malawi. It issues doctoral degrees (https://unicafuniversity.com/our-courses/doctorate-level-degrees/) even through the University of South Wales, whose degrees Unicaf sells, does not offer research degrees online (https://unicaf.southwales.ac.uk/). It's not very clear from the site that these lead to Unicaf degrees rather than USW.

[Edited by Duncan on Dec 04, 2017]

Hello Duncan, interesting insight. I asked my friend about this he clarified that the Unicaf University is a division of UNICAF, it is a fully accredited University of its own, operating own its own, approved in Malawi, by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), Malawi, and some other recognized education authorities.

I did some dig up and discovered that they are duly listed on Wikipedia among Accredited Private Universities in the country -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Malawi

I think its cool and good to good. Your thoughts?

[Edited by Vincent1 on Jun 12, 2017]

I think someone will join Unicaf thinking they will get a UK state university degree and end up with one from a private university in Malawi.

HI Duncan, the online Doctorate programs are not studied through the University of South Wales (USW) but online with the UNICAF University in Malawi. Please research before quoting such nonsense. I work for the UNICAF and USW online scholarship scheme so have the privilege of helping less fortunate students who are willing to study with a reputable university online. The accreditation of the USW online programs can be seen by all applicants through the UNICAF website.

Indeed, I made exactly that point: That people will end up with degrees from a private university rather than one from USW. While the site is clear that there are degrees accredited from USW, the Malawi accreditation is not mentioned. That is known, in consumer law, as bait and switch.

I found this site:
https://unicaf.southwales.ac.uk/programmes/mba-master-of-business-administration/

Any idea about this???? Is it accredited?

I found this site:
https://unicaf.southwales.ac.uk/programmes/mba-master-of-business-administration/

Any idea about this???? Is it accredited?

Hi Duncan, I really try to understand your distrust to this company but can't. They offer scholarships to study USW programmes online (there is even a video of someone from USW talking about this partnership) and the students receive a USW degree at the end. Unicaf University is a different partner of UNICAF (who then also award their own degrees) so I don't think they deceive anybody as I believe that people can select with what university of study before they register.

[Edited by mark100 on Oct 12, 2017]

Hi Mark100. Are you related to Helen99, who posted a few minutes before you in praise of UNICAF? I wonder if the two of you might have a common connection to UNICAF?

There's no choice in the sense that, if you decide to (for example) take a BSc or PhD you will get a degree from UNICAF and cannot choose to get a degree from USW. But, indeed, you can get a MBA from USW or UNICAF. But it's bait and switch in the sense that people, pretty much universally, get the impression that UNICAF is a way to get get USW degrees.

I would also say that it's misleading to say that it's fully accredited. It's minimally accredited, in the sense that the lowest-common denominator accreditation of any private university accredited in Malawi but which actually operates in Cyprus, operating only a facility in a Malawi shopping mall to handle mail there. I don't think anyone imagines that they are accredited by Malawi because of there high standards there, but because of the relative ease of establishing a private university that operates a mailbox in a shopping mall.

In the sense used by this website, meaningful accreditation means AASCB, EQUIS or AMBA. UNICAF does not have that. If students cannot afford that higher level of accreditation, then the LSE and UoP offer much better options. I just can't see any way that UNICAF is a better option for anyone.

Hi Duncan, the reason why I actually registered and replied is because I have recently applied for a scholarship (have not been approved though as my income was slightly too high) and then saw your ongoing fight against everybody who disproves your accusations. When you go to their website, you have the programmes listed for each of their university partners. I don’t get what’s not clear about this. It clearly writes that the Phd and Bachelor programmes are offered from Unicaf University and not USW. What does, however, seems strange is that you either have a personal vendetta against UNICAF or are working for a competitor. You posted 9792 (!) times on this forum and replied within minutes with an entire paragraph to my. I believe that if you do actually have a bias then it would be fair to state that before pretending to be a concerned individual. I am not saying that UNICAF is the only option but you make it sound like a scam (more or less) which it definitely is not.

Hi mark100.

Okay, this is fun.

First, can you answer the question: Are you related to Helen99, who posted a few minutes before you in praise of UNICAF?

Second, you are mistaken when you write that it's clear which university issues the degrees. take a look at https://unicafuniversity.com/our-programmes/ for example. On none of the programme pages does it explain which university issues which degree.

Third, how does it seem that I have a personal vendetta? I have written 9792 times on this board, and of course have been interviews by the site many times. I am an MBA admissions coach, so it's not surprising that I comment a lot. How many of those posts mention UNICAF? Hardly any.

Fourth, who are these people who "disprove" my comments? Can you point to a comment I have made which has been "disproven"?

Fifth, I don't say that UNICAF is a scam. It's a real private university run from a mailbox in a Malawi shopping mall. The issue is this: people come to UNICAF because of its claim: "UNICAF provides scholarships for the online programmes offered by the University of South Wales in the UK, the University of Nicosia in the EU and the Marymount California University in the USA". Read this in its context: https://unicafuniversity.com/about-us/ Does't it sound as if the degrees come from partners, and UNICAF simply provides the tuition? So, if that it not 'bait and switch' marketing, then what is?