Spiru Haret University

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Universitatea Spiru Haret
USH
logo
founding January 19, 1991
Sponsorship Private
place Bucharest , Romania
Networks IAU
Website www.spiruharet.ro

The University of Spiru Haret ( Romanian : Universitatea Spiru Haret , abbr .: USH ) is a Romanian private university based in Bucharest . It was founded in 1991 and received official accreditation in 2000. It is considered a cadre forge among the current political and economic elite in Romania , but has repeatedly come under criticism for poor quality and careless awarding of academic titles.

history

Spiru Haret (1851–1912), namesake of the university founded in 1991

The university was founded almost a year after the Romanian Revolution on January 19, 1991 on the initiative of Aurelian Bondrea by the România de Mâine Foundation (The Romania of Tomorrow). It is named after the Romanian-Armenian mathematician and educational reformer Spiru Haret, who died in 1912 .

On February 14, 2000 it was officially accredited as a university by the Consiliul Național de Evaluare Academică și Acreditare a Instituțiilor de Învățământ Superior (CNEAA) . Since then it has developed into one of the leading institutes in the field of university education on the second educational path. In particular, political and economic decision-makers who were unable to complete a university education in the communist system or who wanted to catch up on an economics, political science or legal degree with a Western curriculum were among the university's graduates. For this purpose, part-time distance learning with e-learning is offered via the Internet and four separate satellite transmission channels.

Spiru Haret University currently has 30 faculties with 50 bachelor's degree programs and 68 master’s degree programs. In 2009 there were over 300,000 students enrolled, making it the largest university in Romania and even Europe. There are branches in Berlin , Vienna , Rome , Madrid , Paris , Tel-Aviv , Chișinău , Toronto and New York .

criticism

Just a few years after it was founded, criticism of the Spiru Haret University began to crop up in the Romanian media. This accused the institute of being a cadre forge of the country's post-communist power elite and a hub of corrupt networks. In fact, numerous personalities from the Romanian economy and politics count among its graduates. In addition, criticism of the inadequate quality of training and the careless award of academic degrees and professor titles emerged again and again. It was often referred to as the " diploma factory ". While 5,700 diplomas were awarded in 2003, this number rose to 56,000 by 2008. In addition, the founder Aurelian Bondrea was accused of having been a confidante of Elena Ceaușescu during the communist era , whose entire education and career took place within the Romanian Communist Party .

This criticism culminated in a publicly discussed scandal in the summer of 2009. First, in July 2009, graduates from Spiru Haret University were not admitted to the competition for vacant teaching positions in the state school system. In August 2009, the education minister, Ecaterina Andronescu, withdrew the university's license to award licensed students for three years. Numerous diplomas from some prominent graduates were retroactively revoked. Later, the entire university was placed under the trustee of the Romanian Ministry of Education ( Ministerul Educației și Cercetării ).

On November 10, 2009, the university appealed this decision to the court. At the moment, students at Spiru Haret University can continue their studies as normal, but must take a diploma examination at another accredited university in order to obtain an officially recognized degree. In August 2010, an individual civil law suit was decided before the Supreme Court, thus setting a precedent. The court found that the Ministry of Education was not authorized to retrospectively revoke this diploma. The ministry then announced that it would continue to refuse to accept such qualifications for admission to the civil service, contrary to the judge's decision. Instead, the possibility of an additional examination was created, which, however, must be taken in front of a commission composed by the ministry and not via the Internet, as was previously the case with Spiru Haret. Numerous individual civil law suits are still pending in court in 2011 from people who do not want to take this review and instead continue to take legal action.

The distance learning centers abroad have now been closed.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b Short history. In: spiruharet.ro. Spiru Haret University, accessed August 14, 2019 .
  2. ^ List of IAU Members. In: iau-aiu.net. International Association of Universities, accessed August 14, 2019 .
  3. ziare.com: Lista profesorilor de la "Spiru Haret" care au obtinut ilegal gradul universitar (July 23, 2009)
  4. Joachim Günther Member of the Bundestag: Europe's largest university is coming to Plauen ( Memento from July 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (February 20, 2009) Retrieved on October 3, 2015.
  5. Der Standard: "Diplomfabrik" threatens closure (July 22, 2009)
  6. Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung: Diplomas, election campaigns and political solution The scandal surrounding the university “Spiru Haret” continues , July 22, 2009
  7. Revista 22: Dosarul de cadre al lui Aurelian Bondrea (August 11, 2009)
  8. Revista22: Haret-Bondrea, dugheana de diplome (July 14, 2009)
  9. Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany Timisoara: press evaluation August 10-16, 2009
  10. Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany Timisoara: press evaluation July 13-19, 2009
  11. Neue Zürcher Zeitung: Scholars off the assembly line - How a private university with the cheapest doctoral degrees undermines the Romanian education system (October 1, 2009)
  12. spiruharet.ro: Certificat de grefă din data de 10 Noiembrie 2009 (PDF; 267 kB)
  13. Evenementul zilei: "Spiru Haret", trei ani fără examen de licenţă (August 11, 2009)
  14. Antena3: Scandalul de la Spiru Haret: Diplomele de licenţă nu pot fi anulate de Minister, ci de judecătorie , August 10, 2010 (Romanian)
  15. Adevărul : Iaşi: 17 absolvente de la Spiru Haret îşi cer în instanţă dipolmele de licenţă , January 5, 2011
  16. Andreas Theyssen: Theyssen - Europe is only fundamentally healthy. Column. In: m.ftd.de. Financial Times Deutschland, December 28, 2010, archived from the original on December 3, 2012 ; accessed on August 14, 2019 .

Coordinates: 44 ° 25 '59.4 "  N , 26 ° 6' 4.6"  E