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In my last posting, ("Response to RVC Ad: Critical Consumers Needed") there was a misunderstanding on my part regarding two issues brought up by Madhusudani Radha. My apologies for unintended errors. I will try to clarify them here.

1) The first misunderstanding was in Madhusudani Radha’s use of the term "registration." I incorrectly thought she was inquiring about RVC’s registration process for its students and I replied accordingly. Actually she was asking if RVC’s being registered with the Missouri Coordinating Board of Higher Education (MCBHE) in 1998 implies anything regarding the quality of education provided at RVC. Or, she questioned, Is perhaps "registration" no more than the filling out of a form and paying a fee?

Reply: Yes, it seems to be ambiguous. I will write to the MCBHE and ask them to clarify whether the fact that RVC is a registered college with them "implies anything regarding the quality of education provided at RVC." Then we will pass on that information. In this way, hopefully, the other devotee’s concern about RVC’s claiming its degrees are "recognized" will simultaneously be addressed. He acknowledges that "recognized" is a neutral term, but he feels it is misleading.

The MCBHE made it clear, however, that the degrees awarded by RVC, could not be designated as "arts and sciences" degrees. In other words RVC was not permitted to award Bachelors of Arts, Masters of Science or PhD degrees, etc., since these require certification by the MCBHE.

The RVC was only permitted to award Associates Degree of Divinity or Theology, Bachelors Degree of Divinity or Theology, Masters Degree of Divinity or Theology and Doctorate Degree of Divinity or Theology.

The MCBHE required that: A) RVC provide proof that it was part of a recognized religious institution (ISKCON) and B) RVC submit its catalogue or prospectus to the board. These two things were done, and the board issued a document indicating that the RVC was approved for exemption under the Proprietary School provisions. This means, to the best of my knowledge, that because RVC is a theological or divinity college, it is not required to undergo the certification process that the Missouri Coordinating Board of Higher Education normally imposes upon institutions wishing to be allowed to operate and award degrees.

2) The second item was in regard to Madhusudani Radha’s statement, "In addition, at least three quarters of the endorsements from the ‘academic community’ are written by devotee insiders, although their ISKCON affiliation is strangely absent from the text."

I mistakenly took "their ISKCON affiliation is strangely absent from the text" to refer to RVC’s affiliation to ISKCON. I even sarcastically said her question gave me a laugh. Again, sorry about that. However what she meant was that the names of the persons who gave endorsements for the RVC were presented without indicating that they were in fact affiliated with ISKCON.

Now I will address that concern. I have no objection to indicating that these devotees who gave endorsements are affiliated with ISKCON nor to putting their devotional names next to their legal ones. I think however it would be fair to consult the persons themselves about how they prefer to be addressed. I will do that and adjust the website accordingly.

3) I was upset with Madhusudani Radha dasi for objecting to RVC’s including Drutakarma Prabhu in the list of "Members of the Academic Community" as there are several meanings for the word "academic." To help us mediate this semantical debate a well-wisher has suggested that RVC use the following to describe Drutakarma Prabhu who kindly gave an endorsement for the RVC. We will change the website as follows, starting with the endorsement itself:

"As the Krishna consciousness movement matures, it finds itself involved in elaborating its institutional framework. One key area is developing institutions for the education and training for those who will move into positions of spiritual leadership. In most religious communities this task has been fulfilled by seminaries. The Rupanuga Vedic College represents an historic first for the Krishna consciousness movement in the United States—its first seminary dedicated to the formal education and training of students preparing for a life of ministering to others in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. I can think of no better person to lead the development of the Rupanuga Vedic College than Danavir Goswami, who has devoted thirty years to the training of young people entering the Krishna consciousness movement."

—Michael A. Cremo (Drutakarma das), Author of Forbidden Archaeology, an expose of the fallacies and deliberate lies in the modern scientific world. The book, co-authored with Dr. Richard Thompson PhD (Sadaputa dasa), drew irate responses from many leaders in the scientific community.

4) The issue of accreditation has been raised.

RVC is definitely not accredited by any of the official accrediting agencies of the United States; therefore to avoid any ambiguity on this subject from now on, RVC will state clearly on its website, etc. that RVC and the degrees it awards are "non-accredited."

Hopefully by RVC stating clearly that it is "non-accredited" this will also satisfy the devotee who argued convincingly that non-accredited degrees are, to the greater extent, not recognized by accredited educational institutions.

© CHAKRA 23 May 2002