The Spiru Haret University is a private university in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 1991 by the president of Tomorrow's Romania Foundation, Aurelian Gh. Bondrea, as part of the teaching activities of this foundation. The university claims this has been done according to the model used by Harvard University. The university bears the name of a scientist and reformer of the Romanian education, Spiru Haret, who lived before World War I.
On February 14, 2000, the university was accredited by the National Council of Academic Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions. The establishment of the university was confirmed by Law no. 443 of July 5, 2002 and this law has not been abolished.
According to the data published by the university in July 2010, it has 30 faculties with 49 specializations and 64 master's degree curricula, being according to the newspaper Financiarul the largest university in Romania. In 2009 enrollment was reported as 311,928 students. Referring to the number of its students, the newspaper mistakenly called it the largest university in the world. It is the second-largest private university in the world, after Islamic Azad University (with 1.3 million students).
Pope John Paul II and a former Romanian president, Ion Iliescu, have received honorary doctorates from the university.
In 2011, the Spiru Haret University was officially evaluated as an "education-centered university", which is the third and lowest educational quality category of the Romanian universities. Education centered universities have lost the right of organizing doctorate degrees studies. In July 2017, Spiru Haret University ranked on the 27th place out of 103 other universities in Romania.
Contents
Doctor Honoris Causa
Ding Chao (2012), Richard England (2010), Pope John Paul II (2003), Ion Iliescu (2002), Paul Feher (1999), Nicolae Mateescu-Matte (1997), Roland Drago (1995).
Faculties and departments
Architecture
Arts
Law and Public Administration
Physical Education and Sport
Finance and Banking
Geography
Journalism, Communication and Public Relations
Letters
Financial and Accounting Management
Marketing and International Business
Mathematics and Informatics
Veterinary Medicine
International Relations, History and Philosophy
Sociology-Psychology (renamed Psychology and Educational Sciences)
Department for Teachers' Training
International cooperation
Spiru Haret University is a member of the following European and international organizations:
Alliance of Central-Eastern European Universities (ACEU) – 2009
European Association for ERASMUS Coordinators (EAEC) – 2011
European Association of Career Guidance (EACG) – 2011
Alliance of Universities for Democracy (AUDEM), Tennessee – 1993
Magna Charta Universitatum, Bologna, Signatory party – 2005
Magna Charta Observatory – 2005
European University Association (EUA) – Associate Member – 2005
Balkan Forum for Communication – Founding Member – 2005
Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) – 2006
European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education (CercleS) – 2006
European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE) – 2008
International Association of Universities (IAU) – 2008
Criticism (distance learning programs)
Although it received accreditation from Romania's National Council of Academic Evaluation in 2002, its accreditations were canceled for a large number of distance learning specializations. Also, there are some voices which dispute the level of the distance learning programs offered. The scandal peaked in the summer of 2009, when the way license diplomas are obtained scandalized the Minister of Education, who threatened with an inquiry of the Romanian public prosecutors.
A number of Romanian newspapers have called the distance learning department of Spiru Haret University "a diploma mill" (literally translated, "a diplomas factory"). This viewpoint has been confirmed by the Austrian Der Standard and by the Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The German Consulate in Romania (Timișoara) mentioned worries in respect to the legal situation of the university in its press review. The French journal Le Monde has confirmed the viewpoint of the quoted newspapers. Some English language sources (e.g. from the Romanian newspaper Evenimentul Zilei and Radio Romania International) express the same view. Therefore, the Spiru Haret University is increasingly considered in Romania and outside it as a diploma mill. Its lawyers seek to circumvent Romanian education laws, and this implied the consequence that new laws are discussed by the Romanian Department of Education, Research and Innovation, which may lead to the prohibition of all Spiru Haret's activities.
Spiru Haret University claims to be accredited by the European University Association (EUA) instead of the Romanian public agency ARACIS. However, the EUA does not accredit universities and its "evaluations are not related to accreditation or certification processes." This viewpoint is confirmed by an IEP report: "the Programme is neither linked to the allocation of funds nor to a control function on behalf of public authorities."
The Spiru Haret University has been prohibited to organize license (diploma) exams for a period of three years. During these three years, Spiru Haret University has been placed under the scrutiny of the Romanian Department of Education. According to Government Decision no. 749/2009, Civil Law Sentence no. 3326 has radiated the Spiru Haret University, at its own request, from the application of Government Decision no. 676/2007 regarding the license university study fields, the structures of higher education institutions and the disciplines organized by them, with the subsequent additions and from Government Decision no. 635/2008 regarding the structures of higher education and the specialization/curricula for university license studies organized by them, either accredited or temporarily authorized to operate, republished. The students enlisted at accredited/authorized faculties from the Spiru Haret University may still proceed with their study, but will have to take (final) diploma exams at recognized universities (faculties) which are not prohibited to hold diploma exams.
Problem solved in 2015
Government Ordinance no. 42/2015 regarding the right of graduates to have recognized study papers after finishing unauthorized studies and for punishing educational institutions which teach without authorization provides state recognition for all unauthorized studies from accredited educational institutions, prior to the study year 2011–2012. Such diplomas can be canceled by courts or by the granting institution, according to the law.
UK NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centre)
In 2016 the UK National Academic Recognition Information Centre listed Spiru Haret University as a recognised higher education institution without making any distinctions between its full-time and distance learning graduates.
Notable alumni
Horia Ivanovici - journalist