FUNIBER and I

* Update - Since my last posting,  I have decided not to pursue my studies with FUNIBER.  I scoured through the internet to find options, and came to the conclusion, that personally, due to the uncertainty of being able to use the degree in the US, as I teach at the post-secondary level, it wouldn't work out in my favor.  However, you can view the sites that I reviewed below to come to your own conclusion.  Best of luck!

http://www.spaniards.es/foros/2008/10/26/funiber-masters-distancia-alguien-lo-conoce

http://67.196.5.67/cases/funiber--ciudad-de-mexico-distrito-federal-mexico_58448.html

http://cvc.cervantes.es/foros/leer_asunto1.asp?vCodigo=33712

http://blogs.funiber.org/formacion-profesores/i-found-the-experience-extremely-challenging-interesting-and-unique/

For the last three years I've been doing a dance with FUNIBER. FUNIBER is an organization that contracts with Spanish speaking universities to offer degrees online for students around the world. FUNIBER is not a university. It's an association that contracts with universities in Latin America and the US to offer classwork and tutors towards the conferral of a degree at the Masters and Doctoral level. They also offer post secondary certificates. At the end of the program the student receives a diploma from the university that conferred the degree.

I considered them years ago for the Masters degree. They offered a Masters degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. I couldn't quite wrap my mind around it because I thought to myself, as a US resident, how would it look to potential employers that I received a degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from a Spanish speaking university? So I didn't go with them. I started a certificate program in the same subject with a university in my area. However, the concept of the program is what kept me coming back.

In addition they offered a Masters degree in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language. Now this is something I couldn't get in the US. Sure there are a lot of Applied Linguistic degrees, but none that cater specificially to teaching Spanish as a Second Language. In the end I did not choose them because I was accepted by the University of Granada to get a degree in Spain that was at least $2,000 cheaper than FUNIBER.

But I'm now at the PhD level. Nowhere in the US can I find a suitable program that fits my needs. I can't relocate to go to school. By the way, Georgetown has a program in Spanish Linguistics. But like I said I can't leave my area for a graduate degree. I also couldn't fathom spending 4 years learning about Spanish literature in the universities in my area. Don't get me wrong, I love reading but enough already! I want a program that teaches me how to teach a language, not study Sor Juana and write a 300 page thesis on her. BORING! Seriously, that's not what I want to spend my time doing. So the online, research degree doctorate program was the way to go for me.

Traditional academic rhetoric says go to the top 10 US universities for Spanish if you want to guarantee a tenure track position as a research institution. Isn't that ironic? Research Spanish at an English speaking institution in order to get a job teaching Spanish? I think for foreign languages it is worthy that the professor live or study in an actual country where the language is spoken as an official language. Who better else to teach the language? You have experience with it and can add the cultural component to your lessons. I know of many Latin American professors that received their undergraduate degrees from their native countries and come to the US and get their doctoral degree. I guess that's the same as me moving to Spain and getting my PhD in English language and literature.

To my coworkers and fellow language professors going with FUNIBER may be a gamble. What about your job prospects? How will a university react knowing you got your degree online using the research method instead of the traditional route? Well, what I have to say is this. I've taught Spanish and ESOL at public high schools, the community college, private for-profit universities and a traditional four-year liberal arts college. In all, it's the same thing. I like teaching and I like teaching languages. I think for-profits and community colleges may be more receptive towards a non traditional route. As for a research university I'm not so sure. They are more invested in saving their brand, the traditional program. Anything different may be seen as a threat and therefore they may not be as open to accepting scholars who have studied this way. I say, you have to determine what you want out of a program. Talk to the deans in your area that offer traditional programs and be open to their feed back. Sometimes ignorance is what feeds the fury.

Moneywise, I like FUNIBER. The doctoral degree costs a little over $10,000. A traditional program in Spain costs around 700 Euros a year. A traditional program in my state may cost about $7,000 a year. So, FUNIBER fits this cheap educator's budget.