Whether they are listed as for profit or not they seem to be charging
quite a lot of money for their classes - someone is profiting from that.
I think students will generally do much better taking field courses with
faculty from accredited universities. I don't think EcoLog should be
advertising ecotuourism opportunities.
On 1/29/2018 6:13 PM, Carola Haas wrote:
I looked on the IRS website and elsewhere, and ITEC is at least truly
a registered non-profit.
https://nonprofitlocator.org/organizations/fl/gainesville/593434081-institute-for-tropical-ecology-and-conservation-incorporated
I don’t begrudge organizations who take people on “eco-vacations” for
a fee that allows the organizations to continue useful conservation,
research, or education work. But I do agree that the differences
should be made clearer to students. It’s one thing for wealthy
retirees to pay for these trips, something else entirely for full-time
students. Many students get discouraged thinking that they will not be
able to compete against other students with fancy tropical experiences
that they have paid for. Students, employers can tell the difference
and there are lots of great opportunities to gain research experience
without paying for it (sometimes not in such exotic locales, but if
you build a good resume in a more mundane place you’ll be more
competitive for paid internships in more exciting places!). For those
who have plenty of disposable income, though, some of these ecotourism
classes may be lots of fun, and may actually be good learning
experiences. But I definitely support John’s point below, that if you
are hoping that these credits will count towards a degree elsewhere,
make sure to get that approved through your home institution ahead of
time!
=c
Carola A. Haas
Professor, Wildlife Ecology
Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Conservation
112 Cheatham Hall (MC 0321)
310 West Campus Drive, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
540-231-9269
http://www.fishwild.vt.edu/faculty/haas.htm
On Jan 29, 2018, at 2:29 PM, John A. <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
I have to agree that using “REU” for these courses is both
misleading and disingenuous. I’ve read through three of these course
descriptions and I can’t find “REU” or corresponding words anywhere
in the text.
Given this, it’s more than fair to ask exactly what “REU” is
supposed to mean here. As Mitch Cruzan noted, there is a federal REU
program (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) which has been
advertised on this list by several major universities, including UNM,
University of Minnesota, CUNY, and others. By contrast, this
“Institute” seems to be run out of a private residence in the north
suburbs of Gainesville, with no apparent university connection.
The fact that we have to question the basics of a post like this
raises a lot of red flags for me. I think Ecolog would be much
improved if misleading advertisements like these simply weren’t
posted here at all. If I were an undergraduate I’d be confused about
whether this “institute” is legitimate and whether any "credits"
would actually transfer to my home university. Undergraduates and
young professionals would be better served if this sort of deceptive
material wasn't circulated to the list.
-
J. A.
--
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Mitch Cruzan
Professor of Biology
Portland State University
PO Box 751
Portland, OR 97207 USA
Web: http://web.pdx.edu/~cruzan/
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