What is the purpose of the CER?
The Amos Bronson Alcott Center for Educational Research is an established research center of European-American University. It has as its main area of research interest independent post-secondary education within the university sector in all of its aspects. This is set in the context of general enquiry into postsecondary education developments around the world with particular regard to institutional status, award applicability and relations between the public and private sectors. 

The CER publishes articles on relevant matters, including providing advocacy for the self-regulating private university sector, and conducts commercial consultancy for individuals and organizations in its areas of interest. From 2009, it also offers services in the evaluation and interpretation of international credentials.

>>Official CER blog

Who was Amos Bronson Alcott?
Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888) was one of the pioneers of non-traditional education within a spiritual setting. Along with Emerson and Thoreau, he was part of the Transcendentalist group of philosophers, and as such was a remarkable advancer of individualism in education. Acting largely alone and unsupported, Alcott undertook experiments in radical person-centered education at private schools that directly prefigured the non-traditional movement. Elizabeth Peabody said, "What I witnessed in his school room threw for me a new light into the profoundest mysteries that have been consecrated by the Christian symbols; and the study of childhood made there I would not exchange for anything else I have experienced in life."

Alcott's teaching methods and publications issued an explicit challenge to the conservative educational establishment of his time, and were met with repeated hostility and financial difficulties. However, he never wavered from his adherence to his principles. He asserted, pre-echoing many later non-traditional educators, that "Education, to be decidedly religious, should reach man's universal faculties, those faculties which contain the laws that connect man with his maker." In this way, Alcott was referring to the concept of holistic education, as well as confirming that the religious principle cannot be confined to a narrow training in religious subjects, but instead must permeate all educational processes.

Resources on Alcott:
The Amos Bronson Alcott Network (includes e-texts of Alcott's books)
Encyclopedia Britannica article
Bibliography by Paul P. Reuben

What have the staff of the CER been doing recently?
Recent work has included the provision of consultancy services to other universities, advisory work on international education systems for a range of purposes, research into university privatisation in several locations, qualitative appraisals of private education providers for third parties, the nature of present and past oppositions to private tertiary education, and the relevance of radical educators espousing student-centered principles, particularly Malcolm Knowles and Carl Rogers, to models of progressive education at the tertiary level. 

In addition, CER continues its series of accessible articles maintaining advocacy for the self-regulating private sector, with more planned for the future. 

Who does the research?
The research is undertaken by a number of the University's senior officers, particularly the University President as CER Director and the Vice-President and Director of Administrative Affairs as CER Assistant Director, assisted by research staff assigned to the University and to other institutions and clerical staff as needed. 

Opportunities for research students at the CER
Special partial-fees scholarships are offered for students who wish to carry out research of benefit to the University on the subject of independent tertiary education towards the degrees of M.Phil. or Ph.D. The CER offers a unique focus on this area with staff who can offer experience and academic expertise. Please apply in the normal manner, detailing your proposed research project and requesting consideration for a scholarship. There are no full-fees scholarships currently available. 

Foreign credential evaluation
The Center offers services in the evaluation and interpretation of foreign educational credentials. In mid-2009, the Center absorbed the work previously undertaken by Marquess Educational Consultants, a foreign credential evaluation firm established in 2005 by the University President, and therefore builds on an established reputation in the field. The Center works particularly with the most complex and difficult cases in credential evaluation, and provides consultancy and expert opinion on an advisory basis. Since 2005, the business that has now been taken over by the Center has provided over 1,500 expert opinions on education for use before the United States Government Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and consulted on over 10,000 cases.

At present, the Center accepts requests for evaluation only from existing clients, and not directly from the public.

Articles by the Center for Educational Research
As well as undertaking specialist commercial research, the CER publishes general articles concerning self-regulating private sector universities, distance learning, nontraditional education, accreditation and related subjects. These articles are intended as advocacy and a platform for informed opinion, and do not necessarily represent the views of the University or its officers.

CER also republishes several named-author articles that are not otherwise available. 

Introductory series
>>An Introduction to Distance Education
>>An Introduction to Non-Traditional Education
>>An Introduction to Accreditation: What is it, who does it and what does it mean?
>>An Introduction to Adult Education - and the role of the private sector in it
>>A Brief Word on Accreditation by Henrik Fyrst Kristensen

Non-traditional education series
>>Questions and answers on the non-traditional concept of post-secondary education
>>Different routes to the doctorate: variations on a theme of Charles Franklyn
>>Some observations from Diplomaism by David Hapgood
>>Academic Jeremiad: The Neoconservative View of American Higher Education by Edward Jayne
>>Why Robert Burns was Right About Best-Laid Plans, or What's Wrong with the Curriculum the Way It Is? by Frank Heppner
>>Some observations from The Future of Adult Education by Fred Harvey Harrington
>>Some observations from Self-Directed Learning by Malcolm Knowles
>>Some observations from Degrees Through Distance Education by Robert Obradovic, Ph.D., Ed.D.
>>Some observations from the Carnegie Commission on Non-Traditional Education
>>Universals and Particulars: A Tale of Two Places by Jerry L. Martin
>>Experiential credit for degree awards, with particular reference to the nontraditional movement in the USA
>>Some observations from Philosophical & Historical Perspectives by Malcolm S. Knowles and Chester Klevins
>>Some observations from The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler (1979).
>>Some observations from Reinventing the Corporation by John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene (1985).

Columbia Pacific University series
>>Competency Education by Columbia Pacific University
>>Modern Higher, Continuing and Adult Education by Columbia Pacific University
>>Wholistic Education by Columbia Pacific University
>>Current Brain Research Applied to Education by Columbia Pacific University

Private universities series
>>A Wish-List: Some Specific Advocacy Goals for the Private University Sector 
>>In Explanation of the Independent University 
>>"Regulate the Stew out of Them" - Public and Private Sector Education at War
>>The legal basis for the operation of private universities - and the myth of "external degree-granting authority" debunked
>>No Campus? No Problem! Why the virtual university doesn't need a traditional campus
>>Diploma mills: what are they and why are they a problem?
>>Of "Narratives and Nonsense"; A fundamental misunderstanding in the area of self-regulating schools
>>Accreditation: A True/False Test by Frederick DiUlus 
>>Some observations from Inequality and Progress by the Revd. George Harris
>>State licensing of private universities in the United States - a discursive examination - Part I
>>State licensing of private universities in the United States - a discursive examination - Part II - Oregon and the ODA
>>Collaboration between public and private universities - what are the benefits?
>>The University of the Internet Age - and why it's better than a traditional university
>>The responsible choice? Some considerations in choosing between accredited and self-regulating universities
>>Buckingham and elsewhere: some viewpoints from the U.K.
>>The IBC as e-University: A New Frontier in Global Education
>>"Neither Irish, nor a university" Some thoughts on the Irish International University controversy

Libertarian Alliance Educational Notes series
Reproduced by permission of the Libertarian Alliance, UK.
38. Professor John Kersey, The Belgian State versus Home Schooling: The Persecution of Dr Alexandra Colen and Dr Paul Belien, 2006, 8pp
ISBN: 1 85637 652 4
(pdf)

37. Professor John Kersey, A Case Study of Higher Education in the Private Sector: An Interview with Henrik Fyrst Kristensen, Vice Chancellor of Knightsbridge University, Denmark, 2006, 8pp
ISBN: 1 85637 705 9
(pdf)

36. Professor Dennis O'Keeffe, Compulsory Education: An Oxymoron of Modernity, 2004, 8pp
ISBN: 1 85637 584 6
(pdf)

35. Professor John Kersey, Some Thoughts in Favour of Private Universities, 2004, 4pp
ISBN: 1 85637 704 0
(pdf)
33. Brian Micklethwait, The Failure of Politics and the Pull of Freedom: Reflections on the Work of the Reading Reform Foundation, 2002, 4pp
ISBN: 1 85637 547 1
(pdf)

32. Brian Micklethwait, Kumon!: A Part-Time Maths Teacher Reports From the Newly Emerging Private Sector in Mass Education, 1999, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 466 1
(pdf)

31. Professor James Tooley, Should the Private Sector Profit From Education?: The Seven Virtues of Highly Effective Markets, 1999, 6pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 464 5
(pdf)

30. Nigel Meek, Three Forms of Bias in Academic Instruction, 1998, 2pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 434 3
(pdf)

29. Brian Micklethwait, On the Harm Done By 'Look-and-Say': A Reaction to Bonnie Macmillan's 'Why Schoolchildren Can't Read', 1998, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 423 8
(pdf)

28. Ron Dultz, Voluntary Learning for Children and the Role of the Teacher, 1998, 2pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 413 0
(pdf)

27. David Botsford, Academic Feedom and the Idea of a University, 1998, 15pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 399 1
(pdf)

26. Celia Green, Freedom and the Exceptional Child, 1993, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 170 0
(pdf)

25. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, XI: Stirner Versus Calvin, 1993, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 167 0
(pdf)

24. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, X: Home Education in Britain, 1993, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 166 2
(pdf)

23. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, IX: The School of Barbiana, 1993, 2pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 165 4
(pdf)

22. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, VIII: The Third Wave, 1993, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 164 6
(pdf)

21. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, VII: Violence in Schools, 1993, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 163 8
(pdf)

20. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, VI: The False Freedom of the British Public Schools, 1993, 11pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 162 X
(pdf)

19. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, V: The Psychology of Repression, 1993, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 161 1
(pdf)

18. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, IV: The Montessori Movement and Its Enemies, 1993, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 160 3
(pdf)

17. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, III: Against Planned Education, 1993, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 159 X
(pdf)
 
16. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, II: The British Road From Freedom to Despotism, 1993, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 158 1
(pdf)
 
15. David Botsford, Compulsion Versus Liberty in Education, I: The Calvinist Roots, 1993, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 157 3
(pdf)
 
14. Professor James Tooley, How British Schools Can Escape From the State: Opting-Out of the National Curriculum, Standard Assessment Tests, League Tables and National Inspection in Three Easy Steps, 1993, 2pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 144 1
(pdf)
 
13. David Botsford, Ivan Illich and the Deschooling Movement, 1993, 14pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 144 1
(pdf)
 
12. Professor Antony Flew, Against 'Anti-Racism' in Education, 1992, 2pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 126 3
(pdf)
 
11. Stefan Blankertz, The Manufacture of Subjection: A Critique of Compulsory State Education, 1992, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 105 0
(pdf)
 
10. Professor James Tooley, Why State Provision Is Not Necessary to Ensure Equality of Educational Opportunity, 1991, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 089 5
(pdf)
 
09. Paul Anderton, Education in Britain and How To Improve It, 1991, 11pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 075 5
(pdf)
 
08. Kevin McFarlane, Envisaging a Free Market in Education, 1991, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 070 4
(pdf)
 
07. Dr. Dennis O'Keeffe, The Crisis in British Education, 1991, 2pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 057 7
(pdf)
 
06. Professor Antony Flew, Academic Purposes and Academic Freedoms, 1991, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 85637 041 0
(pdf)
 
05. Dr. Dennis O'Keeffe, The Contradictions of Socialist Education, 1990, 2pp.
ISBN: 1 870614 02 X
(pdf)
 
04.Dr. Dennis O'Keeffe, The National Curriculum: A Critique, 1989, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 870614 54 2
(pdf)
 
03. Max More, State Intervention and Nineteenth Century Education, 1986, 2pp.
ISBN: 0 948317 315 3
(pdf)
 
02. Brian Micklethwait and Dr. Sean Gabb, Freedom For Children: An Exchange, 1986, 4pp.
ISBN: 1 870614 27 5
(pdf)
 
01. Professor Ken Schoolland, The State, Obedience Training and Young Rebels, 1986, 4pp.
ISBN: 0 948317 12 4
(pdf)

Resources
>>Resources on the issue of private sector education
>>Resources on the issue of accreditation
>>Resources on the issues of online, distance and nontraditional education
>>Resources on the issues of bias, standards and related problems in mainstream education

Recent University Press publications
>"The University Outside State Control", by John Kersey, now available in hardback
>"A History of the Central School of Religion", by John Kersey, now available in hardback
> Print copies of articles available via the CER
>>Visit the University Press here

Register of Independent Music Colleges in Britain and Ireland
The Register is a UK-based independent directory (established in 2003) of examining and membership organizations for musicians, many of them small and long-standing, which exist outside state control and funding. Contact details and a brief description are provided for each entry.
>>Register of Independent Music Colleges