University of Central Europe

Not to be confused with Central European University.
University of Central Europe
Stredoeurópska vysoká škola
Other name
SEVŠ
TypePrivate university
Active31 May 2005 (2005-05-31)–June 2, 2021 (2021-06-02)
Academic affiliations
Erasmus Programme
Location
Skalica
,
Slovakia
Websitewww.sevs.sk (no longer online)

The University of Central Europe (in Slovak Stredoeurópska vysoká škola v Skalici (SEVŠ)) was a private university located in Skalica. The university was founded in 2005 with the ambition to become a "Slovak Cambridge",[1] but struggled with financial problems and lost its accreditation in 2021.[2]

In 2022 the university declared bankruptcy.[3] The school offered education in international relations, environment and regional development.The number of students of the university peaked at 1,181 in 2013 and declined to the last available number of only 172 in 2018.[4][5] In addition to the main campus in Skalica, the university had a campus in Košice until 2019.[6]

Controversy

In June 2020, the plagiarized diploma theses of the We Are Family party MP Petra Krištúfková as well as the party leader and Speaker of the National Council Boris Kollár defended at SEVŠ became public knowledge.[7][8] Likewise, the thesis of Slovak Bratislava football club vice-president Ivan Kmotrík jr., the son of the businessman Ivan Kmotrík sr. who was the president of SEVŠ board, turned out to be plagiarized as well.[9]

A government audit in 2021 found that several holders of SEVŠ diplomas never applied to study at the university and there is no proof they ever attended any classes.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Skalica chcela byť slovenský Cambridge, dnes sotva zvláda spraviť zápis študentov". N Press. 2019-09-30. ISSN 1339-844X. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ "Vláda zrušila pôsobenie súkromnej". N Press. 2021-06-30. ISSN 1339-844X. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Kto zaplatí miliónové dlhy školy, ktorá rozdávala pochybné tituly" (in Slovak). Aktuality.sk. 27 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Štatistická ročenka – vysoké školy – CVTI SR". cvtisr.sk. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  5. ^ "Univerzity a vysoké školy na Slovensku". trend.sk (in Slovak). 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  6. ^ Aktuality.sk (12 August 2020). "Skalická vysoká škola z kauzy skopírovaných záverečných prác sa topí v dlhoch". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  7. ^ "Boris Kollár je plagiátor ako Andrej Danko. Na Kmotríkovej škole podvádzal". N Press. 2020-06-23. ISSN 1339-844X. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ^ "Kollár skopírovanú diplomovku vysvetľuje tým, že každý si to zľahčuje". Petit Press. 2020-06-23. ISSN 1335-4418. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ "Miliónové dlhy, súdne spory i trestné oznámenia. Škola z kauzy pochybných titulov sa topí v problémoch" (in Slovak). Aktuality.sk. 25 October 2020.