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University of the People of Milan

Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano
Type	Unaccredited
Established	2006 (2006)
President	Marco Grappeggia
Rector	Giovanni Neri (previously: Nicola Crozzoletti, Giuseppe Catapano)
Director	Marco Grappeggia
Administrative staff	None
Students	Undisclosed
Location	Milan, Italy 45°29′00″N 9°12′26″E / 45.4832041°N 9.2073259°E / 45.4832041; 9.2073259
Campus	None
Language	Italian
Website	www.unimilano.net (one of many)

The Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano (University of the People of Milan) is an unaccredited distance learning, for-profit company using the word university in its name, located in Milan, Italy.

Ambiguity of the name

The "Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano" is not to be confused with the Università degli Studi di Milano — one of the most important accredited Italian universities – or with the "Università Popolare di Milano" — a historical folk high school established in Milan in 1901, which is no longer active. In both cases, the name differs by just one word. Besides, the association sometimes uses the name "Università Popolare di Milano", identical to the latter.

Degrees

Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano was created in 2006 by Marco Grappeggia, also known as Marco Edgardo Grappeggia. The association has no campus and issues Bachelor's degrees, Master's degrees and even PhDs, based on life experiences. Not being accredited by the Italian Ministry of Education, it is not on the official list of accredited Italian universities. The issued degrees are holistic science, political science, sociology and psychology, criminology and criminal investigation, cultural property, international law, sports science, communication science, marketing and finance, environmental engineering and civil engineering, and as of 2020 counseling psychology and management engineering.

Legal status

According to the "disclamer" (sic) in its website and the attached papers, the Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano claims to be an "international university" governed by international law but not Italian law; it could therefore issue degrees in Italy, valid in Italy, without having Italian accreditation. The "disclamer" explains that its degrees are valid because Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano is affiliated with the University of United Popular Nations (UUPN), a limited liability company created by Grappeggia and his wife in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 2012 and allegedly operating in the Ivory Coast as well. UUPN used to have two websites, www.uupn-edu.net and www.uupn.org, which are both inactive and seem to be superseded by www.uupn-edubf.org (in French) and www.unidep-edu.org (in Italian). The "disclamer" also explains that the African alleged university/corporation can issue degrees in the EU pursuant to the Lisbon Recognition Convention — although neither Burkina Faso nor the Ivory Coast belongs to the group of countries that ratified the Lisbon Convention.

In 2011, an Italian former politician, Sen. Guido Viceconte, stated that the degrees issued by the Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano must be recognized in Italy (and the EU); as a consequence, Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano gained popularity after operating under the radar for several years.

Since 2012, Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano has received several cease-and-desist orders from the Italian Ministry of Education, and has been convicted by a final judgment, but most of its websites still advertise the services and the degrees, which are chiefly sold online.

In 2016, the Italian Competition Authority sentenced Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano for false advertising on the web. The Italian Ministry of Education sent cease and desist letters in 2014 and 2016; in retaliation, Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano sued the Ministry of Education and the CIMEA (Information Centre on Academic Mobility and Equivalence), claiming they were "slanderers". In January 2020, the Ministry of Education, together with the Council of agricultural technicians at the Italian Ministry of Justice, issued an official statement saying the Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano's degrees are invalid in Italy (nota MIUR 13 January 2020, prot. n. 646) and the organization is not allowed to offer degrees.

Addresses and websites

Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano has often changed its address and/or website. Among the various addresses, we find Viale Tunisia 43 20124 Milano, Via Luigi Settembrini 33 20124 Milano (which is also Grappeggia's house), Corso Buenos Aires 65 20124 Milano, Via Terraggio 1 20123 Milano, Via G. Murat 17 20159 Milano, Via Manara 5 20124 Milano. Among the various websites, we find www.unimilano.org, www.unipmi.org, www.unimilano.net, www.universita-popolare.it (currently inactive), www.unipopmi.it, www.iscrizioneuniversitaria.eu, www.universitapopolaremilano.online, www.laureainternazionale.eu, www.universitatelematica.info, www.sdlcorporateuniversity.it (currently inactive), www.unipmi.it (currently inactive), www.unidep-edu.org/international.

Yorker International University

The president of the institution, Marco Grappeggia, is also founder and president of the Yorker International University, which is supposed to be based in South Dakota, New York, Florida and Argentina, but actually operates in Milan, Italy, using the same address as the Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano and even the same email address (newyorker@tiscali.it). The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization and the New York State Education Department made it known that Yorker International University was never accredited. However, Yorker International University used to issue degrees in Italy through Paulo Freire University, a private university located in Nicaragua that was going to be accredited in 2002. Since the Nicaraguan university had (and still has) no authorization to issue degrees in Italy, those degrees are invalid.

See also

• Educational accreditation
• List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
• List of universities in Italy

References

1. "Museo nazionale del movimento universitario popolare" [National museum of the university movement of the people] (in Italian). Retrieved 5 December 2020.
2. ^ Franco, Luigi (31 May 2015). "Università Popolare Milano. Miur prima dà l'ok alle lauree, poi diffida l'ateneo" [University of the People of Milan. Miur first okayed the degrees, then warned the university]. il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). Retrieved 5 December 2020.
3. ^ Palma, Nicola (24 October 2016). "Pubblicità ingannevole sul web: stangata per l'Università Popolare" [Deceptive advertising on the web: heavy blow for the University of the People]. Il Giorno (in Italian). Retrieved 5 December 2020.
4. "Maps > Where to study". universitaly.it. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
5. "Corsi" [Courses]. unimilano.net (in Italian). Retrieved 5 December 2020.
6. "Disclamer". unimilano.net (in Italian). Retrieved 5 December 2020.
7. https://www.gradfather.com/university/university-of-united-popular-nations
8. "Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 165; Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region". Council of Europe. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
9. "Provvedimento n. 26197 Università popolare di Milano – Titoli accademici" (PDF). Italian Competition Authority. 29 September 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
10. Betti, Deborah (29 October 2016). "AGCM, pesante sanzione contro l'Università popolare di Milano" [Italian Competition Authority, severe sanction for the University of the People of Milan] (in Italian). Retrieved 5 December 2020.
11. "La battaglia dell'Università Popolare di Milano contro Miur e Cimea" [The battle of the University of the People of Milan against the Ministry of Education and CiMEA]. quotidianoeuropeo.it (in Italian). July 2017. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
12. "I corsi di laurea che evitano o riducono la pratica" [University programs that allow you to avoid the training]. agrotecnici.it (in Italian). Retrieved 5 December 2020.
13. https://www.marcograppeggia.com/contatti
14. "Flyer: The Yorker International University" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 8 January 2018.
15. "Unauthorized schools and invalid degrees". Archived from the original on 3 January 2013.
16. "Escándalo con diplomas" [Degrees scandal] (in Spanish). 23 March 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Commencement at Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano on YouTube (in Italian)

• For-profit universities and colleges
• Unaccredited institutions of higher learning
• Distance education institutions based in Italy