…soliciting partnerships with both universities and accredation institutions, so that this could eventually become a course that will count towards a degree or certification program.

I think it would be great if eventually people could hang their Masters of Search Engine Optimization on their walls. The current lack of anything resembling a standard means that there still exists many SEO companies out there who are ripping off their customers left and right, with little recourse for the client or sympathy from the webmaster community in general. Something like this could help turn that around.

-Michael