Bienville University

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Bienville University was an unaccredited institution that was based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was run by Thomas J. Kirk. [1] Bienville University was referred to as a diploma mill or degree mill in a 2003 article by KVBC News 3. [2] It was never recognised or approved by any accreditation agency and was not approved by the US Department of Education nor the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and has been closed by the State of Louisiana. [3]

It then moved to Woodville, Mississippi. [1] The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has put Bienville University on the list of Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas. [4] Without recognized accreditation, Bienville's degrees and credits might not be acceptable to employers or other academic institutions, and use of degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions. [5]

Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include Oregon, [3] [6] Michigan, [7] Maine, [8] North Dakota, [6] New Jersey, [6] Washington, [3] [9] Nevada, [3] [10] Illinois, [3] Indiana, [3] and Texas. [4] [11] Many other states are also considering restrictions on the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions. [12]

A Las Vegas police chief was told in 2002 that his diploma from Bienville would not earn him more pay because the institution does not meet the standards of accreditation required. [13]

Related Research Articles

A diploma mill is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fake), or misrepresented. These degrees may claim to give credit for relevant life experience, but should not be confused with legitimate prior learning assessment programs. They may also claim to evaluate work history or require submission of a thesis or dissertation for evaluation to give an appearance of authenticity. Diploma mills are frequently supported by accreditation mills, set up for the purpose of providing an appearance of authenticity. The term may also be used pejoratively to describe an accredited institution with low academic admission standards and a low job placement rate. An individual may or may not be aware that the degree they have obtained is not wholly legitimate. In either case, legal issues can arise if the qualification is used in resumes.

Breyer State University, also called Breyer State University-Alabama, is an unaccredited distance education, for profit, private university that formerly operated in the U.S. states of Idaho and Alabama and now reports a location in Panama. It has been described by The New Republic magazine as a diploma mill that "claimed official-sounding accreditation to attract hundreds of people to obtain degrees". Breyer State University disputes this categorization.

Suffield University is an unaccredited internet school specializing in what it calls Life Experience Degrees, issued upon payment, with life experience assessment based on the word of the applicant. Suffield is not accredited by any accreditation body recognized by its country. According to the US Department of Education, unaccredited degrees and credits might not be acceptable to employers or other institutions, and use of degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions.

Belford University was an organization that offered online unaccredited degrees for "life experience". The organization maintained a post office box in Humble, Texas, but its certificates were mailed from the United Arab Emirates. Along with many similar websites, it was owned by the Karachi-based company Axact, the main business of which, according to an investigation by The New York Times, is "to take the centuries-old scam of selling fake academic degrees and turn it into an Internet-era scheme on a global scale". In July 2018, Shoaib Ahmed Sheikh, the CEO of Axact was arrested and sentenced to prison for 20 years for his role in perpetuating this scam.

Rochville University

Rochville University was an online diploma mill offering a "Life Experience Degree, and Certificate Program" without coursework or prior transcript evaluation. The State of Texas classified it as an "illegal supplier of educational credentials" whose degrees may not be used in Texas. The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization lists it as "fake". Its operation is believed to be centered in Pakistan, and its diplomas and degree certificates have been mailed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Along with many similar enterprises, it is owned by the Karachi based company, Axact, whose main business, according to a New York Times investigation, is "to take the centuries-old scam of selling fake academic degrees and turn it into an Internet-era scheme on a global scale".

American Central University (ACU) was an unaccredited distance learning private, for-profit university licensed by the state of Wyoming in 2004. The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization stated that the institution may be run from Malaysia.

Rushmore University is an unaccredited institution of higher learning offering online degrees in a variety of business-related fields, exclusively via distance learning. It has been described as a diploma mill, providing illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee.

Madison University is a non-accredited distance learning college located in Gulfport, Mississippi. The state of Mississippi considers Madison an "unapproved" college. Madison is also listed as an unaccredited and/or substandard institution by four other U.S. states. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, Madison University has been referred to as a diploma mill by the state of Oregon.

The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization (ODA) is a unit of the Office of Student Access and Completion, with responsibilities related to maintaining high standards in private higher education institutions in Oregon. ODA administers laws and provides oversight of private colleges and universities offering degree programs in the state, validates individual claims of degrees, enforces the closure of substandard or fraudulent higher education programs in the state, and enforces policy for publicly funded postsecondary programs and locations. It was formerly a unit of the Oregon Student Access Commission (OSAC), which became Oregon Student Assistance Commission prior to January 1, 2012. Its functions moved to the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission as part of the Office of Student Access and Completion in July 2012.

Buxton University was an unaccredited vendor of distance education that used a postal address in the United Kingdom. It is associated with the Instantdegrees.com website.

Knightsbridge University is a private distance learning institution based in Denmark that caters mostly to English speaking people. It was founded in 1991 by Henrik Fyrst Kristensen. Although the school is based in Denmark, John Bear's guide states that Knightsbridge was formerly incorporated in Liberia and at time of publication was incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda, while using a mailing address in Scotland.

St Christopher Iba Mar Diop College of Medicine was a medical training establishment in Luton, England, as a college within the University El Hadji Ibrahima Niasse of Dakar, Senegal. The Luton, England campus was closed in 2011.

University of NorthWest, established in 2001 in New York City, is a provider of distance education that offers academic degrees in several fields. Additionally, its website states that it offers classes at 'learning centers' in Canada, China, Bangladesh, Ireland, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom. In the summer of 2010, the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization reported that the University of NorthWest was actively engaged in Afghanistan.

St Clements University is a higher education institution which has reported itself to be registered in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Its website lists a number of affiliations and recognitions and a network of over 10 centres and offices in a number of countries. Since 2005 it has established locally registered autonomous schools, St Clements University Higher Education School in Niue, St Clements University in Somalia, and the Université Suisse Privée St Cléments.

The American University of London (AUOL) is an online diploma mill. The company disputes the label and instead describes itself as a for-profit unaccredited educational institution offering undergraduate and graduate degrees solely by distance learning. It is a different organization than the American University in London.

Unaccredited institutions of higher education are colleges, trade schools, seminaries, and universities which do not have formal educational accreditation.

Columbus University is an unaccredited distance education institution that has been based at different times in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Diploma mills in the United States

A diploma mill is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without academic approval by officially recognized educational accrediting bodies or qualified government agencies. The purchaser can then claim to hold an academic degree, and the organization is motivated by making a profit. These degrees are often awarded based on vaguely construed life experience. Some organizations claim accreditation by non-recognized/unapproved accrediting bodies set up for the purposes of providing a veneer of authenticity.

The Management Institute of Canada or Institut Canadien de Management (MIC) is a Canadian professional school based in Montreal, authorized by the government of Quebec. MIC is an unaccredited non-degree business school in Quebec, offering online programs in business administration.

References

  1. 1 2 Louisiana Board of Regents Shuts Down 4 Distance-Learning Institutions, By Andrea L. Foster, The Chronicle of Higher Education
  2. ↑ Online Universities Promising "Accredited" Degrees & Diplomas
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Unaccredited Colleges". Oregon Office of Degree Authorization. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas Archived 2017-07-12 at the Wayback Machine , Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  5. ↑ Diploma Mills and Accreditation – Accreditation
  6. 1 2 3 State mulls online learning Archived January 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine by the Associated Press, Billings Gazette , January 30, 2005
  7. ↑ Colleges and Universities not accredited by CHEA, Michigan Education and Children's Services
  8. ↑ Accredited and Non-Accredited Colleges and Universities, Maine’s List of Non-Accredited Post-Secondary Schools
  9. ↑ Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board Archived January 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , Washington Consumer Information
  10. ↑ Use of False or Misleading Degrees Nevada statute NRS 394.700
  11. ↑ Two less doctors in the house - Hebert, Wilson back away from Ph.D.'s issued by ‘diploma mills', by Stephen Palkot, Fort Bend Herald, September 28, 2007
  12. ↑ Is Oregon the only state that disallows use of unaccredited degrees? Archived 2012-08-30 at the Wayback Machine Oregon Office of Degree Authorization
  13. ↑ Police captain not allowed education bonus for degree, By Carri Geer Thevenot, Las Vegas Review journal
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