Columbus University (Louisiana)

Last updated

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

The institution initially operated in Louisiana under a provision of state law that exempted tax-exempt nonprofit entities from licensing requirements. [1] In November 1998, The Irish Times discussed Columbus in an article, "A dirty dozen - 12 famous diploma mills". [2] After state legislation was revised to require licensing, Columbus University was issued a state license in September 2000, conditioned on seeking accreditation. [1] When Columbus failed to apply for accreditation, its license was revoked and the school was closed down by the state of Louisiana as an illegal diploma mill [1] [3] [4]

Subsequently, Columbus relocated to Mississippi. It is listed by Mississippi authorities as a "non-approved" entity. [5] In 2008 it was reported that the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education had revoked a license previously granted to Columbus University. [6] [7] In May 2010, WWL-TV in New Orleans reported that the FBI was investigating Columbus University as a diploma mill, and had recently raided the Columbus operations located in a duplex in New Orleans. [8]

Columbus has been accredited by the World Association of Universities and Colleges (WAUC), although this body is not recognized by the United States Department of Education. [9]

In 2003 and 2004, U.S. news media reported that Charles Abell, an Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Defense, listed a master's degree from Columbus University in his official biography [10] and his Senate confirmation statement. Media reports identified Columbus as a diploma mill. [1] [3] The Office of the Secretary of Defense was quoted as defending Abell with the following statement: [1]

In 1998, while working on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Abell chose to pursue higher education to expand his knowledge of human resource management. His goal was to find a program that allowed him to study while working, and the Columbus University program met his objective. He did ask the university about its accreditation and was told they were accredited. Abell has always been forthcoming about his credentials and has clearly demonstrated his commitment and ability to serve in federal government. The Defense Department stands by his service.

Although Abell's case was cited in connection with a General Accounting Office investigation of federal employees with degrees from diploma mills [11] [12] Abell remained in his position. [13] Abell continued in his Defense Department job until August 2005, when he joined the staff of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, where he remained until 2007. [14]

In testimony before the House Oversight Committee relating to the Mitchell Report and Roger Clemens, personal trainer Brian McNamee confirmed that his Ph.D. in behavioral sciences was from Columbus University. He said that he took courses "electronically" and submitted a written dissertation. [15] Representative Tom Davis asked him if Columbus University was a diploma mill, and McNamee responded, "As I found out later on, it appears it is." [15]

Columbus University is on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's list of institutions whose degrees are illegal to use in Texas, because degrees from such institutions have been found to be "fraudulent or substandard". [16]

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rochville University</span>

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.

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.

Buxton University was an accredited 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.

Concordia College and University is an entity with a primary mailing address in Delaware that represents itself as a real life institution that awards associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees based solely on the purchaser's work and life experience, with some credits transferred in. Although the name is similar, Concordia College and University is not in any way affiliated with any of the regionally accredited institutions within the six-member Concordia University System.

Pacific Western University (Hawaii) was an unaccredited university closed in May 2006 following a lawsuit filed by the State of Hawaii a year earlier.

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.

Cambridge State University was a diploma mill, formerly operated in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Hawaii, then relocated to Mississippi, which offered university-level degrees via distance education. It is not a state school but a proprietary private university.

Fairfax University was an unaccredited distance-learning institution established in Louisiana in 1986 and discontinued in 2004. Prior to losing its state of Louisiana license in 2001, it held graduation ceremonies in the US. Its president was the British academic Alan M. Jones, PhD. In 2005 the University was relaunched as Fairfax University Institute with Alan Jones still as its President. In June 2007 several news media sources reported that it had relocated to the Cayman Islands where it was operating under its new name.

Bienville University was an unaccredited institution that was based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was run by Thomas J. Kirk. Bienville University was referred to as a diploma mill or degree mill in a 2003 article by KVBC News 3. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diploma mills in the United States</span>

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.

Warren National University, previously known as Kennedy-Western University, was an unaccredited private distance learning university that claimed to offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in the United States from 1984 to 2009. It has been described by federal investigators and news sources as a diploma mill, a designation it has disputed. Its administrative offices were located in Agoura Hills, California.

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 3 4 5 Defense defends appointee who has unaccredited grad degree Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine , Government Computer News , July 7, 2003.
  2. ↑ The Irish Times (November 24, 1998), "A dirty dozen - 12 famous diploma mills." Education & Living section.
  3. 1 2 Jaime Holguin, Top Officials Hold Fake Degrees, CBS Evening News, May 10, 2004
  4. ↑ Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas Archived 2017-07-12 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation, Non-approved entities Archived 2006-02-12 at the Wayback Machine (accessed March 5, 2008)
  6. ↑ Doug Lederman, A Haven No Longer, Inside Higher Ed , June 24, 2008
  7. ↑ "Two Year College Chancellor Announces New Guidelines", WSFA, July 14, 2008.
  8. ↑ Mike Hoss, "Former state senator running fraudulent school from behind bars?" Archived 2013-02-09 at the Wayback Machine , WWL-TV, May 13, 2010.
  9. ↑ Bartlett, Thomas and Scott Smallwood (2004). "Maxine Asher Has a Degree for You". The Chronicle of Higher Education . Retrieved 24 January 2006.
  10. ↑ See Charlie Abell -- Department of Defense in White House Appointee Directory and Assistant Secretary for Force Management Sworn In, U.S. Department of Defense News Release, May 09, 2001
  11. ↑ "Public Paid for Bogus Degrees: Some Federal Workers Used Diploma Mills, GAO Finds", The Washington Post , May 12, 2004.
  12. ↑ Diana Jean Schemo, "Diploma Mill Concerns Extend Beyond Fraud", The New York Times , June 29, 2008.
  13. ↑ Hill sets plans for confronting diploma mill problem Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine , Government Computer News, April 26, 2004.
  14. ↑ The Washington Times , The Gertz File, August 5, 2005, and McCain likely to run from atop defense panel, by Rowan Scarborough, January 2, 2007.
  15. 1 2 The New York Times , Live Analysis: House Panel Questions Clemens and McNamee, February 13, 2008.
  16. ↑ Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas Archived 2017-07-12 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 2013-01-24).

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.