Concordia College and University

Last updated

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[ citation needed ]. 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.

Contents

Locations

Concordia College and University has used multiple addresses. For most of its existence it has stated that it is incorporated in Dominica, [1] [2] [3] [4] but it also has listed addresses in locations including the U.S. Virgin Islands, Spain, and Liberia. [3] As of February 2011, one of the multiple Internet domains used by this entity lists its name as "Concordia College & University Delaware," founded in Roseau, British West Indies (Dominica) in 1999, [5] with a location in Wilmington, Delaware. [6]

Accreditation

Concordia College and University is not accredited by any higher education accrediting body recognized in the United States or most other countries where its degrees are advertised. It is recognized by UNESCO.[ citation needed ] It is accredited by the National Academy of Higher Education, [7] an entity that is recognized as a prior learning and life education accreditor by the United States Department of Education or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation [8] and that several educational organizations identify as an unrecognized accreditation organization or accreditation mill. [9] [10] In 2003, Concordia College and University was reported to be claiming accreditation by the Distance Graduation Accrediting Association, which is not recognized as an accreditor by the U.S. Department of Education . [11] In 2009, Concordia College and University was listed as a diploma mill by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. [12] According to John Bear, it has an address in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and gives degrees based on "life experience". [13] Concordia College and University is not affiliated with any of the accredited schools within the U.S.-based Concordia University System. Schools within the Concordia System are regionally accredited and are branded as Concordia University, Concordia College, or Concordia University School of Law.

In September 2004, The East Carolinian, the student newspaper of East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina reported that "There are at least a half-dozen legitimate Concordia colleges and Concordia universities around the country. But Concordia College and University is a diploma mill that offers degrees in as little turnaround time as 12 hours." [14] The article noted, "The fake Concordia College and University admonishes Web surfers to 'be safe and purchase a government approved degree.' The government, it turns out, is war-torn Liberia. The school's offices are in Dominica, and its U.S. mailing address is in Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Its website domain is in Pakistan." [14]

A Special Report from Matthew Kauffman in the Hartford Courant says "[l]ike other schools, Concordia touts its accreditation, so I went in search of the U.S. National Academic Higher Education Agency — which inexplicably goes by the acronym NAHED. I found the agency's website at accreditation.ga, meaning that a group whose name begins with "U.S." has a website registered in the central African country of Gabon" and that "[c]ritics say that operators of diploma mills intentionally choose names that are similar or identical to recognized schools", noting that "at least a dozen legitimate institutions throughout the country named Concordia..." [15]

Concerns by U.S. state regulators

The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization lists a "Concordia College and University" in its list of unaccredited degree suppliers, and notes that it is a Class B misdemeanor in Oregon to use an unlawful degree. [16]

Concordia College and University also appears on a State of Michigan list of non-accredited colleges and universities. [17]

In 2003 the North Dakota Legislative Assembly moved forward a bill "that would punish anyone trying to use a degree from a diploma mill as a legitimate credential." In a 2003 article discussing the legislation, The Chronicle of Higher Education stated that "state officials are concerned that illegitimate institutions are mimicking the names of legitimate ones," citing as an example "an entity called Concordia College & University" whose name is similar to that of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, an accredited school attended by many North Dakota students. [11] The article further noted that for Concordia College & University "No classes or exams are required. Associate and bachelor's degrees cost $599, master's degrees $699, and doctorates $1,099, including shipping and handling, the site says, noting that degree recipients get a certified diploma and two transcripts, complete with watermarks." [11]

In September 2009, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann warned residents about Concordia College and University. Hosemann said Concordia College and University LLC has been using the secretary of state's Web site to misrepresent the organization as a licensed educational institution. Hosemann said Concordia College is a registered limited liability corporation, but it is not accredited as an educational institution in Mississippi. Hosemann said a cease and desist letter had been sent to Concordia demanding that it remove the false and misleading claims from the company Web site. [18]

Individual cases

Seneca County, Ohio

In October 2006 a Seneca County, Ohio grand jury indicted John McGuire, the new police chief of Fostoria, Ohio on two felony counts of tampering with records and two misdemeanor charges of falsification involving his qualifications. The Toledo Blade noted he "obtained a criminal-justice degree from Concordia College and University, an online degree program in the Virgin Islands." [19]

In February 2007, the paper reported that documents filed in a drug case showed that Rocko, a police dog in the Fostoria police department, had also received a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Concordia in 2006. [20] The dog's degree was planned to be used as evidence in the court trial, but the prosecutor noted "I don't think it's necessary to bring the actual dog." [21] A few weeks later it was revealed that the degree had been purchased by Greg Peiffer, general manager and president of Fostoria radio station WFOB, who said it was obtained with minimal effort. [22]

The trial of McGuire was originally scheduled for March 2007 [23] but was delayed. [24] In May, McGuire testified that the degree was based on a combination of life experience and transferred credits from courses he took at the U.S. Air Force Community College. The judge in the case ruled that McGuire "earned his degree", noting evidence that McGuire had helped search for bodies at the World Trade Center site after the September 2001 terrorist attacks, had attended the FBI Academy, had assisted in the search for Olympic Park bomber Eric Robert Rudolph, and had served in Operation Desert Storm. With regard to the diploma awarded to the dog, the judge said that "This court finds no similarity between those two degrees." [25]

Louise Wightman

In May 2007 Louise Wightman of Norwell, Massachusetts, was convicted of fraud and larceny for misrepresenting herself as a licensed psychologist and for falsely advertising that she held a doctorate in psychology. Part of her crime was claiming to have a Ph.D. based on having received a degree from Concordia. She holds a valid master's degree and devoted five years of study to a Ph.D. program which she did not complete. She is therefore legally qualified to use the term "psychotherapist" but not "psychologist" according to state licensing requirements.

She told the jury that she felt she had earned a Ph.D., so she paid about $1,300 to obtain her degree (Ph.D. with a major in psychology) over the Internet from Concordia College and University. [26] This credential ultimately proved to be worthless. [27]

Joe Galloway

In 2010, IT services firm EDS lost a court case brought by broadcaster BSkyB after the British High Court ruled that the company had misled BSkyB about its expertise. [28] Part of EDS' case hinged on the testimony of Joe Galloway, a former Managing Director for CRM Solutions, who provided implementation timeframes to BSkyB that later turned out to be unrealistic. Galloway's credibility as a witness was severely undermined by his defence of a mail-order degree from Concordia. Although he "gave detailed evidence on how he took plane journeys between the islands and attended a college there", a member of the opposing legal team managed to obtain the same degree for his dog "Lulu". The blow to the witness' credibility was reported as pivotal to the success of the case. [29]

Smith County, Texas

In 2013, a whistle-blower at the Smith County Sheriffs department alleged that she was retaliated against after not complying with a deputy attempting to gain a pay increase based on a diploma from Concordia College and University in Wilmington, Delaware; the whistle-blower objected to the degree submission because she considered the institution a "diploma mill". [30] After an investigation by the Texas Rangers into the degree, the deputy who had tried to use the Concordia College and University, Delaware degree subsequently resigned, surrendered his Peace Officer license permanently, and paid back his extra earnings and thereby did not face prosecution. [31] The department settled with the whistle-blower. [32]

See also

Related Research Articles

Bronte International University is an unaccredited post-secondary educational institution formerly in South Dakota. It is widely considered to be a diploma mill, operated from an unknown location. Its website offers "fast" degrees for "life experience."

A diploma mill or degree mill is a business that sells illegitimate diplomas or academic degrees. The term diploma mill is also used pejoratively to describe any educational institution with low admission and graduation standards, low job placement rate, or low average starting salaries of its graduates.

Maxine Klein Asher was an Atlantis researcher who founded and operated American World University, an institution which sold academic degrees, and the World Association of Universities and Colleges, an institution which "accredited" American World University, as well as other universities selling mail-order degrees which paid for accreditation by that body. Neither institution is accredited by any accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education.

Ashwood University is a diploma mill in Pakistan. It claims to award academic degrees based on "life experience." Ashwood University is not accredited by any recognised accreditation body. As such, its degrees may 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.

An accreditation mill is an organization that purports to award educational accreditation to higher education institutions without having government authority or recognition from mainstream academia to operate as an accreditor. Implicit in the terminology is the assumption that the "mill" has low standards for such accreditation. Accreditation mills are much like diploma mills, and in many cases are closely associated with diploma mills. The "accreditation" they supply has no legal or academic value but is used in diploma mill marketing to help attract students.

Pacific International University was an unaccredited, evangelical, Christian diploma mill college located in Springfield, Missouri. Carl Baugh, a 1989 alumnus, was the university's president.

<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".

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.

University Degree Program (UDP) is or was an unaccredited consortium of diploma mills run by Americans Jason and Caroline Abraham beginning in the 1990s. In 2004, The Chronicle of Higher Education called UDP the "granddaddy" of diploma mill operations.

National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) identifies itself as an organization specializing in evaluation of people's educational credentials. Some United States educational authorities identify it as an unrecognized accreditation organization or accreditation mill. NAHE charges fees for a service described as an evaluation of the educational credentials of clients who have studied in other countries or attained degrees through alternative methods.

The World Online Education Accrediting Commission (WOEAC) is an entity with no identified geographic location that represents itself as an accrediting organization for online degree providers. It is not recognized as a higher education accreditor by either the United States Department of Education (USDE) or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

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.

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

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

Diploma mills in the United States are organizations that award 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.

References

  1. ↑ Archive of concordia-college.net, May 23, 2002
  2. ↑ Archive of concordia-college.net, July 2, 2008
  3. 1 2 Contact addresses [ permanent dead link ] page on website http://www.cu-edu.us/, accessed February 8, 2011
  4. ↑ "Concordia College and University celebrates 17 years of serving the Distance Learning Community", PRNewswire-USNewswire. PRLog Free Press Release, 28 Apr. 2009. Accessed Feb. 23, 2011. "Concordia College & University was founded in 1999 in Roseau, British West Indies. . . .The school has increased its enrollment numbers, and is increasing and updating the resources and facilities in Roseau." (note: this press release is linked to in the President's message (under "12th anniversary !") on the current version (as of 2/23/2011) of the website of Concordia College and University Delaware
  5. ↑ "Concordia College and University celebrates 10 years of serving the Distance Learning Community", PRNewswire-USNewswire. PRLog Free Press Release, 28 Apr. 2009. Accessed Feb. 23, 2011. "Concordia College & University was founded in 1999 in Roseau, British West Indies. . . .The school has increased its enrollment numbers, and is increasing and updating the resources and facilities in Roseau." (note: this press release is linked in the President's message (under "12th anniversary !") archived (under 11th anniversary) on the current version (as of 2/23/2011) of the website of Concordia College and University Delaware
  6. ↑ Homepage of www.concordia-college.net Archived July 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , entitled "Concordia College & University Delaware", accessed February 8, 2011
  7. ↑ "Accreditation". concordia-college.net. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "Institution Accreditation Database". United States Department of Education. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-03-16. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  9. ↑ Credential Watch
  10. ↑ Unrecognized Accreditation Agencies
  11. 1 2 3 Carnevale, Dan (2003-01-01). "North Dakota Lawmakers Move to Bar the Use of Fake Degrees". The Chronicle of Higher Education . Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  12. ↑ Ezell, Allen (2009), "Recent developments with degree mills" (PDF), College & University Journal, 85 (2): 40, archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-13, retrieved 2012-01-31
  13. ↑ Bear, John; Mariah Bear (2003-01-01). Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning. Ten Speed Press. ISBN   1-58008-431-1. page 211, 212
  14. 1 2 Diploma mills offer degrees for a price and not much else, The East Carolinian, September 30, 2004
  15. ↑ Kauffman, Matthew. "Degree of Deception: When a Doctorate is Just a Credit Card Away". Accessed June 13, 2017. http://projects.courant.com/degree-of-deception/.
  16. ↑ Oregon Office of Degree Authorization
  17. ↑ State of Michigan, Colleges and universities not accredited by an accrediting body of the Council on Higher Education Accreditation Archived June 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ↑ Hosemann warns of diploma mill in Mississippi Mississippi Business Journal September 11, 2009
  19. ↑ Police chief in Fostoria accused of tampering Toledo Blade. October 20, 2006
  20. ↑ Jennifer Feehan and "Police dog's bachelor's degree prods legal howling about chief", Toledo Blade, February 28, 2007
  21. ↑ "Dog With Online Criminal Degree May Be Use in Trial as Evidence". Associated Press. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  22. ↑ Sandra Whitta, Lawsuit threatened over alleged 'trash talk, Fostoria Review Times, March 27, 2007.
  23. ↑ Fostoria Review Times, Chief's day in court will be in 2007 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine , November 9, 2006
  24. ↑ Shuff cleared to hear case, Factoria Review Times, April 5, 2007
  25. ↑ Jennifer Feehan, "Fostoria police chief is acquitted: Judge tries to clarify matters in tampering case", Toledo Blade, May 16, 2007
  26. ↑ Ex-stripper found guilty in fraud psychology case by Megan Tench and Andrew Ryan, The Boston Globe , May 4, 2007.
  27. ↑ Also see "Fake diploma", Fox 25 Undercover, Fox News, Boston, May 18, 2005, for the story of her indictment in 2005.
  28. ↑ "EDS loses vital court case against BSkyB" Jan 27, 2010
  29. ↑ "Key EDS witness bought internet degree," iTnews, Jan 29, 2010
  30. ↑ Staff, KLTV Digital Media. "Smith County sheriffs deputy, public information officer suspended indefinitely." Home WLOX-TV Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula, Mississippi - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi. Raycom Media. November 19, 2014. Accessed June 13, 2017. http://www.wlox.com/story/27427417/smith-county-sheriffs-deputy-public-information-officer-suspended-indefinitely%5B%5D.
  31. ↑ Staff, KLTV Digital Media. "Smith County deputy resigns, surrenders license." wave3.com-Louisville News, Weather & Sports. Raycom Media. January 13, 2015. Accessed June 13, 2017. http://www.wave3.com/story/27838384/smith-county-deputy-resigns-surrenders-license%5B%5D.
  32. ↑ Staff, Tyler Morning Telegraph. "Settlement reported in lawsuit charging Sheriff Larry Smith with retaliation." Tyler Morning Telegraph. T. B. Butler Publishing Co., Inc. January 9, 2015. Accessed June 13, 2017. http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News Local/211665/settlement-reported-in-lawsuit-charging-sheriff-larry-smith-with-retaliation.

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.