Rochville University

Last updated
Rochville University
Rochville University logo.gif
MottoRedefine Your Future
TypeOnline diploma mill
Active2001–2012
CampusNone
Website rochvilleuniversity.org

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" [1] whose degrees may not be used in Texas. [2] The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization lists it as "fake". [3] Its operation is believed to be centered in Pakistan, [4] and its diplomas and degree certificates have been mailed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. [5] 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". [6]

Contents

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board indicated in 2006 that Rochville, Belford University, and the agencies from which they claimed accreditation appeared to be operated by the same individuals. [7] In 2012, a U.S. District Court ordered Belford University, Rochville University's sister operation, shut down and its founder pay $22.7 million in damages. [8]

Accreditation status

Rochville University has claimed to be accredited by various organizations, but none are recognized higher education accreditors. These have included the International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities (IAAOU), the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA), the Board of Online Universities Accreditation (BOUA), and the World Online Education Accrediting Commission (WOEAC). The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reported that Rochville University and the accreditation boards appeared to be operated by the same individuals. [7] According to its website, the BOUA has accredited only one other institution, Ashwood University,[ citation needed ] which is believed to be Rochville University's sister operation.[ citation needed ]

Because Rochville University is not accredited by any recognized accreditation bodies in the United States, its degrees and credits are unlikely to be acceptable to employers or academic institutions. [9] Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include Oregon, [3] [10] Michigan, [11] Maine, [12] North Dakota, [10] New Jersey, [10] Washington, [3] [ dead link ] [13] Nevada, [3] [ dead link ] [14] Illinois, [3] Archived 2016-12-24 at the Wayback Machine Nevada statute NRS 394.700</ref> Indiana, [3] [ dead link ] and Texas. [9] [15] Many other states are also considering restrictions on the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions. [16]

Criticism and controversy

Claims have been made that Rochville University is a fraudulent diploma mill. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]

According to GetEducated.com, an online learning consumer group, Rochville University operates under various aliases, including affordabledegrees.com. [23] [24]

In 2009, GetEducated.com purchased an online MBA for its mascot, a dog named Chester Ludlow. The news release indicates that $499 and a resume were submitted to Rochville in May and a week later the degree with a packet of corresponding paperwork arrived from Dubai showing that the dog graduated with a 3.19 G.P.A. In addition to the MBA diploma and transcripts, Chester received a "certificate of distinction in finance and a certificate of membership in the student council". [5] [25]

In 2005, investigators for CNN purchased a master's degree in chemistry from Rochville in the name of Abu Salsabil Hassan Omar, presumably an identity of their own creation. Attempts to find a physical presence for Rochville failed. Its website was operated from Sarasota, Florida. The diploma received by the network was mailed from the United Arab Emirates. [26]

There have also been concerns that some people may have used degrees obtained from Rochville and other online universities for fraudulent purposes. On 22 February 2007 Yorkshire police announced plans to re-investigate 700 court cases after the conviction of Gene Morrison, "a fraudster who conned the courts for three decades by posing as a forensic expert." [27] Morrison was convicted of 22 counts involving his claimed education, including four counts of obtaining money by deception, seven counts of attempting to obtain property by deception, eight counts of perverting the course of justice or intending to pervert the course of justice, and three counts of perjury. [27] The court ruled that his BSc degree in forensic science, a master's degree with excellence in forensic investigation and a doctorate in criminology from Rochville University in the United States were gained "not from years of study and learning, but from accessing a website, www.affordabledegrees.com, and paying a fee." [27]

In 2011, firefighters who had purchased degrees from diploma mills to get raises were having their raises revoked. Rochville University was listed as one of the institutions that had provided degrees. [28] In Guam, a Rochville online degree was determined to be inadequate to meet the educational requirements for the position of chief of police. [29]

Connection with Belford University

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board indicated in 2006 that Rochville, Belford University, and the agencies from which they claimed accreditation appeared to be operated by the same people. [7] In August 2012, a U.S. District Court ordered Belford University, Rochville University's sister operation, shut down and its founder, Salem Kureshi, pay $22.7 million in damages. [8] Court documents revealed that Belford University was run by 30-year-old Salem Kureshi from his apartment in Karachi, Pakistan. [4] [30] The court found that Kureshi "operates a sophisticated internet ripoff scheme through various websites, which falsely represent the existence of an accredited and legitimate high school, whose diplomas will be widely accepted by employers, professional associations, other schools, colleges and universities." [31]

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

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.

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 accredited vendor of distance education that used a postal address in the United Kingdom. It is associated with the Instantdegrees.com website.

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.

The International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities (IAAOU) is a self-styled "accreditation" board based in the United States. It has no status with the United States Department of Education (USDE) or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Without USDE and CHEA recognition, its "accreditations" are essentially meaningless.

Almeda University was an unaccredited for-profit online university registered on the Caribbean island of Nevis. It offered illegitimate degrees including online certificate programs, general "Life Experience Degrees", and doctorates in religion and theology. Almeda was accredited by the Council for Distance Education Accreditation, the Interfaith Education Ministries (IEM), and the Association for Online Academic Excellence (AOAEX), none of which were recognized by the United States Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Almeda University is widely regarded as a diploma mill. It was owned and operated by Pakistani software company Axact.

The University of NorthWest is an unaccredited degree mill based in the United States.

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 from the American University in London.

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>

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.

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. ↑ "Diploma Mill Police". GetEducated.com. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  2. ↑ "Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas". Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Unaccredited Colleges". Oregon Office of Degree Authorization. 2012-10-05. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Rogalski, Jeremy. "Alleged diploma mill program traced to Pakistan". KHOU 11 News I-Team. KHOU.com. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  5. 1 2 Dog Earns Online MBA, GetEducated.com, September 21, 2009
  6. ↑ Walsh, Declan (17 May 2015). "Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions". New York Times . Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Malisow, Craig (July 20, 2006). "First Degree Fraud". Houston Press .
  8. 1 2 The Googasian Firm, P.C. "Belford Class Action Lawsuit" . Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  9. 1 2 Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  10. 1 2 3 State mulls online learning Archived January 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine by the Associated Press, Billings Gazette , January 30, 2005
  11. ↑ Colleges and Universities not accredited by CHEA Archived June 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , Michigan Education and Children's Services
  12. ↑ Accredited and Non-Accredited Colleges and Universities, "Maine's List of Non-Accredited Post-Secondary Schools"
  13. ↑ Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board Archived January 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , Washington Consumer Information
  14. ↑ Use of False or Misleading Degrees
  15. ↑ 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
  16. ↑ "Is Oregon the only state that disallows use of unaccredited degrees?". Oregon Office of Degree Authorization. 2012-08-30. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2008.
  17. ↑ Willson, Nicole. "Online Diploma Mills: Don't Be Fooled". Top MBA Connect. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  18. ↑ Diploma Mills: Purchase Fake Credentials, by Kim Rahn, The Korea Times, August 22, 2007
  19. ↑ Officer has to pay back raise after degree-mill probe, by Aisling Swift, Naples Daily News, May 21, 2006
  20. ↑ ‘Diploma mill’ suit settled by boro, cop Archived October 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine by John Dunphy, East Brunswick Sentinel Suburban, 5 May 2005
  21. ↑ Malisow, Craig. "First-Degree Fraud". The Houston Press. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  22. ↑ LAWSON, JESSICA. "Diploma mills: How to sniff out a scam". Military Times. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  23. ↑ , GetEducated.com, June 9, 2001
  24. ↑ , AffordableDegrees.com, June 9, 2011
  25. ↑ Chronicle.com, Unmuzzling Diploma Mills: Dog Earns M.B.A. Online, Chronicle of Higher Education , September 23, 2009
  26. ↑ "CNN.com - Transcripts" . Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  27. 1 2 3 "700 court cases thrown into doubt by fraudster". Yorkshire Post. 22 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  28. ↑ Robert Lewis, The Public Eye: 'Diploma mill' degrees for firefighters cost city $50,000, grand jury says Archived 2009-10-19 at the Wayback Machine , Sacramento Bee , July 9, 2009
  29. ↑ Steve Limtiaco, Palacios: Scrutinize GPD applicants [ permanent dead link ], Pacific Daily News, June 16, 2010
  30. ↑ "McCluskey v. Belford University" (PDF). Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  31. ↑ "McCluskey v. Belford University" (PDF). Retrieved 25 February 2013.
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