Suffield University

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The subject of this article should not be confused with Sheffield University (formally the University of Sheffield) or Suffolk University
Suffield University
Type Unaccredited distance education
Website suffield-university.com

Suffield University (sometimes referred to as Suffield College and 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. [1] [2] [3] 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. [4]

Offering degrees for a fixed fee based on life experience is generally considered to be indicative of the institution being a diploma mill, and Suffield has been identified as such. In 2003, an article in The New Republic noted that in 2002 a fire department training commander had been "caught" with a degree in fire science from Suffield. The magazine described the university as a diploma mill "accredited" by "the bogus National Distance Learning Accreditation Council". [5] In 2004 an Indiana state board denied a firefighter's request to use a Suffield degree as a job qualification, stating that the institution "apparently ... is not a college" but rather a body that provides a transcript in exchange for a fee. [6] In 2004, one candidate's Suffield degree became an issue in the election campaign for mayor of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when the incumbent told voters that his opponent's master's degree came from an unaccredited school offering life experience degrees for $500. [7]

In 2004 the Hartford Courant reported that state authorities in Connecticut had ordered Suffield to cease operations. [8] The states of Oregon, Texas, and Maine have listed Suffield University as "operating illegally in Connecticut". [1] [2] [9] As of January 2014, an institution calling itself Suffield University is using the website domain suffield-university.com, which does not identify a geographic location. [10]

The person behind Suffield is also responsible for other unaccredited universities such as Redding University, Glendale University, Greenwood University and Bryson University. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

Saint Regis University sometimes styled as St. Regis University was a diploma mill operation that was one of about 120 connected institutions operated by an American fraud ring from about 1999 until 2005, when it was shut down by U.S. government authorities. The operation was known as "Operation Gold Seal".

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.

Hamilton University was an unaccredited institution based in Evanston, Wyoming. According to the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, it was first established in Hawaii as American State University. It has since been closed by court order in Wyoming and has relocated to the Bahamas under the name Richardson University.

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.

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.

<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.

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.

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.

Almeda University was an unaccredited for-profit online university registered on the Caribbean island of Nevis. It offered 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 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.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Unaccredited colleges Archived 2007-05-15 at the Wayback Machine , State of Oregon, Oregon Office of Degree Authorization
  2. 1 2 Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas, State of Texas, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  3. ↑ COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES NOT ACCREDITED, State of Michigan
  4. ↑ "Educational accreditation". US Department of Education. 16 October 2009.
  5. ↑ Risen, Clay (January 1, 2006). "The Scourge of Fake Diplomas: Degree Burns". The New Republic . Retrieved 2006-08-18.
  6. ↑ Indiana Board of Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education Minutes, July 19, 2004
  7. ↑ Challenger's win in S. Milwaukee may prove as thin as a slip of paper, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 2004
  8. ↑ State Puts Some Colleges on Its Dishonor Roll, by Robert A. Frahm, Hartford Courant, September 15, 2004
  9. ↑ Non-Accredited Colleges & Universities List, Department of Education State of Maine
  10. ↑ www.suffield-university.com http://www.suffield-university.com . Retrieved January 28, 2014.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ "Feds: Man sold $5M worth of bogus diplomas". 16 April 2014.
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