Sunday August 23, 2009

Unmasking degree mills and bogus varsities

SO you have been accepted into California Southern University? Don’t celebrate yet.

Although the university may sound like the renowned research institution University of Southern California, it is not accredited by the official accreditation agencies in the United States. It may even be a degree mill.

Similarly, University of Hawaii is a major university. Honolulu University, however, is not. Try to figure out which of the following is legitimate: the European Business School in London or the European Business School in Cambridge?

It is difficult to work out which institutions are genuine and which are bogus because the names are similar. The same applies to accreditation bodies – the Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a respected body; not so the Council for International Education Accreditation.

To complicate matters further, today’s quick-buck degree mills have more sophisticated operations, complete with “professors” and alumni. Here are a few of the infamous organisations:

Irish International University

Soon after Malaysia’s Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) blacklisted the institution in July 2005, it changed its name to Isles International University. It has been operating for about a decade and boasts a long list of faculty and students stretching from Europe to Asia. It still maintains an office in Petaling Jaya.

Dublin Metropolitan University

It also has an international office in the Klang Valley. It was investigated by the Irish government for illegally calling itself a university without the approval of Ireland’s Department of Education and Science. The Irish government is looking at measures to deregister institutions like this, which are legally registered as business entities.

Cambridgeshire University

In 2005, an MBA student was refunded her tuition fees of RM13,672.34 by education provider NetAcademy Sdn Bhd, which offered courses from both Irish International University and Cambridgeshire, after she won her case at the Consumer Claims Tribunal. Cambridgeshire University has been blacklisted by the Government.

Preston University

Preston University is a private for-profit unaccredited university with allegedly 30 affiliated campuses throughout the world. Preston was based in Wyoming but moved to Alabama in 2007 after the state’s crackdown on diploma mills. In 2009, the Alabama state administration ordered it to cease operations for failing to meet its educational standards. Preston University is now based in Los Angeles, California.

Newport University

Newport University claims to be based in California and has more than 20 branches all over the world, including Belgium, China and Malaysia. It is not recognised by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Pacific Western University

Pacific Western University (Hawaii) was closed in 2006 by the State of Hawaii for not being accredited by any accreditation body recognised by the state. Its degrees and credits might not be acceptable to employers or other institutions.

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