Washington State Slams A Berne Grad

Teachers Profit From Illegitimate College Degrees
Chris Halsne KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Investigative Reporter
POSTED: 3:07 pm PST November 8, 2004
UPDATED: 4:54 pm PST November 8, 2004
SEATTLE -- A KIRO Team 7 Investigation exposes Washington teachers who buy illegitimate college degrees.

They can profit. You pay!

Worse yet, Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne discovers a loophole that technically makes this legal.

The state Superintendent's office gladly approves automatic pay increases for teachers who complete their masters or doctorate. I've discovered, however, the state does not routinely check to see if the degrees are from real or certified universities.

We tracked down some educators who are either getting more money, or more respect, than they deserve.

Dr. Kevin Evoy is principal at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Olympia. His advanced education degree from Berne University in beautiful St. Kitts, Virgin Islands helps his reputation, his job standing and his pay.

The trouble for him is that KIRO Team 7 Investigators discovered the doctorate is a bit fishy. Federal officials tell KIRO Team 7 Investigators this "college" isn't much more than a beachfront Internet course located on the shores of a Caribbean Island.

Halsne: "Did you go to classes down there in St. Kitts?"
Evoy: "Yeah"
Halsne: "How many? How long were you down there?"
Evoy: "Uh, a month. Correspondence, Internet and all that stuff for a couple years."

But Evoy didn't just use the degree to further his knowledge. He submitted his illegitimate doctorate to the state, so he could get thousands of dollars in extra pay.

"If I had ambitions of using a PhD to further my career, that's not why I did it and that's not my ambition. But I understand someone else in my position, that using it that way might be a lot more disappointed than I am," Evoy said.

Evoy is now paying that money back -- money he wasn't entitled to.

 

Copyright, anyone?

 

Shows very high standards of journalism, don't it - 'buys illegitimate degree'.

It appears to me that the receipient of the degree earned his degree through distance learning and one month residence study - similar or even better than some 100% distance RA degrees!

And student paid a fee for his tuition.

And 'illegitimate' when the degree is recognized by the Department of Education of St Kitts and UNESCO via university membership with AIU.

I have no agenda or interest in Berne, but I do object to sloppy, sensationalized and inaccurate reporting.

The truth is that the teacher probably required a RA or equivalent degree to get his pay rise, and Berne didn't provide that.