John Bear asks for help on ACPCU (Hamilton's accreditor)

For my presentation at the big diploma mill workshop in Washington next week, I have been asked to discuss (among much else) the Hamilton University situation, with particular reference to their claimed accreditor, the American Council of Private Colleges and Universities (ACPCU).

As Mark Israel has pointed out, ACPCU does not make available the list of schools they have accredited. And I have been unable to find out who has registered their website, or where ACPCU is located (or claims to be located).

The website (www.acpcu.com) does say that they are "sponsored by the FION Fellowship family of theocentric nonprofit educational organizations" -- which is the same name that runs Hamilton -- so this is probably enough.

But if anyone happens to have more specific information or links, I'd love to hear about it, either here, or privately at: [email protected]

Thanks.

 

It's www.acpcu.org and it's decidedly opaque.

This http://www.fion.nl/fion.html appears to be a reputable tech ed consortium in the Netherlands--no trace of a connection to this FION. If the Netherlands thing is NOT legit, please correct my statement. The Wageningen Universiteit (ag and economics, mostly) looks normal, and it is the first thing on the Dutch FION.

 

Fion is also, apparently, a Chinese given name, and a French word for anus. Google sure is informative.

 

The toll-free number on ACPCU's website rings in Jackson, Wyoming. The org, however, is not incorporated in Wyoming -- under this name at least.

I think it's safe to build your lecture notes around what ACPCU is NOT!

 

What's in a dot?

Interestingly, http://www.acpcu.org./ leads to a page under construction, with the name "American State University". However, the address http://www.acpcu.org/ leads to a page with the name American Council of Private Colleges and Universities. Notice the first address has a period after org, and the second does not.

According to Request for Comment 1034, available at ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/std/std13.txt, an "absolute" domain name ends in a dot when it is typed by a user, and the interpretation of domain names that do not end in a dot "varies from
implementation to implementation".

A tracert command run on the address WITH or WITHOUT the final dot leads to amstu.edu [216.167.68.234]; the command was run in the DOS window of Windows 2000. This address displays a page that looks the same as http://www.acpcu.org./

Gerry Ashton

 

Re: What's in a dot?

Ownership info for amstu.edu


Domain Name: AMSTU.EDU

Registrant:
Higher Education Research Institute
2165 10th Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
UNITED STATES

Contacts:

Administrative Contact:
Jason Diskin
JaM Corporation
78-6980 Kaluna St Villa #137
Keauhou, HI 96740
UNITED STATES
(808) 324-4493
[email protected]


Technical Contact:
Same as above

Name Servers:
NS1.DN.NET
NS2.DN.NET

Domain record activated: 24-Apr-1997
Domain record last updated: 01-Nov-2000

 

The address in Hawaii is also shared by:

ISLAND FAMILY CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 808-732-5612
2165 10TH AVENUE, HONOLULU HI 96816

And

Alliance for Drama Education
2165 10th Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 732-0153

And there's a zoning variance request for that address:

Applicant : Honolulu Baha'i Spiritual Assembly (2001/VAR-58)
Agent : Lynne E. Hollinger
Landowner : The Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Honolulu
Location : 2165 - 10th Avenue - Palolo
Tax Map Key: 3-4-14: 23
Lot Area : 88,811 Square Feet
Zoning : R-5 Residential District (58,224 Square Feet)
P-1 Restricted Preservation District (30,587 Square Feet)
Request : A variance to allow an identification ground sign that is directly illuminated and encroaches into the required yard.

 

I came across this at http://starbulletin.com/98/02/09/news/kokualine.html

My neighbors and I are curious about American State University, which opened recently deep in Palolo Valley in the midst of a residential area. The sign at 2165 10th Ave. says "One University Center ... American State University. Higher Education Research Institute. FION Fellowship Chapel." Is this a legal use?

American State University is a non-profit religious organization founded in 1976 in Hawaii, said President R.G. Marn.

It is part of the FION Fellowship, an international religious group founded in 1943, that "follows a special Nature-directed mission of education."

According to the FION doctrine, there is one higher power that created and brings order to the universe. "Some may call this higher power God, while others may use different names. We refer to the higher power as Nature."

American State University has a conditional use permit from the city to operate as a church meeting facility, Marn said. It bought the facility from another church last October.

ASU offers religious correspondence courses and does not have students attending classes.

Marn declined to give information about its membership.

"But we do have a great deal of activity on our web site (fion.org)," he said.

ASU was originally on the Big Island and had offices in the Waterfront Plaza, Marn said. Meetings were held in various homes until the Palolo property was purchased.

 

I hadn't heard of the workshop. Who's the sponsor and is an agenda available?

 

Also of note Hamilton and Fion Fellowship share the same address in Evanston:

HAMILTON UNIVERSITY
University Center
100 Bear River Drive
Evanston, WY 82930 USA
Voice: 800-951-0857 (toll free)
Fax: 800-951-1189
International Voice: +307-739-8476
International Fax: +307-789-1760

Fion Fellowship Church
100 Bear River Dr
307-789-1690

 

Faith In the Order of Nature has a WY website FION

 

WOW! Did you see the quote at the top left???

The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?"
John 7:15

 

Thank you for all the very helpful information, posted here and sent privately.

David Boyd: "I hadn't heard of the workshop. Who's the sponsor and is an agenda available?"

-------------

It is being called a "Seminar" on degree mills, organized by the Office of Personnel Management's Investigative Services Division, at the request of some members of Congress and others. Attendees will be top HR and investigative people from a great many federal agencies and departments.

4-hour event, to be repeated twice, not open to the public, but some media people have been trying to get permission to attend. 1 1/4 hours from Allen Ezell, 1 1/4 hours from me, and the rest from people at the General Accounting Office and OPM.

Ezell will focus on what has been and is being done. I will give an overview of the history of the problem, then address what could be done, in 30-or-so categories: FBI, FTC, IRS, state agencies, accreditors, HR people, headhunters, media, resume services, UNESCO, Educause, ISO, ISPs, etc. etc.

Assuming I am not asked to sign some sort of nondisclosure agreement, I will make a report here.