A legal degree in a couple of days?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Dennis, Jan 2, 2004.

Loading...
  1. Dennis

    Dennis New Member

    Just hit upon an ad on the Internet that promises a legal degree in a matter of days. To me, that looks a little bit suspicious. Does somebody know more about the service they offer and their website:

    http://www.instantdegrees.com/main.htm

    Anyway, what do they possibly mean by terms like "verifiable", "registered" and "legal"?

    Dennis
     
  2. Kirkland

    Kirkland Member

    Plays to those motivated by something for nothing and our ability to rationalize. No coursework implies no work. Clearly a front for degree mills. Notice, no schools are mentioned...gives the impression of hiding like rats. "Verifiable" is a rationalization... look at the method (write and someone will respond). "Registered"... with whom, and where, for what? "Legal" ...this has a wide interpretation, the "school" may be legally registered as a corporate entity (business license e.g. to sell books) but an institution for higher learning... ho ho!
     
  3. I know someone who purchased a "degree" from this place with no CV, exam, class attendance or other proof of knowledge - it's either a mill itself or is some sort of clearinghouse for mills. I can't remember the name of the "university" she graduated from, but it wasn't something that I immediately recalled as a mill, unlike a school such as Concordia.

    My opinion of their definition of "legal" is that they work with organizations in countries that have very loose registration/operation requirements.

    As to "verifiable", my opinion of this is that they will verify that a person "graduated" from this school upon receipt of a written request from the "graduate".



    Some interesting comments from their site...

    "Under Retro-Active Graduation a degree can be dated any month between August of 1994 and the present day"

    "...will not be useful for credit transfer purposes, this includes using the degree as a "stepping stone" to a higher degree or other post graduate programs"

    "...it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the possession and use of a non-nationally accredited degree is commensurate with local legislation before ordering"

    "All degrees available thru us are non-nationally accredited and if you feel that you require a degree with specific accreditation, then you should not apply"
     
  4. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

    Dennis wrote:

    > To me, that looks a little bit suspicious.

    Why only "a little bit"? When they say "You also agree to the legally binding Confidentiality Contract which prevents your or anybody else from directly or indirectly disclosing the link between the awarding institution and instantdegrees.com", they know that you know that they're a diploma mill.

    > Does somebody know more about the service they offer and
    > their website:


    The domain is 5 years old, and California-based:
    Here is someone shilling for it on Usenet back in August 2001:
    http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=cf7186b2.0108191355.749cbbc%40posting.google.com

    Read their testimonials page; it's hilarious.
    http://www.instantdegrees.com/continue.htm
     
  5. jlindseyjr

    jlindseyjr New Member

    At least they tell you that much.
     
  6. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

  7. roysavia

    roysavia New Member

    This outfit's main objective is to cater to those who only want letters after their name. Clients are probably interested in having a title rather than an education. Accreditation and utility is insignificant to those who need a "quick fix" in order to gain a little recognition.

    If a state or country has very loose registration/incorporation requirements, these organizations can operate for years without government audits or inspections.
     
  8. Dennis

    Dennis New Member

    [

    Read their testimonials page; it's hilarious.
    http://www.instantdegrees.com/continue.htm [/B][/QUOTE]

    It seems to be a very interesting idea, Mark. Never thought that even a degree from a diploma mill can help you so much along. You get more dates, more loans, more customers, you get a better treat at the airport check-in and your relatives are able to die being proud of you. Maybe, we have underestimated on this forum the value of mill degrees :).

    Dennis
     
  9. galanga

    galanga New Member

    more info is here...

    ...http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/oregon_north_dakota/index_or.html#instantdegrees. From the site several months ago:

    G
     
  10. George Brown

    George Brown Active Member

    You will find that the 'degrees' are from Bridgewater University, Canterbury University and my all time favourite, Earlscroft University.

    Cheers,

    George
     
  11. Lawhopes

    Lawhopes New Member

    this just kills me!

    When I saw this post I immediately went over to the site to see what the heck it was all about. Ever since then, I have been rolling on the floor laughing. This just absolutely KILLS me!! For somewhere between $150-$210, I am tempted to buy a degree here just to have a huge, private laugh at how gullible society is today. Laughter IS the best medicine, and I would never stop laughing at the people who believed I had a Ph.D. Of course I would never use it in college applications and job opportunites; but at banks and credit card apps. and other situations like that, it might actually get you better service. I wonder how many people would believe it in my case if I had a Ph.D. after my name, I am only 18...

    Steven
     
  12. Interesting that Bridgewater and Canterbury aren't on Oregon's or the Australian list of mills.
     
  13. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

    George Brown writes:

    > You will find that the 'degrees' are from Bridgewater
    > University, Canterbury University and my all time favourite,
    > Earlscroft University.


    That's quite a set!

    Bridgewater University momentarily stumped Dr John Bear:
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10637

    Nobody on this board had any info on Canterbury University:
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8104

    George Brown received a $4,000 cheque from Earlscroft University for his legal costs:
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9907
     
  14. ianmoseley

    ianmoseley New Member

    www.instantdegrees.com currently seems to be registered in Vancouver.

    The terms and conditions page contain the statement that

    "Neither the Client nor any associated person is going to use any information, documents or products obtained through InstantDegrees.com to commit a crime or deceive authorities"

    This is subject to $100,000 dollar penalties with a requirement to have the case heard in Gibraltar.

    I doubt that the site owners copuld rely on that term, especially if their documents are used by some terrorist group to gain false identification!

    It also says:-

    "The Client certifies and warrants on pain of perjury that all the following are true"
    ...
    "Neither the Client nor any associated person is a law enforcement officer or investigator acting in that capacity, nor acting on behalf of a law enforcement agency. Neither the Client nor any associated person is obtaining documents or products to use as evidence in any type of civil or criminal investigation."
    ...

    Quite apart from the fact that this is not on oath, and perjury does not apply, the paragraph could be taken as evidence of criminal intent and might (in our jurisdiction) be considered evidence of the offence of obstruction.

    I also suspect that several of these conditions would be unenforceable in Europe under the provisions of the Unfair Contract Terms Directive.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 6, 2004
  15. HRMaven

    HRMaven New Member

    Bridgewater


    I was surprised by that as well. Does anyone have any information on Bridgewater University? I hired a guy in February with a Mechanical Engineering degree from Bridgewater. I spent one month trying to prove that it is bogus, even going as far as contacting the British consulates in NYand DC. I've been unable to discover anything definitive. The thing is, the position is in management and requires a degree. I turned down hundreds of applicants who had the work experience, but not the education. Finally had to hire a recruiter for this guy and had to pay him a fee of $17,500 for a person who probably is not degreed.
     
  16. HorsinAroundTx

    HorsinAroundTx New Member

    Not to mention a TV gig to push you out into the limelight... according to the smoking gun, the "therapist" on TV's reality show "The Swan" has a bit of fiction hanging on her wall...

    http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0514041swan1.html
     
  17. Mike Albrecht

    Mike Albrecht New Member

    Re: Bridgewater

    There is a site that can show valid UK universities (does not show invalid - also note it is apparently not ilegal to sell degrees oversea in the UK, but it is illegal to sell to UK residents).

    See thread

    For
     

Share This Page