New wrinkle in Glencullen/Brentwick/et al

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Kristin Evenson Hirst, Apr 2, 2001.

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  1. A new wrinkle for this entity?

    I got e-mail from someone wanting to check it out; he got the standard "Obtain a prosperous future, money earning power, and the admiration of all." e-mail and when he called, was told that this was Glencullen University *and* that Glencullen is a member of the ECDOL (European Council for Distance & Open Learning). Thanks to John Bear, I was able to tell him that Glencullen was simply one of the more recent names of a sham.

    The website at http://www.ecdol.org/ looks nice at first glance -- but there's very little real info there, other than puffery such as "ECDOL is the most prestigious and comprehensive distance learning organisation in the world." If you click on ECDOL net, you get a page with a list with links of many legitimate European universities and distance learning organizations -- but also Brentwick University, Glencullen University, Shelbourne University.

    ecdol.org is registered to
    European Council for Distance & Open Learning
    196 High Road
    London, England N224HH
    GB
    Administrative Contact:
    Hudson, Dave [email protected]
    196 High Road
    London, England N224HH
    GB
    44 2089383550

    I haven't been able to find any reference to ECDOL other than on its own site and this:

    The Way to the Faux-Ivory Tower http://www.ardmoreite.com/stories/122900/opE_tower.shtml
    (typical expose of University of Devonshire that mentions "One Internet site lists 50 of these universities, all recognized by something called the European Council for Distance and Open Learning." and concludes: "I told Mr. Knight I wasn't about to pay $800 just so people could address me as 'doctor.' I had decided to buy a tiara instead and go for 'Your Royal Highness.'")

    Anyone else run across ECDOL?




    ------------------
    Kristin Evenson Hirst
    DistanceLearn.About.com
     
  2. Mark A. Sykes

    Mark A. Sykes Member

    Ah, the famous 196 High Road address. This belongs to the Cordon Bell address accomodation service (www.cordonbell.co.uk ). You'll notice that Brentwick University is at the same address. In fact, I bet the Brentwick people know the ECDOL crowd. Why, they might even be the same people. [​IMG]

    Mark A. Sykes
     
  3. JimCarlson

    JimCarlson New Member

    First as a Distance Educator in Europe (got my MA in ODE from the UK Open University) and living and working in DK the last 9 years I can say that I have not heard of ECDOL. There are a number of institutions with similar names however such as EADL & EDEN.

    I searched using Copernic 2000 and went after the address. On this one I found the address to be quite busy. Here are some findings:

    CNG W.N.Communications http://www.atlantica.co.uk/business/cngwncom.html
    Joseph Anderson http://www.andersonjoseph.com/

    Cybertel http://www.cybertel.co.uk/contact.htm

    Chalfont Holidays http://www.combes.swinternet.co.uk/naturist/pages/nuff/cont-l.htm

    The Bathroom Centre http://www.sottini.co.uk/products/showroom_locator/england/essex.html

    And the list goes on and on (73 in all) and they all use the exact same address in London. They seem to use the same set-up as Northwestern International University Ltd. Cyprus. A company that offers phone and mail forwarding services so businesses can give the appearance of having a physical location one place when in fact they have no one but simply pay to use the address and phone number.

    By the way NIU is getting more popular here all the time. A couple of newspapers here are looking into their "Danish campus".
     
  4. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    Great idea, all I could find were plastic tiara's at the party store. However, a tiara is a tiara.

    Your Royal Highness Bill [​IMG]
     
  5. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    ECDOL. This is a new one on me. What is especially interesting is that the people behind this massive fraud, who used to eschew mention of accreditation, are now featuring it. Clearly their market research showed this is what their victims want. For the record, here is the succession of names used by these people, starting with the University of San Moritz 3 or 4 years ago:

    U of San Moritz
    U of Palmers Green
    Harrington U
    Brentwick U
    Devonshire U
    Shelbourne U
    Glencullen U

    John Bear www.degree.net
     
  6. H. Piper

    H. Piper member

    Originally posted by John Bear:
    U of San Moritz
    U of Palmers Green
    Harrington U
    Brentwick U
    Devonshire U
    Shelbourne U
    Glencullen U


    Didn't you say there was a new flavour called "Kilcullen" as well, Doc?
     
  7. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

    Here's my best stab at a complete list of names used by the Romanian mill. Can anybody add or subtract names?

    Ashbourne
    Ashford
    Bedford
    Brentwick
    Carrington
    Devon
    Devonshire
    Dorchester
    Dunham
    Glencullen
    FD University
    GM - (Greater Manchester University Ltd.)
    Harrington
    Hartford University (NOT University of Hartford)
    Hartley
    (Kilcullen)
    Kingsfield
    Lafayette
    Landford
    Northfield
    Palmers Green
    Parkhurst
    Parkwood
    Ravenhurst
    San Moritz
    Shaftesbury
    Shelbourne
    Shepperton
    Stafford
    Strassford
    Suffield
    (Thornehill)
    Thornewood
    Westhampton
    Westbourne
    Wexford
    Wiltshire

    George Gollin, at http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/oregon_north_dakota/index_or.html, posits the existence of "clones" not part of the original operation, and specifically calls Wiltshire a clone. I don't know how he determines that, though.
     
  8. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    University of Switzerland
    Walsh
    Western Ohio
     
  9. ianmoseley

    ianmoseley New Member

    Parkhust University is in operation now at 23 Guilfod Street

    www.parkhurstuniversity.org

    Some colleagues have looked for the address but have been unable to identify the physical premises as yet. Several other degree mills now use this address.

    I get a small amount of amusement out of the fact that Parkhurst is one of Her Majesty's Prisons - attendance there would, no doubt, be very educational!
     
  10. galanga

    galanga New Member

    CBS on the ground

    CBS news tried to locate that Guilford Street address last July. The closest they came to finding it was 20 Guilford; the building appears in the middle of the video segment linked to this CBS page.

    G
     

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