If the state of California can take steps against a school such as Columbia Pacific, how can a school such as Acton Liberty University ( can be seen at www.actonliberty.org ) remain in operation?
I don't think that California would approve one of these "send in your resume, get a degree" deals. The state requires approved schools to have curricula that resemble those of accredited schools, at least on paper. And from looking at the Actonliberty "authority" page, it looks like they are coming as close as they can to saying that they are not state approved. So my impression is that this is probably illegal in California. How can it continue to operate? Well, a lot of illegal things happen here in California. The state authorities may not even be aware of it. And if they are aware of it, they may already have a big backlog of complaints to work before they get to it. I'm not sure that chasing fraudulent degree mills gets the attention it deserves, here or anywhere (except Oregon).
Good shot, Bill. Acton Liberty doesn't appear on the BPPVE website, which means it's not approved. Bear and Bear (2001, page 200) also state this. Acton's website doesn't mention any approving authority, other than themselves. (They really do. ) It has been true for a long time that California higher education authorities have had neither the will nor the funding to go after operations like this. Columbia Pacific got their attention because CPU was very, very large. Rich Douglas
This one is from their web site: If the degree you are looking for is not listed please contact [email protected] Imagine the dialog: I: What, you do not offer PhD in Metaphysics and Cheerleading today? Them: Yessir! Just one second! Here we go. Your diploma is ready. Would you like french fries with that?
Indeed, Acton Liberty does not appear to be a California-Approved institution, check BPPVE's site. http://app1.dca.ca.gov/bppve/school-search/ CFr
The three California Bureau for Private Postsecondary people I spoke to at the DETC convention a couple of weeks ago were, it seemed to me, properly contrite about the state of affairs in the state, specifically the number of unapproved and unaccredited schools currently operating, and the number of schools run from California but claiming their legitimacy from other states or nations. They said, wistfully, that there are plans afoot to review the whole situation, and there is some hope that a report or proposal out next year might address the issue and even include recommendations for action. Breath. Not holding mine. Recall that the biggest degree mill of the 1990s, Columbia State University, was run entirely from San Clemente, California, a fact known to the Attorney General and many others in Sacramento for at least four years. The fact that they had at least 16 employees in their San Clemente sweat shop, most of them undocumented aliens, no workers comp insurance, no business license, etc., was also known to the state, county, and city officials for year. Nothing whatever was done, until finally (as has been the case many many times before), the feds marched in (FBI) and closed them down. John Bear