http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/15/60II/main702058.shtml I was just reading over the Laura Callahan episode and that led me to the above article. Many might remember her as the former Homeland Security CIO who claimed 3 degrees from bogus Hamilton. She eventually quit after the "bomb" dropped on her. She stated that she thought the school was legit because it "claimed" accreditation. I MIGHT be able to buy her ignorance on accreditation but it seems a stretch to me that she figured a PhD dissertation was on the up and up with no supervision or coursework. She at least had some sort of understanding of college as she had a junior college degree. Anyone that high in the government should be fired for just not know anything anyway. However, I was wondering if I take it for granted that people know something about regional accreditation? I haven't discussed the topic with others, really. I feel one thing is certain. Anyone receiving a BS and an MS ought to know it's not legit if all they have to do is take an ethics questionnaire. Personally, I just think she took the fast and easy road to put something on a resume....and then got caught. I wonder if anyone would hire her, or has hired her, today? Maybe she went back to school to get a real degree or applied to Edison for a portfolio assessment. I'm pretty sure they would require more than an ethics quiz.
I find it incredible that people keep buying these degrees. I've looked at 100s of schools (or at least it seems that way) and the first thing I check is their accreditation. Then I check tuition which also tells scads about the school. I hate this scenario for the legitimate schools that haven't gone through accreditation yet or that aren't large enough to ever go through accreditation. AND there are some legitimate Bible Colleges who won't for their own reasons (not all of which I understand). There were two links on the CBS site you linked. The first was Oregon's site, which I'd seen. The second one was Michigan's site, which I hadn't seen. That site gives a list of bogus accrediting agencies. It's nice to have a list, but I was looking at a young school and checked out the accreditation they claimed. I didn't have to go through many googles to find they too were bogus. Consumers owe it to themselves to do a bit of research on something as important as a degree.
I don't see why not. The vast majority of Americans have never heard of her. She can come up with some excuse for leaving government and press on. She might have to take a more lowly job--especially without being able to claim her fake degrees. (Then again, what's to stop her from claiming them? The vast majority of Americans have not heard the story of Hamilton, either.)
Laura Callahan has been discussed here alot. By far my favorite article about her is this one. This has also been talked about alot here. And I would say (just my opinion, of course) that the answer to your question is, yes, you do take it for granted that people know something about regional accreditation.
I'm with Bing on this. What is Laura Callahan doing these days? I wonder if she has found a job somewhere else. Sulla
I don't know what she's doing now, but here's a link to a page with her photo. She's a winner of the 2003 "Federal 100" award. It describes her as "One of the 100 leaders who made a difference in federal information technology during 2002." I'll bet she did!
If I ever saw her resume across my desk I wouldn't hire her. Why? Because I know she took the easy and lazy way out. She might be the brightest IT manager ever but this one thing tainted it for her in my opinion. Who knows what else she might take the "lazy man's" way out on. I'm not sure that the use of a Hamilton degree isn't illegal either. Thing is, she must have known someone(or had the goods on someone). To even get to the point she did in government without an education? I worked in the military and then worked in the government. I never saw such. To me, it looked like she got the Hamilton diplomas after rising up in the ranks.
The "60 Minutes" story does give some insight on what she is doing now: "When she completed her Ph.D., she was known as Dr. Callahan. Will she let anyone call her doctor now? "No," she says. Since 60 Minutes Wednesday last broadcast this story, Laura Callahan has gone back to school, a real school. She says she's going to receive her master's degree later this summer though the University of Wisconsin's distance learning program." So, where did she get her bachelor's degree?
I have just read "Degree Mills: The Billion-dollar Industry That Has Sold Over A Million Fake Diplomas" by Allen Ezell and John Bear. It contains an in-depth look a the Laura Callahan story, as told by Laura Callahan herself. Fascinating reading...
1. No one ever accused her of being good at ther job. 2. That she resigned from her position at DHS does not mean another position was not found for her elsewhere in a Fed dept. - in fact I would be surprsied if one was not.
I and IV Ammendments. Apparently a person can be detained in perpetuity with basically no charges being brought. Allows the government to start "fishing" expeditions against citizens with little or no cause. Puts public information in the illegal category now. For instance, maps of railways, utility systems, etc. are now on lockdown. I guess they think terrorists can't hack a computer or steal maps. So, it basically hurts the average citizen. (also see the suits by AFGE and NTFE unions on unclassified info). Parts of the Patriot Act have already been ruled unconstitutional by federal judges. It allows the FBI to demand information from ISP's without judicial oversight or public review. I'm of the opinion that plenty is wrong with the Patriot Act and Homeland Security. How about doing a better job enforcing immigration laws already on the books. That's the best start. However, if we did that we would likely lose 80% of the Chinese spy students' revenues(tuitions) at schools. We don't want Illinois, Stanford, Harvard, Purdue, Texas, Indiana, North Carolina, Duke, and Michigan complaining anymore about revenue losses do we?
