Barrington University

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by John Spies, Aug 4, 2005.

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  1. John Spies

    John Spies Member

    I received a resume with this listed and I think it is a diploma mill? Can't find much info so I thought I would cut to the chase and ask here!
    thanks!
     
  2. Pilot

    Pilot Member

    It's not a RA university but it does not seem to be a diploma mill.
    http://www.barrington.edu/index.cfm?Page=Recognition&Tab=1&Nav=1
    Barrington University is licensed by the Department of Education in the State of Alabama, Title 16-46-1 through 10. As a part of our licensing procedure and licensing renewal process, Barrington must submit materials to the Department of Education for review including, but not limited to, curricula, course materials, qualifications of Faculty Mentors and administrative staff, methods of operations, and financial records proving stability. Additionally, Barrington University submits to on-site inspections by the Alabama Department of Education.

    Barrington University is licensed by the Department of Education as a post-secondary university in the State of Alabama. Barrington University is a member of several academic organizations including the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). The goals of the USDLA are to provide national leadership in the field of distance learning and to promote the use of distance learning.

    Barrington University is a member of:

    United States Distance Learning Association
    Mobile Alabama Chamber of Commerce
    Latin Chamber of Commerce
    Barrington University’s recognition and License in the United States allows its international students to have there Barrington University degree attested by Legal Services in Washington D.C. The attestation allows further recognition of the degree to students working abroad or as expatriates in over 90 countries. This attestation is not only sealed by the U.S Embassy, it is also stamped for legitimacy by the country the student resides in for official seal of recognition. .

    The courses and curriculum we provide consist of college level material. Our mission is to provide mid-career professionals with a flexible and affordable way to complete their degree. We will accept transfer credits from any accredited university, community college or technical institution regardless of how long ago the courses were taken. We charge a flat rate for tuition, so the number of transfer credits we accept is immaterial and we accept a certain amount of life and work experience as credit towards your degree. Barrington University is an open enrollment school with a study at your own pace philosophy. These run counter to the requirements of the accrediting bodies.

    The quality of our degree is validated by some of the largest corporations in the world who offer tuition reimbursement to their employees when they earn their degree from Barrington University. Among them are Pfizer, Nortel, FedEx, Chase, Citibank, UPS, Lucent, Office Depot, and many more. There are certain circumstances when an accredited degree may be required. Please check with your local licensing agency or organization for additional information.

    Barrington University is Fully Audited Institution:

    Barrington University retains an independent auditing firm. The University maintains a quarterly review and an annual audit. During the audit, the independent review consists of monitoring the curriculum, faculty, financial data, and corporate compliance.
     
  3. novemberdude

    novemberdude New Member

    Notes:

    1- I'm not an expert, hopefully one of the experts will chime in.

    2- You might want to read this article:

    http://www.spionline.org/NYPOST_6-7-04.htm

    3- I seem to recall reading that it's a mill.

    4- If I'm wrong refer to number 1.
     
  4. Pilot

    Pilot Member

  5. RXI

    RXI New Member

    Barrington University has been on the DETC New Applicant list since January, 2005.

    http://www.detc.org

    RXI
     
  6. RXI

    RXI New Member

    About Barrington and DETC.

    I guess I should point out this means nothing except they have been on the list for about 8 months and are still on it. It means they want DETC to evaluate them and could take, maybe two years befor the evaluation is over. It does NOT mean they are accredited. It simply means they are on the list.

    RXI
     
  7. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Licensing in Alabama has no rigor. It also has no meaning academically.

    There is nothing to indicate that licensing in Alabama distinguishes a legitimate, unaccredited school from a diploma mill.

    Barrington, as quoted in the post above, maintains an auditing function. This, too, has no meaning academically.

    DETC has no candidacy status. Applicants enjoy the exact same status as non-applicants: none. One might infer that, because Barrington remains an applicant that this is somehow a good sign. (I guess because DETC hasn't yet rejected them.) Maybe. I'm not sure I'd make that leap. As we've seen, DETC will reject some applicants.

    None of this is meant to make any judgments about the quality of education offered by Barrington. And as I've documented, holders of degrees from unaccredited schools enjoy some acceptance of such degrees in the workplace. It is the reasons why that should give one pause.
     
  8. ianmoseley

    ianmoseley New Member

  9. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Re: Franchising again

    I'd have to think this approach to marketing would not be acceptable to DETC, if Barrington is even an applicant anymore. The RA's frown upon commissioned enrollment activities--one would think DETC would as well?
     
  10. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    Isn't Barrington the diploma mill that was selling stock a couple years ago? Perhaps I'm confusing it with someplace else?
     
  11. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    From the South Florida Business News
    October 27, 2000 print edition

    Alabama threatens to pull university license

    by Ed Duggan

    Alabama officials are threatening to revoke the license of Barrington University, the flagship school of Virtual Academics.Com...of Boca Raton.

    The company failed to notify Alabama that the university, which is registered and incorporated in the state, changed ownership in January. When a state inspector checked, Barrington University also had moved out of its listed headquarters at A&S Answering & Secretarial in Mobile.

    Official scrutiny of the virtual learning conglomerate comes on the heels of a $408,546 year-end loss for the dot.com company, according to the firm's most recent SEC 10(k) filing.

    (much text on the Alabama warning)

    In February, Virtual Academics negotiated a private placement of 2.2 million shares for $990,000 to Gilder Funding Corp., 12000 N. Bayshore Drive, Suite 210, North Miami. A reporter visiting the address found a residential condominium.

    (article elaborates on their financial situation)

    A search of online state records shows a Gilder Funding Corp. at the North Miami address was registered in 1995, but dissolved by the state in 1997 for failure to file an annual report and pay the annual corporation fee. A call to information found no telephone listing for Gilder Funding Corp. in North Miami.

    (article goes on to describe another involvement with H. C. Wainwright, a Boston investment banking firm, establishing what Bettinger called a "$30 million line of credit," but later said it might be as low as $5 million, and hadn't yet happened.)

    (The article goes on to explore Barrington's claimed accreditation, explaining that they could not find the accreditor at the two listed addresses they visited in Washington or Geneva.)

    The article continues:
    "Bettinger agreed that those offices had been closed but that a new office in Connecticut was being run by Frank Burroughs and Donald Grunewald."

    (Note: Burroughs has run the dubious Nobel University, and Grunewald the equally dubious Adam Smith University.)

    (The article goes on to point out quite a few more discrepancies between published stuff and apparent actual stuff: names, organizations, and places.)

    Virtual Academics stock traded as high at $7.50 earlier this year but was trading at $1.62 a share on Wednesday... The stock has a book value of slightly less than 3 cents a share.
    -------------------
    Here's an earlier article on them from the same publication:

    http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2000/10/16/story2.html
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 17, 2005
  12. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    I was trying to find out what happened to Barrington's parent company's stock. It seems that Virtual Academics changed its name in January 2003 to Cenuco, and its stock symbol from VADC to CNUO. And then in May 2004 it changed again to ICU, with a stock abbreviation of ICU. Cenuco seems to be in the wireless communication business. Wonder what's up?
     
  13. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    Thank you John, that was the diploma mill selling stock that I was thinking of. I also remember reading an article where the owners (a father son deal, IIRC) of the place was being interviewed and they were apparently lying up a storm about their own academic credentials and the accreditation claims for Barrington University. Definitely a diploma mill IMHO, the most interesting part of the story to me was the audacity of these fellows to sell stock in their diploma mill.
     
  14. dwell

    dwell New Member

    Barrington

    Unfortunately, I started taking courses at Barrington based on the information Pilot mentioned earlier. Not because he listed it. I received the same information and references when inquiring from Barrington representatives. It appeared legitimate. I purchased books, had assignments, exams, etc. A thesis is also required, even for the Bachelor degree. I wish I'd found this discussion board site before I spent the time and money on this program. Unfortunately, all my prior research into Barrington did not turn anything up. So much for Google. I noted that much of the referred web sites had information from a year and a half or more years ago, including the Alabama State threatening to pull their licensing. Does anyone know what is currently happening? Are there any current government actions against this so-called "university?" It's my understanding that they're still licensed in Alabama.
     
  15. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Re: Barrington

    The above post illustrates the folly of relying upon state licensure when determining the legitimacy of a school.

    No, no action will be taken against Barrington; they're legally constituted in Alabama, which ought to tell us all a thing or two.
     
  16. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    Re: Barrington

    You could have found out everything you needed to know about Barrington by checking here:

    http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html

    The Oregon web site should be required reading for anyone considering a distance education program. It would save one a lot of time and money.
     
  17. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Dwell
    Sorry to hear of your plight. It may not matter what is happening though because this is a degree you do not want. Check out Degreeinfo for lots of accredited options.
     
  18. Kirkland

    Kirkland Member

    These guys look like a sham to me. Their Barrington Academy of Higher Ed also appears to be a fabrication. They put my name on their list of members without my permission and when I wrote to their "international office" (listed on their website as 600 17th St., Suite 2800, Denver, CO 80202) to have them remove me ASAP, the letter was returned as "addressee unknown". That and life experience degrees... doesn't look good.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 15, 2005
  19. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    Whatever they may be doing in Connecticut is in my opinion under the radar, as was made very clear to me in their opinion both by a Connecticut Dept of Education official AND a person claimed to be connected to Barrington (who told me that I could correspond with him, but that I mustn't put a university name on the outside of the envelope because it was not legitimate in Connecticut, and he claimed that he had been in trouble over that).

    To Dwell: I'm sorry for your misadventure, but you have come to the right place to look for solid new choices. Best of luck to you.
     
  20. dwell

    dwell New Member

    Further news

    Out of curiosity, I did a little further checking on Barrington. Apparently, the individuals referred to in the links provided above are no longer owners of Barrington. The school is currently licensed with Alabama Dept. of Education and in good standing. I called the ADE to hear it from them. Barrington is also going through the accreditation process with DETC. A final visit/review is supposed to occur this December. Barrington expects to be approved sometime in early to mid 2006 as they have met requirements of DETC thus far. DETC told me they do not yet have final approval, but all is proceeding without any negative info. I'll be curious to see. It appears as though they may have tried to clean up the poor reputation the prior owners created.
     

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