I am a human resources rep and I have a candidate that is claiming a degree received from Columbia State University. I have done some research and found that the university was a "diploma mill". Does anyone have any information as to whether it is still in existence or not? Is there a good place that I can go to research CSU further? Were these diplomas just paid for with no actual work required? Any information you can supply would be of great help. Thanks for your time and assistance!!
It was a total scam. Their moto was "Get your degree in less than 28 days." Fake transcripts would be sent to employers and the more money you paid the better your fake grades would be. In 1997 Pellar (the convicted con-artist owner) was featured on 20/20 hiding out on his yacht in Ensenada, Mexico. IMHO, anyone claiming a degree from CSU is almost assuredly taking part in a ripoff scam themselves. They just have to know that it was all fake and are just hoping that they won't get caught.
Columbia State was operated under the very lenient laws of Louisiana. Its operator, Ron Pellar, was busted by the FBI for running this diploma mill. It was shut down. Apparently, some students did submit academic work for their degrees, but there were no academic processes (i.e. teaching, grading, curricula) in place. Other customers simply purchased their "degrees." A search of this board may turn up some threads regarding this operation. A search using Google turns up a slew of hits. This is what John Bear said about this operation on AEDNET: This is the biggest and most ambitious diploma mill to come along in years. Totally fraudulent. No campus, no faculty, no accreditation. (The "campus" photo on their catalog cover is of Notre Dame in Paris.) Since I put up a very detailed expose on my website, I have heard, depressingly, from hundreds of people who have lost huge sums of money buying worthless degrees. The only good news is that the perpetrator, ex convict Ronald Pellar, goes on trial in federal court this month for one of his earlier scams (a fake cosmetology school). And the media are finally starting to take notice. Consumer Reports has a warning (November issue, inside back cover). ABC news in San Diego (where the owner really lives) has run four segments, including the purchase of a Doctor of Aviation degree for their office bird. The real villains here, however, are the media. What can Time, Newsweek, The Economist, Utne Reader, Inc., Discover, USA Today, and others be thinking when they accept and run ads headlined "Doctorate in 27 days!" John Bear, Ph.D. (Michigan State University, 1966) (Diploma mill consultant to the FBI from 1979 to 1992) Your candidate may or may not have done sufficient work to earn his/her degree (likely not, though). But certainly that work was not evaluated, nor were his/her studies guided by faculty (there were none). Finally, I would find it difficult to believe this person does not know of these things. Presenting one's self as a "graduate" of this operation is misleading. It is for you to decide if it is also disqualifying. Rich Douglas
Some references: Drive-Thru Degrees: Unaccredited Degree Holders Fool Public Good Morning America, May 16, 2001 http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/GoodMorningAmerica/GMA010516Diploma_mills2.html "...Columbia State is not a college or university at all. It was a diploma mill that shipped out phony certificates until federal agents shut the operation down in 1998." DIPLOMA MILLS: THE $200 MILLION A YEAR COMPETITOR YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD John Bear, University Business, March 2000 http://www.universitybusiness.com/0003/diploma.html "Then there's lifelong con-man Ronald Pellar, undisputed king of the fraudulent school world. ... he hit the big time with his Columbia State University. Starting in the late 1980s from a Mail Boxes Etc. store in New Orleans and featuring a Ph.D. in 27 days-no questions asked-Columbia State University grew and grew. ..." It's possible that your candidate could have done some work, but that wouldn't have been required. ------------------ Kristin Evenson Hirst DistanceLearn.About.com
A search at www.google.com will find many articles on this fraud. My article for University Business magazine has information as well: http://www.universitybusiness.com/0003/diploma.html Columbia State founder Ronald Pellar is still in federal prison for his previous phony school (plus jury tampering, escape from custody, and a few other matters), while (I believe) the Feds continue to prepare their case against Columbia State, which apparently took in over $70 million in 4 or 5 years. John Bear www.degree.net
The way you earn a CSU is degree is as follows-You receive a book on the subject that you want you degree in. You write a summary of each chapter, about 1 page long. Each chapter is listed on you transcipt as a class. If your book has 20 chapters than your transcript show you took 20 courses. I know someone that took the "short route" and never even tried to use the degree. One week after they "earned" this degree, the local news did a story about a dog getting a dergree from CSU. They just wasted the money and learned a lesson
Didn't they also weigh the "thesis" done by the "students" to determine the grade?! The heavier, the higher the grade! Funny! S/F MB
