Malawi Government Vs Columbia Commonwealth U.fraud Or Deception ?

People,

So far for over a year on this board, I have been a self appointed defender of struggling schools that I truly believed are sincere in their efforts. Well while that is that, I have very little tolerance for lies, deceit cheats corner cutting and alike. What is my point you wonder? Well read on but be advised that the message came from a Diplomat who is so upset to the extent that the usual diplomat style of talking did no reflect in this particular case. Here we go….

Dear Mr. Ade:

Thank you very much for your e-note regarding Columbia Commonwealth
University and its accreditation by the Government of Malawi. I did call
yesterday to discuss the issue with you, but I left a message on your voice
mail.

I have now had a chance to read the information that the "university" itself
has so generously provided on its web site as well as other sites that detail
its legal problems in California, its name-change and its move to Montana.
Despite the glowing claims, I would not trust an educational institution that
fails to obtain accreditation in its own state or region. I am saying this as
an academic who has taught in this country for many years and has been
involved with institutional assessment for accreditation purposes.

Further, it is rather disingenuous of the university to showcase a "Board of
Trustees" 99% of whose members are in Malawi! It is possible that the said
gentlemen may not even be aware that their names are being exploited this
way.

Clearly, sir, you can see that this is a very risky outfit. I would advise
you (. stuff…. DELETED} in this so-called "university"
whose courses don't even make any sense …STUFF. DELETED

Meanwhile, I will investigate the institution's connection with Malawi.
Although Mr. Banda used government stationary to communicate the
"accreditation" to CCU, I don't believe that the Malawi Government endorsed
it.

Should you need any other assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us. I
remain,

yours sincerely,

Frank M. CHIPASULA
Education Attaché

For AMBASSADOR



MALAWI EMBASSY
2408 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008

NOTE:
I will like you fellows to know that this gentle man holds a Doctorate degree, and He is the sole constituted authority for the Government of Malawi (in his capacity as the Education attaché at the Embassy) on ALL matters relating to education between the Malawi Govt. and any other entity here in the US (be it private or Governmental.) It is
Practically impossible for him not to be in the know before a deal on educational matters is struck between his country and any other entity, in fact He would have to be involved in the Negotiation right from the inception. He told me a lot of other stuff in my telephone chat with him. I can tell you that He is not happy that the name of his Country is being exploited in this manner .I received his reply after a week of my first contact with Him. Presumably, He has done some homework on this.

Well what do you think? Please spread it far & wide, no room for deceptive practices in American higher Ed.

Peace, Timmy Ade who is due for promotion to Sr. Status on this board.

 

Timmy Ade wrote, in relevant part:

 

Earon,
I've sent this info to you directly before reading your posting, I will
now see about sending the Raw stuff to you again.

Timmy.

 

Hi Timmy,
I received by email what you have written here.

But be clear that I want a copy of the original document from the Malawi education attache, with the letterhead or email equivalent of the letterhead intact.

What I am getting at here is that I want to be able to verify the authenticity of where it has come from. If you could "forward" his email to me that might suffice, or you could scan it and email to me as pdf attachment
[email protected].

I will post the original document on one of my websites and linke it from here so readers can also verify its authenticity for themselves.

Thanks,
Earon

 

Earon:
“What I am getting at here is that I want to be able to verify the authenticity of where it has come from

Timmy- Earon there should be no question as to the authenticity of this information as I have told everyone the source and the contact address. The mail I posted came from the Education attaché to the Embassy of the Republic of Malawi, in person of Dr. Frank Chipasulla. I don’t know how else you want to authenticate the information other than calling the Embassy and speak to The Man himself. You may even request that he put out an official statement from the Embassy to suit your purpose. I do not feel obligated to do that, more so that I have volunteered the source.


Earon--
I will post the original document on one of my websites and linke it from here so readers can also verify its authenticity for themselves.

Timmy—That is exactly what I do not want done. You see the whole message contained information that I considered personal and confidential. That is why I deleted certain stuff. Even then what I ‘ve made available is substantial enough for people to draw their own Conclusions and verification. I am sure that you will agree with me that we all have the civil obligation of exposing deceptions in whatever arena; I am convinced that I have done what is expected of a socially responsible fellow. Now if you need the phone number to the Embassy I will oblige. As a matter of fact here it is now 202-797-1007

Paece,
Timmy Ade.

 

Timmy replies, in relevant part, to Earon's request that he provide
a copy of the original document from the alleged malawi attache:


"That is exactly what I do not want done. You see the whole message contained information that I considered personal and confidential. That is why I deleted certain stuff. Even then what I ‘ve made available is substantial enough for people to draw their own Conclusions and verification. I am sure that you will agree with me that we all have the civil obligation of exposing deceptions in whatever arena; I am convinced that I have done what is expected of a socially responsible fellow. Now if you need the phone number to the Embassy I will oblige. As a matter of fact here it is now 202-797-1007"

Paece,
Timmy Ade.

Timmy,
The onus remains on you to back up the source of your statement with verifiable proof. The onus is not on me to do the work you need to do to provide credibility to your statements. If this alleged education attache is credible he should have no problem standing behind his statement; additionally the Malawian authorities can be contacted on the basis of his verified statement (original copy in hand) to find out how it is he is making such claims.

If you have elicited a statement from him in confidence, given that he is credible in the first place, you have no right to repeat it here. Your statement has no credibility at this point, and could well have negative implications for the alleged attache (if he is credible in the first place).

I have already informed CCWU's president Dr. Les Carr of your claims. Now put your cards on the table or withdraw from the game. Timmy, these kind of antics, unverified, cast suspicion on you and whatever your intentions may be, and on this forum for allowing such things to take place.

I re-extend my invitation to you to supply me with a copy of the original document sent to you by the alleged Malawian education attache. Once again my email is [email protected]
Thanks in advance,
Earon

 

Frank Chipasula is an internationally renowned poet. His credibility in the academic world is beyond question.

(He is not a bureaucrat, so I'm not sure why he is the Education Attache. Perhaps a way for a poet to pay the bills?)

 

The matter surrounding Timmy's announcement is looking very suspicious at this moment.
Earon

 

Earon

While I can understand your interest and concern about CPU/CCU accreditation, I think Timmy has been upfront and provided reasonable citation for posts to two internet boards. You have the option of verifying directly if you have doubts. I think it is unfair to be over critical in this situation.

 

I don't see what's suspicious about it. If there was personal information in the letter, I don't blame Timmy or not wanting it posted on the web.

You have the person's name and phone number, it should be a simple matter to verify what's been posted. Of course you have no obligation to do so, but if you don't, you (IMO) forfeit the right to question or criticize the accuracy of Timmy's information.

Considering the passion you have for the subject (CPU/CCWU), I would think you would have verified the letter immediately.


Bruce

 

Hi Bruce,
We obviously disagree. My position remains that it is up to Timmy to verify his claims. And if the material he is placing on the internet is confidential it shouldn't be there. Otherwise they are just claims without any credibility. That's my standard; I realize others may not have such standards. If I have the document I can take it to CCWU and say "what's going on here?" Then CCWU can take the document to whomever and do the same.
Earon

 

I think you're missing the point. It seems to me that certain parts of the letter are personal. That's why Timmy deleted them from his post, and doesn't want them posted on the web. This would be like Les Carr writing you a letter about CCWU, then writing "by the way, come by my house at 123 Main Street tomorrow". Obviously, you're not going to want that revealed, but the main portion of the letter is relevant.

I guess we do disagree in that I think Timmy has supplied enough information to verify his post. I know that if someone revealed this information about one of my alma maters, I'd be on the phone immediately, and probably write a follow-up letter as well. Your refusal to make a simple phone call on principle to verify something this important to you doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.


Bruce

 

Hi Bruce,
This conversation is primarily between Timmy and I,although I realize that this is a public forum where anyone can come in and say virtually anything in a covert way and not be accountable for it.

You are obviously attempting to distort the issue which I originally raised, that the onus is on Timmy to prove his allegations. This is common courtesy and practice in the real world and in courts of law. To make allegations, and then when challenged, expect the challenger to verify the allegations reeks of both disrespect for others and in addition, reeks of covert behavior. Is this the kind of culture of non-accountability that you are encouraging here (I am presuming that you are Bruce, one of the moderators)?

If Les Carr tells me CCWU is accredited I say, "Les, prove it". When he provides the document I begin to make my analysis (which I did). And I have been blatant with Carr that Malawi by itself just won't cut it, by my standards.

If I make a claim that I wrote a thesis of 380 pages for an M.S. with CCWU, you can be guaranteed it will be available (it's on the web). I won't be telling people to go looking for it somewhere.

If I say I'm taking courses at the Edinburg Business School, then I'll have evidence of that available as well.

One's word means little if it is not supported by something credible. Timmy has not provided sufficient evidence, by my standards, to support his claim. I don't care if he's talking about CCWU or TUI or TESC. It's all the same to me and its un-accountable, irresponsible, and downright covert. I realize we don't agree and I accept that but my opinions or my standards won't change.
Earon

 

If Timmy were in a court of law you would be correct Earon. In normal conversation or an internet posting, Timmy has gone above the needed citation requirements. I can definately understand why this is so important to you. In any case I wish you well.

 

Hi Dave,
My point, Dave, is that people need to be accountable for what they say. I continue to believe that Timmy's comments are not accountable and and furthermore they are somewhat passive-agressive. Timmy contacted me privately recently (without asking for confidentiality), stating that he was a fan of CCWU, wanted to refer many people to CCWU, and wanted to know if I had any news. I told him that might be some good news arriving this coming fall, but that he should tell his people to wait and see - I would not suggest CCWU at this juncture in time.

As for me I have safely moved on to EBS's MBA program and other unquestionable academic endeavors, in addition to writing projects with other people, all leading academics in their fields. With the exception of a few here, in my opinion there is little evidence of accountability for what is said on this forum. I have been watching it and its earlier incarnation since late 1995, and to be honest I find it discusting. People like Timmy seek to get their stripes by pleasing those in power with the kinds of unaccounable antics that they like. Disgusting...
Earon

 

Give it up Earon. CCWU is still what it is. It is not (and has never been) one of the institutions of higher learn in Republic of Malawi. It is still an outfit that rents mail boxes from Mailbox ETC in a small town in one of the Rocky Mountains states. Tim has given you the man's name and phone number. What else do you want? Tim indicates no interest in CPU/CCWU currently. He has released the information he obtained from Malawi's education attaché (except the ones he deems personal). It is now your responsibility to prove that the info supplied by Tim is false. You can only do this by picking up your phone and calling Dr. Chisapula. Why are you dragging your feet? Please don't shy away from hearing the bitter truth from the horse's mouth. Uhmmm, Dr. Chisapula is the horse this time. If I were you, I would have called him several hours ago. Please don't trust any information coming from Dr. Carr.

Ike Okonkwo

 

If you have moved on to the H-W MBA, that seems wise. I have always felt you were a direct and honest person even if I might disagree with your point or position. I've found 90% of what is stated or discussed on this forum to be accurate and fair. It certainly isn't perfect. Distancedegree.net is new enough that it hasn't had a long track record. I am beginning to see some very unfair debate and inaccurate information there. I believe that along with its unknown agenda is troubling. Perhaps in the future its sponsor and unstated agenda will become clearer. As for your last point, I have not seen that at all. Again I wish you well.

 

I meant "institutions of higher learning"

 

You are wrong again. Tim has fought more wars than he has partied with anyone in this forum.

 

Hi Ike,
You can take this as an invitation to feel free, to refrain from wasting your time trying to paint me into a corner based on your own fantasy of what I think. I have made my point and will stand by it. CCWU is whatever it is. I invite you to honestly get it, that you don't know what it is...do you? You only have your thin edge of the wedge speculation. I have never tried to offer a rendering of what CCWU is in this conversation or any other on this forum. Nor have I ever defended CCWU...and won't. I have occasionally supplied documents that have been given to me. That's a lot more than you have ever done. And frankly the CCWU topic as you have it swimming around in your head bores me and I want no part of it.

Following a suggestion by Bruce I will check this out further but on my terms and not yours, or Timmy's (if that is his real name). Timmy has presented Chisapula as being credible. Perhaps he is a credible poet. Perhaps he works part time for an embassy. Perhaps he has a relative that heped him get the job. I don't know, but there are bits and pieces coming my way.

I propose that either Timmy is not credible, Chisapula is not credible, or Chisapula is operating as a rengade and dictating his own positions. I also propose that if Timmy outed a confidential communique it was very irresponsible and could eventually be very embarassing for him. In addition if Cisapula took it upon himself to make up the position of a foreign county on this matter it will be equally embarrassing. My hunch is that he should stick to poetry. We shall find out in due time. It would be interesting to find out what the embassy office vis a vis his superiors have to say about this. We shall find out what is really going on.
But thanks for your input anyway...
Earon