American World University/Maxine Asher story

The Daily Iowan for Jan. 28 is scheduled to have a story on Maxine Asher (founder of the World Association of Universities and Colleges) and her American World University, which for years claimed to be in Iowa City. I haven't seen the story, but author Ryan Foley is the man who broke the big story last year of a woman with a string of fake degrees in a high position at the University of Iowa.

The URL is: http://www.dailyiowan.com

 

From what I've read, Ms. Asher appears to be quite a controverisal person. To your knowledge, has she ever been charged or convicted of a degree-mill related crime?

 

I don't follow her career that closely. Perhaps tomorrow's article will have information on that.

In Bears' Guide, we do give details of the successful legal action brought against Asher and WAUC by a school that had paid for the accreditation process. What came out in the suit, among many other things, was:

1. WAUC accredited the school without a site visit, and renewed the accreditation without even being asked.

2. WAUC, which promoted itself as a non-profit organization turned out to be for-profit.

3. WAUC was unable to provide any evidence that they had ever conducted a site visit for any of the dozens of schools they accredited.

 

In the diploma mill/media exposure vein, TechTV certainly likes to replay the interview that they did with you for their "CyberCrime" show (about phony medical degrees), which is a very good thing, though.

 

One of the more interesting things (to me) in today's Daily Iowan story is that Dr. Asher is now blaming a lot of the bad stuff done in the name of her American World University on a renegade employee doing things on her own, and she is planning to sue him.

I believe she uses a form letter for that response to various criticisms.

But don't forget, "No one in higher education takes John Bear seriously." (Maxine Asher, 1998)

.

 

Daily Iowan story / WAUC

The Daily Iowan story is already on the Web:
http://www.dailyiowan.com/news/352197.html
I found it by searching at http://news.google.com for "Maxine Asher".

If accreditation by the WAUC is so easy to get, then what's this "member-status only" thing on their Website?
http://www.web-hed.com/wauc/universities.htm

 

Mark: "...If accreditation by the WAUC is so easy to get..."

John: Do we know that it's easy? Just because James Kirk got WAUC accreditation in a matter of days for Acton University, which he was running from his prison cell at the Beaumont, Texas federal penetentiary (where he was sent after pleading guilty to fraud for his LaSalle University) doesn't mean it was easy. I mean, the site visit for Dr. Asher must have been quite a challenge.

Now Cambridge State -- that one must have been easier, since the only "campus" they have is a rented mailbox at a mailbox service in Hawaii.

 

I'm sure is was quite challenging:

1) Permission from the Governor of Texas.
2) Permission from the Warden of the prison.
3) Trip to Beaumont.
4) The time spent going through the metal detector.
5) Site visit of Kirk's cell, err, ummm, I mean the AU campus.
6) Meeting with the WAUC accreditation committee.
7) Final approval.

 

Interesting article, but as is usually the case, a poorly researched or unsubstantiated phrase or two manages to raise my hackles. In this case it was the following:

• 
  "Some are particularly angered that schools such as AWU are allowed to award "doctorate" degrees, which the government says cannot be earned through distance education."(emphasis added)

 

Russell neglects the pat-down search for contraband/weapons. Of course, had I been on duty when Dr. Asher came through, I would have omitted it, too.

Rich Douglas, who's done a few (thousand).

 

Gus-I agree!

Gus- Iagree with you! Without wishing to comment good or bad about the person/institution this thread is seemingly about, it is quite possible to produce a wonderful doctoral research thesis withoutever attending one single class - if the person is up to it! Of course, attending classeses, seminars, etc does, generally, provide a wider context for personl and academic development but the notion that a doctorate earned without any class attendance is worthless beggars belief! Simply central administration clap trap that demonstrates a complete lack of competence as to how adults learn - or many of them at any rate!

'telfax'

 

what the Gov't says

Gus Sainz writes:

> Interesting article, but as is usually the case, a poorly
> researched or unsubstantiated phrase or two manages to raise
> my hackles. In this case it was the following:
> "Some are particularly angered that schools such as AWU are
> allowed to award 'doctorate' degrees, which the
> government says cannot be earned through distance education
> ."[/i](emphasis added)

But as a report, that's accurate, isn't it? Not poorly researched or unsubstantiated at all.

Would you feel better if it said "... which the Government -- for no good reason -- says cannot be earned..." ?

 

Rich: "Russell neglects the pat-down search for contraband/weapons. Of course, had I been on duty when Dr. Asher came through, I would have omitted it, too."
_____________________________________

Dr. Asher's picture (from, as a guess, 30 years ago) appears at:
http://www.atlantisresearch.com/tapping_into_force.html

It is quite different from her photo in her Web Guide to Bad Schools (no, wait, that's my title, not hers), advertised on the WAUC site.

 

Is this Atlantis stuff pseudo-science? I looked at some of it and it struck me as crap.

Wasn't Atlantis the Black Depression that existed before the Bosporus broke through to fill the Black Sea? My pet theory, second to it being Greek fiction.

 

What is she examining in that picture? Steve Levicoff's much-used (and abused) *****?

 

Re: Gus-I agree!

Don't get Steve Levicoff started on this 35 day residency bit, he takes it quite serious.

 

FLEA FOR WORLD PEACE!

Ah, but Dr. Asher et al offer a request for world peace, as indicated in this quick blurb from the AWU website (http://www.awu.edu/):


"FLEA FOR WORLD PEACE

AMERICAN WORLD UNIVERSITY DOES NOT TAKE A POLITICAL POINT-OF-VIEW. IT IS AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION. HOWEVER, THE UNIVERSITY HAS THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS WORLDWIDE IN MORE THAN FORTY COUNTRIES. TODAY, THE WORLD STANDS AT THE BRINK OF TOTAL DISASTER IF WAR BREAKS OUT WITH IRAQ. AWU AND ITS DIRECTORS ARE VIOLENTLY OPPOSED TO ANY COUNTRY WHO WOULD INITIATE A WAR IN THIS TIME OF BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AND NUCLEAR CAPABILITY. THE UNIVERSITY URGES THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH TO REFRAIN FROM STARTING A WAR WITH IRAQ REGARDLESS OF ITS CIRCUMSTANCES. WE PRAY THAT THIS WAR WILL NOT TAKE PLACE AND THAT THINKING HUMAN BEINGS WILL SELECT A ROAD TOWARD WORLD PEACE AND NOT WARFARE."


These are AWU's words, not mine. I am repeating them here for your convenience.

Darren.

 

Re: FLEA FOR WORLD PEACE!

I found the culprit!!

 

And even more interesting is that this is EXACTLY the claim that Sheila Danzig used when cornered for using multiple usernames posting at alt.education.distance and elsewhere... she had NOTHING to do with it, some mythical employee broke in and used her computer, stole her sterling reputation, blah blah blah.

I wonder if Sheila sells a "dodge the blame" kit as one of her get-rich-quick schemes and if Maxine bought same? Or if Sheila and Maxine are separated-at-birth sisters?

 

On the inside cover of Bears' Guide, 15th Edition, Sheila Danzig states, "Your books are great. You probably have done more for distance learning than any individual." Was this really Sheila, or a disgruntled employee?