The question often arises as to whether people who deal with fake schools know what they are doing, or if they are genuinely fooled. Some of each, although I suspect the former category is the larger one. This letter, just received, is one of the saddest ‘time bomb’ cases I’ve experienced. If the writer is sincere, of course he could and should have done due diligence. But then his new employer, a regionally accredited college, offered him the job, whereupon he and his wife left their jobs and moved a long distance. And then, a year later, the college notices the fake degree and fires him. If he had been doing a good job for that year, and really was fooled, and is full of remorse, should the college keep him on, as long as he gives up the fake degree and, perhaps, undertakes a legitimate one? These are the kinds of things that my wife loves for discussion in her ethics classes. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mr. Bear, My name is *** and I have recently been informed by my employer, *** College that my Bachelor's Degree from Columbia State University is not an accredited degree and they have asked me to resign from my position as Vice President of ***. Needless to say, I am devastated at this. I had NO idea that this college or my Bachelor's Degree was not accredited and considered a fraud. After finding this out, I have been searching the internet, making phone calls, etc. trying to get more information and to learn about what my options are in filing or joining a law suit against this institution. I found some articles with your name on them and thought that you might be able to direct me in the proper directions. I applied for, was offered and accepted my position at the college just over a year ago. My wife and I sold our home in ***, left our jobs, and many friends to move to *** and take this job and in doing so it caused us a big financial loss. Now with this new development, the loss of my current employment will most likely cause us to have to file for bankruptcy. I have been victimized by Columbia State University and have now lost my job because of them. I would greatly appreciate any help that you can give me in this manner.
This could be the degreeinfo equivalent of the Darwin awards. The Time Bomb Award or maybe a better more descripive name. My vote so far for 2002 goes to the UI Researcher. John
Good idea, John. I guess "Poor Schlub of the Year" doesn't have much panache. This could be a good publicity-getter for DegreeInfo.com, in the way that the "Worst Dressed" llist from Mr. Blackwell always gets a lot of media attention.
Of course, I'm skeptical in these cases, especially where employees in higher education are concerned. Plus, there is little reason to believe he did any work at all for the degree, which begs another question: Can there really be people out there who believe the granting of a college degree--even a doctorate--on the basis of an evaluation of their portfolio and/or application is legitimate? Perhaps there are.
Yes, there's one right here. Legitimate degrees, even doctorates, are of course, routinely awarded on the basis of portfolio submission (Columbia State also offered bogus bachelor degrees in 27 days. It was this offer that prompted me to detail how a legitimate degree could be earned in as littke as 28 days for about the same price [i.e., BA in 4 Weeks] ). PhD BY PORTFOLIO OFFERED BY (among others) University of Glamorgan "Portfolio Route . . . You may wish to transfer your registration from MPhil by Portfolio to PhD by Portfolio or if appropriate to PhD by Thesis. In order to exercise this option you would discuss the matter first with both your academic and industrial supervisors. The School‰s Research Co-ordinator would also provide you with further advice." http://www.glam.ac.uk/soe/Research/portfolio.php University of South Australia "21. Divisions will nominate Principal and Associate Supervisors for candidates enrolling in PhD, PhD by Portfolio of Publications and Masters by Research degrees prior to commencement of candidature in accordance with this policy and the relevant Academic Regulations " http://www.unisa.edu.au/adminfo/policies/research/res08.htm University of St Andrews Resolutions and Regulations(Conferment of Postgraduate Degrees) C: Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) - Senate Regulations "Alternatively, a candidate may apply to be examined for the Degree of PhD on the basis of a portfolio of published work." http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/services/registry/regspphd.htm Lawrie Miller BA in 4 Weeks http://geocities.com/ba_in_4_weeks/mastermenu.html .
This is a very sad tale. I find it difficult to believe that he was not aware that the degree was a scam. It seems even more difficult to believe that the school hired him based on the bogus degree. It is still a sad tale.