Threat of the Week: Graduate Academy of Management

Well, it seems that the Graduate Academy of Management was rather displeased with RFValve's explanation about the problems with certifications in general, and Graduate Academy of Management in particular.

Herewith is the threat received from them (which also belies an utter lack of understanding about DMCA, trademark law, and various other things.)

 

Check out the websites for this... lawyer. Classy.

 

Way to go RFValve!! By the way, this organizations website has a strangely similar look (all the flags) to a mill and I cannot remember the name of it. I am thinking Grand Canyon but this is not it.

 

Indeed - thumbs up to RFValve for stating the truth, and to Chip for posting Mentz's foolish threat...

 

They're so silly when they trot out their smarmy lawyers. Good work RF!

 

From his on-line resume:
George S. Mentz, JD, MBA, CWM™, CPM™, CAM™, CILS, CEC™, MFP™, CTEP™, RFS™, CIPM

Juris Doctorate in International Law - Attended law courses at William & Mary and Tulane Law School Completing law studies in Madrid Spain, Sao Paulo Brazil, Cuernavaca Mexico. Loyola University School of Law (1996)
(But where is the degree actually from?)

Université de l'Etat de la Louisiane , Bachelor of Arts in International Politics
Hmmmmmm.

2002-2003 -Thomas Edison State University -Volunteer Pro Bono Faculty
If he taught there, you'd think he'd get the name right.

PUBLICATIONS - Prof. Mentz has authored and published 16 books and hundreds of other publications.

From Amazon: "Your search ""George S. Mentz"" did not match any books."
From Bookfinder.com: "Searching 150 million books for books where
Author is "George S. Mentz" Number found: 0.

 

The same mill runs another mill called "American Academy of Financial Management" (http://www.financialcertified.com/mba.html) AAFM

The AAFM grants post-graduate sounding certifications such as Master Financial Professional.

 

I just posted a testimonial, I sent a "good faith" resume and was offered the certification without evidence of degrees or experience.


http://www.businesscertification.org/cec.html

By the way, the resume is nothing more than a lame form that just ask you to list your credentials. I bet my dog can get one.

 

Well, if they bothered to send this is because their business is being hurt because of this. How can a testimonial be illegal? I'm not an attorney, but if someone just mentions an experience on a discussion group, I don't see how this can violate many copyright laws.
By the way, the guy mentioned that DCMA is accredited by a United States recognized agency? Can a non University or school be accredited?

 

It looks like our combative Mr. Mentz isn't exactly getting along with his former Middle Eastern partners either.

http://www.iafm.eu/

 

Certifications are an excellent business, zero investment is required. Just open a web site and give people nice sounding certifications. Certifications are better than degrees in a way as you don't need a special license. All you need to do is trade mark the name of a certification and pretend that only few can get this prestigious certification. People think that they are getting something special that few can get but the reality is that anyone with a credit card can get one.

 

Double Accredited Programs and Degrees USA

I see you guys are having a good time here poking fun. And, you are right that well qualified masters degree holders or doctorate degree holders from accredited institutions could probably achieve a number of USA certifications from various organizations very quickly.

To be honest, I sincerely respect educators and academics in this board who have achieved accredited education and passed various exams to earn a graduate degree in a specific field and concentration.

I would not have suspected that any of you would have a problem with "Board Certification" that is issued or awarded to those who meet graduate requirements and have completed double accredited government recognized degree programs such as AACSB, ACBSP, EQUIS or even an ABA Doctorate Level Programs from Accredited Law Schools.

If you read authoritative certification websites such as the FINRA, CareerVoyages, BLS.gov, or Department of Labor websites about certification bodies which are publicly disclosed, you will learn abou many organizations and find these and many other certifying boards that have the same or exact graduate requirements.

As you know, there are thousands of "self regulated" certifying bodies in the USA and abroad that do not offer any Degree of Diploma, but they offer various Certifications, Charters, or other with publicly disclosed graduate requiremnets. As you have already stated, it is 100% legal.

As you know, some groups have hundreds of thousands of members and do not require any accredited education.

The wave of the future is that candidates will achive vendor neutral certifications by applying to attend a government recognized college or business school, complete 4-7 years of accredited education with exams and then meet the experience requirements and abide by ethics an continuing education policies. Today, this is becoming one of the chief methods of graduate certification.

Thus, it is predicted that business schools, law schools, engineering programs, and other programs such as IT/Computer Science departments will continue to develop proprietary certifications or form direct articulation alliances with self-regulated "VENDOR NEUTRAL" certifying boards.

At present, various graduate certifying bodies already have several hundred [accredited] registered college or university programs or alliances globally which is also a new trend over the last 15 years.

Therefore, the highest educational standards are with organizations and certifying boards that require "Double Accredited Degree Education".

Education from from AACSB, ACBSP, EQUIS or ABA programs are generally "Double recognized" by the Government and the Accreditation Agencies as per the CHEA listings.

Overall, most employers respect the top 400 business schools and top law schools in the USA which are AACSB and ACBSP and ABA accredited.

Sincerely and Kindest Regards, EL

 

I don't think anyone in this online community has any issues with legitimate, recognized groups providing board certification, such as AACSB or ACBSP or similar groups.

The problem arises when there's no regulation, oversight, or quality standards being imposed on certification boards; the barriers to entry are so low that all one needs is a $5 a month website and a janky $100 website design (and maybe a UPS store mailbox) to be in the business of providing certifications. Some might be legitimate and well meaning, but the majority are probably not.

And as soon as someone starts making the "100% legal" argument, credibility is pretty much out the window, as there are thousands of unwonderful schools offering utterly worthless degrees which are "100% legal" because they are in states or locales where there's little or no regulation.

(Also, since EducationLawyer failed to do so, it's worthwhile to disclose that he is affiliated with ICECC, a certification organization that appears to raise some of the same concerns that others have raised here. Check out their legal disclaimer for some of the best apologia I've seen in quite a while.)

 

I wonder what this quote is all about?
"This site is not intended for non-citizens of the United States"
Pretty poor wording.
To my knowledge US Nationals who are not US Citizens and permanent residents (green card holders) have pretty much the same civil rights as citizens except for a few governmental related areas.

 

Here's a few more awarders of certifications, apparently from the same source:

The American Academy of Project Management and the International Project Management Commission

http://www.certifiedprojectmanager.org

The International Board of Standards

http://www.internationalboardofstandards.com

And the Academy of Life and Wealth Training and the International Life and Wealth Commission

http://certifiedwealthtraining.com/about.html

 

From WorldCat

A total of 6 publications - 5 articles, 1 book

College Savings Plans, Financial Aid, and Tax Strategy
by Richard Whiteside; George S Mentz
Article Article
Language: English
Publication: College and university : the journal of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars. 79, no. 3, (2004): 17
Publisher: [Menasha, Wisc.] : The Association, 1947-
Database: ArticleFirst

College Savings Plans, Financial Aid, and Tax... by Richard Whiteside
College Savings Plans, Financial Aid, and Tax Strategy
by Richard Whiteside; George S Mentz
Article Article
Language: English
Publication: College and University, v79 n3 p17-24 Win 2004
Publisher: American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 520, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-293-9161; Fax: 202-872-8857; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.aacrao.org/publications/.
Database: ERIC The ERIC database is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education.

Online Admissions and Internet Recruiting: An... by Richard Whiteside
Online Admissions and Internet Recruiting: An Anatomy of Search Engine Placement.
by Richard Whiteside; George S Mentz
Article Article
Language: English
Publication: Educause Quarterly, v26 n4 p63-66 2003
Database: ERIC The ERIC database is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education.

Private wealth management and financial planning... by George S Mentz
Private wealth management and financial planning : a treatise & guide for wealth managers and wealth management executives : fundamentals of wealth management for the wealthy, financial analysts, portfolio managers, wealth & trust management professionals
by George S Mentz
Book
Language: English
Publisher: [S.l. : Lulu], 2007.

The Forum - Guest Commentary, Analysis, International... by Richard Whiteside
The Forum - Guest Commentary, Analysis, International Resources, and Book Reviews - Online College Recruiting and Marketing -- Web Promotion, Strategy, and Ethics - Richard Whiteside and George Mentz discuss the Internet as a tool for marketing to students and reaching enrollment goals.
by Richard Whiteside; George Mentz
Article Article
Language: English
Publication: College and university : the journal of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars. 78, no. 3, (2003): 31
Publisher: [Menasha, Wisc.] : The Association, 1947-
Database: ArticleFirst

Academic Program Planning -- Assessing the Variables
by Richard Whiteside; George Mentz
Article Article
Language: English
Publication: College and university : the journal of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars. 79, no. 2, (2003): 11
Publisher: [Menasha, Wisc.] : The Association, 1947-
Database: ArticleFirst

 

Few problems here, I applied for a CEC from your organization. I was never required to submit proof graduation but only $300. I was approved the same day so I suppose there is no accreditation board that met for this. Even you bother to ask for proof of an AACSB accredited MBA transcript, you are basically saying that an MBA makes you an expert in E-commerce, project management, finance or any of the about 100 certifications you offer.

I guess also that the fact that the name of the certifications you offer resemble the names of known certification is pure coincidence.

 

Plus of course, people who...

...don't need stinky little certifications from worthless "boards" in order give proof of their qualification.

What cracks me up is that people who represent those degree mills always come here to tell exactly the same bogus arguments they put on their websites. Here are people who can sniff a degree mill from miles away. Do Mr. LaSalle and Mr. GAM seriously think anyone here will believe a word they say?

 

Certifications and Accredited Education

It seems that this is an excellent opportunity to explain the difference between academic degree granting bodies, accreditation bodies, and independent certifying bodies.

After reading the comments, it must be stated that DOE listed accreditation bodies such as AACSB, ACBSP accredit business schools and the ABA accredits law schools i.e. specific educational institutions. Accreditation bodies have never traditionally offered any certification, professional designation or charter. Accreditation Agencies recognize the Educational Institution, college, university or [program at the university].

As you all know, graduate academic certifications and boards are completely different than the mass designation available for proprietary skills, software skills certification, computer or IT certs etc. Additionally, diploma and academic certificate programs are offered by universities and colleges from post-secondary institutions. Therefore, even to this day, board certifications and charters are not issued by traditional colleges because these qualifications or memberships are awarded from independent entities or vendor neutral parties.

The AACSB and ACBSP are CHEA recognized business school accreditation bodies. They do not offer any vendor neutral certification, charters etc. and they leave all academic awards to the universities and colleges. People in this board who have a masters or doctorate from an AACSB, ABA, or ACBSP sanctioned institution would understand this issue.

However, things have changed in recent years. As an example, the ACBSP accrediting body and other accreditation bodies do engage mutual recognition agreements or alliances with independent certifying boards, societies, or honor societies to recognize their accredited business school graduates or candidates.

Therefore, accredited colleges and universities offer academic degrees or diplomas but colleges and universities do not generally offer any type of certification, charters, or designations. As for proprietary certifications, companies and groups like: Cisco, Microsoft, PMI and others license their programs to schools who register with them. However, the certification body still remains independent while continuing to control eligibility, standards, and the issuance of certifications.

As an example, here is a list of Well Over 50 Financial Certifications, Charters and Designations presented on the USA FINRA [Formerly NASD] Regulatory Investor Education Website. These certifications are in the genre of: Risk, Finance, Investment, Insurance, Retirement, Tax, Financial Management, Market Research, and more. This is a USA governmental regulatory body. Most of these designations in this list do not require an accredited education or DOE recognized degree. http://apps.finra.org/DataDirectory/1/prodesignations.aspx

As for Project Management, Here are Various Recognized PM Organizations from the list from: The New York Times Website-About.com: Again, Most on this list do not mandate accredited college education or degree as part of the certification requirements. http://consulting.about.com/od/consultingspecialties/tp/CF_PMOrganizations1007.htm





Here are Dozens of IT and Computer Certifications - Most are Vendor Controlled Proprietary credentials such as Cisco, Intel, Oracle, Microsoft Again, Most on this list do not require accredited college education, degree and relevant industry experience. http://certification.about.com/od/certifications/l/blglossary.htm

Is the certification and "industry association membership" growth out of hand? Who is to say?
If you want real entertainment, please view the Dept of Labor Certifications Website with hundreds if not thousands of certifications and designations. Most of these qualifications do not have graduate educational quality standards or DOE Dept. of Education accredited degree standards. http://www.careervoyages.gov/certifications-main.cfm

The organizations with the highest standards and criteria that require accredited degrees will probably prevail as graduate organizations that cater to executives and managers. On the other hand, the multitude of “vendor controlled” IT certifications are a must for those in that line of work where those computer skills are required.

As such, any certifying body that requires/accepts double accredited and government recognized degree graduates “and/or post doctorate education” will continue to be viewed as maintaining the highest standards in the Board Certification realm for those who are managers, executives, professors, and industry experts.

What is double Accreditation? That means that the college or institution has regional DOE or CHEA accreditation and ALSO another specific accreditation for business schools such as AACSB or ACBSP or for law schools i.e. ABA American Bar Assn..

Again, graduate certifications for management professionals generally require these Elements: Education, Experience, Degree Assessment Completion or Exams, Ethics, Continuing Education.

Most traditional certifying boards DO NOT directly offer education per se. Most of them simply recognize, license, or register outside [3rd party] educators, colleges, universities etc. Thus, most certifying boards can not even apply for CHEA accreditation as an educational institution because they do not provide courses leading to a degree or diploma.

The Barrier to entry is usually the gauge to the Certifications Worth and Brand. Thus, if a certification maintains accredited graduate education requirements, experience, and so forth, it is on the highest tier of standards.

Kindest Regards, EL

 

Rocket Science and Fair Play

I am not a "rocket scientist" but if you search for the above author "George- Mentz-", you instantly find 16 or books on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=george+mentz

After a quick review of the posts above, these things became evident. It looks like the lawyer graduated from Loyola Law [Exactly as disclosed and written in the post above by Mr. B] 2) Université de l'Etat de la Louisiane --- This must be LSU "Louisiana State University" assuming that French is being used here.... i.e. French Louisana for 400 years. 3) If anybody volunteered for Thomas Edison as a professor, then, good for charity..

Here is the footer on every page of the degee.info website: --- All posts and content (c) 2001-2009 DegreeInfo.com LLC. None of the information contained herein may be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of DegreeInfo.com, LLC

In defense of copyright law, maybe this board should not have done a "cut and paste scrape job" from another website to start a free discussion of accredited education in relation to certifications. Sure there is fair use, but, in fairness, intentional scraping of copyrighted content is surely prohibited by this boards terms.


Super Kindest Regards, EL