Fake accreditors?

Thank you for the kind information, Kizmet. I was posting for informational purposes only. We do not intend to market services here, so I will be sure to be mindful of TOS. I was mainly posting to follow-up from previous post. Now that Excel has closed the sale transaction, I have nothing left to say about the matter. I appreciate the DI community.
Best wishes...

 

What are you offering that will help DIers? In general, DIers are seeking inexpensive accredited online education. Education should never be a luxury product. Institutions that have gotten greedy by overcharging students and pillaging government backed loans are either no more in existence or facing criminal investigations.

 

However, in an earlier message in this thread, Rod stated, "Concerning the name of the institution, since we have not yet closed the sale, according to the terms of the LOI, we cannot disclose the name of the institution."

Well, now Rod says (1) they have closed the sale, but (2) he has nothing left to say. So apparently he is still not going to reveal the name of the allegedly RA institution they have allegedly purchased.

Nor has Rod bothered to explain what will happen to their accreditation when they relocate the institution, which is allegedly accredited by Middle States and which Rod has stated they will move to their headquarters, which is in North Central/HEC turf.

(At least when David Lady pulled off his scam, it involved a national accreditation, not a regional one that would have been impacted by a geographical move between regions.)

One way or the other, Rod has proven once again what an outstanding con artist he is, right down to his cordial reaction to Kizmet's warning in this thread. But, when the rubber meets the road, he is nothing but pure sleaze, and everything he says is ultimately bullshit. Everything. Everything.

 

Newsflash!!!

You know, it’s funny that I compared Rod to David Lady in my last post. It will be even funnier in a moment, so y’all may want to sit down so you don’t end up ROTFLYFAO.

We have a newsflash for you . . .

On the Excel web site, Rod reveals that the school they have allegedly closed on is the Washington Online Learning Institute, which is currently headquartered in Newark, Delaware. (I won’t even harp on that one – it’s a minor detail.)

Prior to the alleged sale, WOLI’s apparent sole owner is Michael Koplen, an attorney in Rockland County, NY.

(See http://www.woli.edu/facultystaff.html)

Koplen has, among his other claims to fame, the distinction of being the lawyer who, in a recent federal case that was lost by the plaintiff, represented (this is the point at which you may need to sit down) . . . William Loveland College!

(See https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6163092/william-loveland-college-v-distance-education-accredition-commission)

Yep, Michael is the same dude that filed the William Loveland suit against DETC in the federal court in the Southern District of New York (because that happens to be where he lives) before he was told he filed it in the wrong jurisdiction, after which he refiled the suit in Washington, where he lost.

The WOLI web site also states, “The Washington Online Learning Institute is regionally accredited as a postsecondary institution by the Middle States Association - Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools.”

Let’s see . . . According to Rod Clarkson, WOLI is a “regionally accredited career college.” But even the WOLI site specifies that it is accredited by MSA’s high school division. To call that a regionally accredited college of any type is sleazy.

So it seems that my mention of David Lady in my prior post was prophetic in a hidden way – namely, that mentioning Rod and the William Loveland scam in the same breath is not that far off base.

Note to Rod: Dude, if I were you, I’d give it up and move on. With every move you make here on DI, you end up with your foot deeper and deeper in your ass. But thanks, as always, for the great entertainment.

 

Rod you need to provide more concrete information from you to DI. We are not monolithic, but many of us will coalesce around our thought leaders when there is a lack of transparency.

 

Grabs popcorn.

 

Well rod, I'm marginally willing to accept your explanation, primarily because my level of apathy is pretty high right now. I have to say though that you are totally a one-trick-pony. The only reason you ever come to this site is to pump up your school, never becoming involved in other elements of the discussions on DI. That a big part of my working definition of a shill. In any case, good luck with everything.

As for woli, I'm not sure if that's rod's new school. Based on what he said I was thinking it would be a degree granting RA college. Oh well.

 

From today's front page of Excel's web site, "NEWS: Excel Education Systems, Inc. Acquires Washington Online Learning Institute, a Regionally Accredited Online Career College."

Rod never said that it was a degree-granting school. He never had to. Since most career colleges do grant associate's degrees, it was implied. Rod, being a masterful con artist, should be smart enough to know that.

But as good as he is at merde de boeuf (my favorite bastardization of French, literally translated feces of beef), I can't imagine that he ever dreamed of the connection between the owner of WOLI and David Lady's fly-by-night degree mill.

 

http://exceled.com/
Regional accredited WOLI seems very pricey. Outside the affordability of many DIers. Nothing exciting to report!

 

Both schools have regional postsecondary accreditation, so this acquisition only added some IT and paralegal programs.

 

Maybe they'll lower tuition now that they own the school. I don't know. Their national paralegal certificate program is $2,500. Penn Foster and Ashworth are cheaper.

 

That is why I encourage Rodmc to stick around. Quality Low cost accredited education is a viable strategy. I know he is a one trick pony but if he can delivered meaningful education to the masses then his offerings are worth promoting.

 

But, he's not offering anything that isn't already being offered by Penn Foster, Ashworth, and U.S. Career Institute at a lower cost. The bonus is that those schools are at least nationally accredited as degree-granting institutions and sometimes award college credits for their career training programs if you pursue a degree with them. Penn Foster's high school is regionally accredited and so is its career school, but the regional accreditation for the career school is useless because the courses aren't credit-bearing, and many schools won't accept transfer credits from postsecondary programs.

Besides, Kizmet already said that he was violating TOS by only being here to promote his schools.

 

There is a lot more to come on this topic, which I will not post here. I do not want to appear to be marketing services, which I am not. Our school websites get over 200,000 visitors per month, in addition to partnerships, so I would not see DI as a place to market. Also, I respect the community more than that.


When I originally asked some questions on the topic of starting an online college, I felt like I was attacked. The question was genuine and sincere. EES has moved forward with our post-secondary initiatives and will continue to move forward. I look forward to participating in the community. With over 20-years of online education experience, I do have significant expertise in curricula, digital learning, school operations, compliance, and accreditation. I have served at high levels in these areas. Cheers and thank all of you for your input.

 

I wonder if it is the school Johann mentioned on page 1. It has the same accreditation.

 

well, rod, that is of course up to you. I don't mind if you provide an update once in a while as long as that's not all you do. A quick look at your posting history indicates that you are really just interested in talking about yourself and your school. You really don't seem to care about us at all. We're going to get the impression that you don't really care about us and our nerdy little niche conversations. I might develop a complex. Psychological damage to my fragile ego. I know you don't want that. So stick around, join the conversation. Just don't be a shill.

 

"The rabbi who praises himself has a congregation of one."
- Fiddler on the Roof

 

This is not an attempt to promote or sell goods and services. I am providing information regarding regional accreditation as it relates to high schools, career and technical colleges, and degree-granting colleges and universities.

Middle States Association accredits, K-12 schools, non-degree granting career and technical colleges, and degree-granting colleges and universities.

WOLI is accredited by MSA at the post-secondary (non-degree) granting level for diploma and undergraduate certificate programs. WOLI’s accreditation falls under post-secondary and is recognized by the US Department of Education and CHEA. High Schools do not have this status. You can belittle MSA accreditation if you like, but the fact of the matter is, regional accreditation at this level is still the “gold standard” of accreditation. I think we all know this. This is not “high school” accreditation. See: https://www.msa-cess.org/default.aspx?RelID=606559

I am not sure about WOLI’s past, but I am certain of WOLI’s future. I encourage readers to hold opinions for now and see what happens. As always, Steve Levicoff, thank you for your kind feedback.

 

I think we all also know that it's not "RA college degree granting accreditation" either.

 

Rod, once again I'm calling you on bullshit. Again, from your web site, "NEWS: Excel Education Systems, Inc. Acquires Washington Online Learning Institute, a Regionally Accredited Online Career College." Nowhere does MSA refer to WOLI as a college. In fact, the page you cite, https://www.msa-cess.org/default.aspx?RelID=606559, does not even use the word college except to describe a new campus of Penn Foster, which is known to us as a credible institution.

But you have used the word college to describe WOLI more than once, most notably in your press release cited in this thread at http://exceled.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/PreviewRelease_PRWeb.pdf.

As usual, you are also guilty of sloppy research. Having checked me out, you should know that one of my own degrees is from a school accredited by MSA, and that I have always followed an "RA or the highway" philosophy. I would hardly have anything against MSA.​

As for WOLI's past, the only thing I have mentioned as being specific is that the guy from whom you purchased WOLI is the attorney who represented a fly-by-night degree mill in its lawsuit against DETC. You can get the wonderful details of that suit by doing a search here on DI for "William Loveland College." David Lady, the protagonist in the Loveland scam, makes you look like an amateur. But even he knew when to cut his losses and has disappeared from DI.

You are doing nothing but defending yourself and your business in a blatantly deceptive manner. And, for as long as you are allowed to do so, you will always have to defend what is, in the end run, indefensible.

Hold opinions for now? I think we have seen enough to formulate accurate opinions based on your entire posting history at DI. As for my "kind feedback," Rod, I have blatantly called you sleazy (and do so again now). If that's what you consider "kind feedback," it only reaffirms the notion that you are very good at being a con artist.​