Berne University loses US government certification

Not uncle Adolf? Tried reading Mein Kampf about 30 years ago. After about 30 pages, I gave up. Cures insomnia. Also tried to read Marx and Engels and even Mao - same effect.

 

To bring closure to one of the loose ends in this thread . . .

I've had a pleasant collegial talk with Robyn Stewart at GAO, 'talking shop.' (She orchestrated GAO's delightful 'sting' operation last year, setting up the fake school that was given provisional approval by two student loan agencies.)

There were three matters relevant to Berne:

She felt that the heading on the initial posting in this thread (me putting up the letter from the Dept. of Education on Berne losing its participation in Title IV) should have said "Berne Loses Government Certification" rather than "Berne Loses Government Recognition". Fine with me. I'll ask Chip to do that.

She points out that Sherri Quaide, named in the Dept. of Education letter, is not with GAO.

And, not unexpectedly, she has thought better of posting her "please call me" message to me on this forum, along with her phone number. She has been getting calls frm other folks. She did not describe them. I can only guess. But she would not be disappointed if her phone wasn't there. Although I think it is a case of locking the barn door after the horse is stolen, and I don't know if the lords of DegreeInfo would agree it is a proper use of the 'edit' function, I'll pass this along to Chip, as well.

 

WOW! Dr. Regina has completely has vanished into thin air. It must be degreinfo magic!

 

Dr. Okonkwo and others, no one has said that Berne University is a degree mill. What has been said and remains accurate for now is a degree from Berne University is unaccredited and IT IS NOT EQUIVALENT to a U.S. R/A institution degree period.

Walden referred to Dr. Harris's colleague at their web site as Ms. although a PhD degree was listed as one of her credentials. Isn't that curious? I think Dr. Harris should face up to the fact that she may be holding an unaccredited doctoral degree and she may have been had by Berne.

Godwin

 

Walden says that she also teaches at SW Texas State. I just looked at their faculty directory, and they just list names, sans titles. But Ms. Allbright is listed as a 'lecturer', a job classification consistent with teaching with a masters degree. So apparently the Berne Ph.D. isn't being officially recognized there either.

Frankly, I have no real objection to somebody earning a Berne degree if they want to, so long as what they are doing isn't misleading to employers or to clients. (I'm interested in some non-accredited schools myself, because I think that they have educational value.)

What I object to is the suggestion that others are somehow obligated to accept Berne as RA-equivalent, to treat it as essentially different from the other non-accredited schools, simply because it employs the foreign "flag of convenience" accreditation trick.

What is certain though, is that Berne's discussion group champions are doing the school no service.

 

Actually, between a WES workshop in NYC this summer and going to NAFSA regionals in New Orleans my travel budget is shot, but I would like to hear you speak sometime.

Thanks,
Michael

And no I didn't call to check on Regina, my Cohones aren't that large.....

 

Hi Dennis: The very same. Never mind the millions dead, I think you've gotta be a friend of S.C. Bose to read the thing through without utter stupefaction. To think, he made fun of Alfred Rosenberg for being unreadable! Now that's scary.

I should add that antisemites have an express ticket to hell, just for the record.

 

Gus Sainz: "You will notice, however, that she is referred to as Ms. while her colleagues with legitimate doctorates are listed as Dr.. It seems that Walden knows exactly what they are doing."


Cehi: Good eyes, Gus. Very interesting.

 

Former Berne Provost Responds to Letter

(Post removed due to litigation by Berne; see
here
for more information

QUOTE]Originally posted by John Bear
(continued from immediately-preceding post)



We are also in receipt of your letter dated April 17, 2003. A copy of the Government Accounting Office material referred to herein and in our letter of March 21, 2003 is enclosed.

With regard to the concerns we raised based on the GAO audit, and in an effort to demonstrate financial responsibility and administrative capability, you submitted two three-page documents and one four-page document entitled “Bern University, Inc. Check Register” for the periods 01/01/2000-12/31/2000, 01/01/2001-12/31/2001, and 01/01/2002-12/31/2002. While you assert that these documents refute the GAO’s report that Berne University has on at least two occasions not met its payroll, you have not explained who prepared these three “Check Register” documents, how they were prepared or what they are thought to demonstrate. As mentioned, six of the seven faculty members whose resumes were included in your materials submitted on reconsideration are not listed on these documents as having received any pay during the three years mentioned.

Beyond that, only approximately twenty check recipients are listed. These do not include the personnel listed as “Academic Faculty” in the catalog you submitted, nor do they include several of the individuals listed in that catalog under the heading “Berne University Administration.” In addition, they do not appear to include the “mentors” whom Mr. T [the original letter lists all surnames] indicated are located “in geographic proximity” to student residences rather residing in St. Kitts. Check number sequences do not correlated with check dates, particularly for the year 01/01/01-12/01/01. Several check numbers are missing; several are listed twice in different amounts for different individuals; and several list an amount of “0.00.” Your materials do not refute the concerns we spoke of in our denial letter that were raised by the GAO audit as to Berne’s financial responsibility and administrative capability. See 34 C.F.R. §§668.16(j), 668.16(b)(3); 668.171(a)(3), (b)(4).



You also suggest that the questions raised by the GAO as to the accuracy of your marketing materials and oral representations may have originated with two disgruntled mentors who formerly worked with Berne. We cannot follow up on that suggestions without further details. Regarding the GAO report, however, and in connection with our concerns about the accuracy of the representations in your catalog, we have reviewed the materials you supplied regarding Berne University Graduate Curriculum Vitae. As submitted, the materials regarding Mssrs. R and W [name provided] do not provide information about your school. Ms. I, Mr. R2, and Mr. R3 appear to have applied for admission to Berne, but it is unclear whether they pursued this and what bearing their resumes have on the concerns raised in the GAO report as to the accuracy of your marketing materials. While a document asserts that Mr. T received a promotion from GS-14 to GS-15, and a position as an adjunct faculty member at Strayer University, as a result of having earned a Ph.D. in 1999 from Berne, the document is unsigned and it is not clear how, why, or by whom the document was prepared. The testimonial from Mr. T quoted above, which likewise is unsigned, appears to focus primarily on convenience factors, rather than on the success of Berne Graduates, and indicates that T. himself had not yet completed his program. Finally, Dr. B’s resume is somewhat puzzling, since it indicates on the first page that Dr. B. attained his Ph.D. at Berne, but later suggests that it was earned at the University of Vermont. These documents do not refute the statements in the GAO report and in our denial letter as to your past marketing practices, nor do they substantiate the statements in your catalog which we identified as drawing the accuracy of your marketing into questions. See 34 CFR §§668.16(j), 668.72, 668.73, 668.75(c)(2), (c)(3).

In summary, the materials you have submitted in support of reconsideration do not establish Berne University’s eligibility for participation in the Title IV, HEA programs, nor do they answer the additional questions raised in our denial decision regarding adverse audit findings, financial responsibility, administrative capability, and questionable marketing practices. Therefore, we conclude that reconsideration of the issue of recertification must be denied.

Accordingly, for the reasons stated above and in our initial letter, Berne’s provisional PPA will be allowed to expire, and its recertification application is denied. The date of expiration is April 30, 2002. After that date, your school may no longer participate in any of the Title IV, HEA programs.

Sincerely,
M. Geneva Coombs, Director
Case Management Teams-Northeast/Southwest [/QUOTE]

 

This is all so funny considering that I was verbally attacked by a member of the Berne Alumni association, attached was a supposed letter from UWI.... oh well, all's well that ends.

 

So Regina went to the beach and never came back. Hmmm, maybe there are some sharks about.

Jack

 

Yes, and I think that Regina was one of them.

So, now that Berne is clearly not a real university, what is there left to talk about?




Tom Nixon

 

Adam Smith?

 

Nothing in my words above indicates I believe Hassad gained benefit from his Berne degree. I was surprised it was tolerated. The schools with which he is affiliated have employed him in positions where a master's degree would do. He claims bachelor's and master's degrees from the properly recognized University of West Indies.

Again, tolerated, not rewarded.

 

This is one of several threads that Berne University sued its former provost over his comments. Read more about this
here

 

I'm so pleased that Berne decided publically act like a degree mill by threatening to sue people. This is a great thread to bump to the top of the active thread list. I would even like to request the moderators to consider putting a sticky on this thread so that it stays at the top for a while. Berne made such a big huge deal and over selling the fact that the US government would reimburse some Berne tuition, it is important that this little correction to US government policy is made better known.

 

I asked Dr. (or it Mr.?) Hassad if he is a student at Touro he said yes - doctoral student. He is being introduced and actually teaches as a GA - Graduate Assistant at Touro. He also claims adjucnt teaching position at Walden University among others. I understand he teaches SPSS for SPSS as well. He seems talented. Why talented people choose to earn unaccredited degree is anyone's guess. It appears he is trying to correct that by pursuing an accredited doctoral degree but why is he still listed as PhD among faculty on Touro's web site is for Touro to answer.

Omo

 

He lists the Ph.D. from Berne in many other places, including (the last time I checked) at Mercy College.

Rossi Hassad tried to do terrible things to me while I was a student at Union. He wrote a series of lies to Union and the NCA, accusing me of using John Bear's research as my dissertation. The guy couldn't seem to understand--or didn't want to understand--that I conducted statistical analyses on John's data, but my dissertation was a separate and quite different project with a different population, survey tool, methodology, etc. There was no comparison, but Hassad went on his tear anyway. We found out it was him (his e-mails to those institutions were anonymous) because they came from a Mercy College server. Hassad was mad because I pointed out that Berne operates with no legal authority in its home jurisdiction--New Hampshire--and without recognized accreditation. But Union's attorneys shut him up. "Tortious interference" is the term.

 

Hassad sounds like a disgusting cowardly person that is fond of weasel word techniques. He has a degree from a less than wonderful place, why am I not surprised?