I am going to apply for an unaccredited university

Dear buddies,
After trying to investigate/find out online information, I plan to apply my thesis to Berkeley International University next week. To the best of my knowledge, this is a US-based unaccredited university in Delaware. I know that unaccredited degrees have very limited use but I accept that risk.
But before I apply, it is important for me to be answered following questions:
1. Is Berkeley International University (in Delaware) is same to or different from the bad-smell Berkeley International University or Southern California?
2. From the official website of this BIU (with scanned documents)(http://www.berkeleyuniversity.us/legaldoc.html) I find it a limited liability company. So is it allowed to grant academic degrees?
3. According to te State of Origon(http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.aspx), this university has no legal authority to confer degrees. But BIU says it is allowed? Who is right?
4. I saw the thread about Berkeley International University from our forum address "DegreeInfo Distance Learning - online degree forum > Distance Learning Discussions - Berkeley International University", but the answers were not right to the university asked. Weren't they? I am so confused!
Hope to have your answers ASAP because I want to apply next Monday.
Many thanks,

 

I can't comment on all of these, but I will say that I would trust the Oregon government website above the unaccredited BIU website. (Ask yourself: Who is more likely to lie in this situation?)

Also, what would the point be in getting this PhD? It is from an unaccredited institution, and the degree itself may not even be legal. Would it actually have any value in Vietnam? The only way I could see it having any value at all is if people are confused thinking it's from the REAL Berkeley (which I'm sure is what BIU wants to happen) but that would be a pretty crummy reason to get a "degree" from them.

 

Tro*`i O*i, Anh Long!

1. I believe they are different institutions; especially the names are specified by the location.
2. Those are unrecorgnized organizations; which usually both the mill colleges and accredited organization are running by the same person.
3. Of course the State of Oregon authority right.
4. ????

Well, what is the rule or regulation of using unaccredited degree in Vietnam?

 

To Tekman, Emmzee, and Maniac Craniac,
Tks so much for your prompt replies! I'm so happy with that.
1. In Vietnam, degrees from universities NOT accredited by recognized bodies are not accepted for any purposes. But unaccredited degree holders are not punished by law (but his reputation will be decreased, I guess).
2. I do NOT need an unaccredited degree for finding a (new) job or for promotion. It's just because very few institutes have the fields I am interested in (Tourism). There are such two or three universities in Australia but they are TWO expensive. An alternative is going with DBA degree with a concerntration in Tourism Management (like my MBA), but I don't like it. I want a PhD in Tourism Studies, not a DBA/Tourism Management.
3. How can I know they are a fraud? That is the reason I asked you to share what you know abt this school. And the most important, you all have NOT answered me thi s question: "From the official website of this BIU (with scanned documents)(http://www.berkeleyuniversity.us/legaldoc.html) I find it a limited liability company. So is it allowed to grant academic degrees?"
4. Vietnam is too far away while Unisa is not willing to answer my queries.
I am waiting for your sharing.
Tks in advance!

 

I did a quick search for other programs that might be applicable to you ... here is one that I found that sounds interesting, I am not entirely sure that it is offered via distance but it would be relatively cheap and from what seems to be a legitimate university:

Indira Gandhi National Open University
http://www.ignou.ac.in/
School of Tourism and Hospitality Services Management: PhD in Tourism Studies
http://www.ignou.ac.in/schools/sothssm/index.html
Wikipedia info on the school: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi_National_Open_University
Listed here: http://www.education.nic.in/dist_inst.asp

Again I don't know for sure that this is offered via distance, or anything else about the school other than what I've just read, but it seems like it would be another option to consider if it is indeed offered via distance. Try contacting them and see what they say: [email protected]

 

It's ironic.

Where else can "internet entrepeneurs" set up a simple website and entice complete strangers half the world away to send thousands of dollars at a time in exchange for nothing of any real value? (And sometimes even succeed in operating that online business legally.)

"Higher education" of course. The only customers so abysmally clueless are the ones who are convinced that they deserve doctorates. The smartest guys in the room.

 

Have you considered joining a professional society that caters to you needs - membership often provides the following benefits:

• Continued learning
• Obtain journals and reduced prices on publications
• Opportunities to meet other professionals with similar interests
• Certifications
• Letters to put on you business card, letterhead or signature
• Opportunities to attend conferences and present papers

I'm not in the tourism field so do not know what professional societies there are but a quick Internet search turned up this one:
http://www.tourismsociety.org/individual_membership

Membership in a professional society has certainly benefited me over the years.

 

It is true, it costs a little money to have your own LLC.

 

It's supposed to be in Delaware but the website is a .us which is some other strange place not the USA. No google hits in the Google News Archive. (except maybe a couple in a language that I can't read) No Google hits in Goggle Scholar Search http://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_q=&num=10&as_epq=Berkeley+International+University&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_occt=any&as_sauthors=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdt=1.&as_sdtp=on&as_sdts=5&btnG=Search+Scholar&hl=en Except a Georgre Brown thing that doesn't say good things about the place.

My advice is that if you just want a diploma then fine if they aren't going to charge more than one or two dollars. Otherwise it is not worth it. You can probably print up your own diploma with special paper for a dollar or two. Or if you just want to be an academic fraud then you can just tell people that you have a Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley. If they check then say "Oh sorry, I meant Berkeley International University". I'm very fond of people claiming degrees from diploma mills that they never sent money to. I find it amusingly ironic. So that is another choice.

 

Disappointe......

Dear all,
Among recently comment I find one useful to my head. It is Bill Huffman's "My advice is that if you just want a diploma then fine if they aren't going to charge more than one or two dollars."
I have contacted IGNOU for 2 years, tried to discover every coner of the website involving to Tourism. The last info from them (3 weeks ago) said enrollment plan for PhD in tourism is not available right now. They said I shuold keep checking their www to know if it comes. No expected time could be stated.
It seems you all are tied too much to scholarship, financial aids, government loans, grants. It's NOT for my case. I have to pay with my own cash. I am not like you who can pay the tuition for 20 -30 years after you get a degree and obtain jobs. I do NOT need an accredited degree for government support in paying tuition. Pls keep that idea when talkinjg about my case!
I agree that LLC is to protect the company's accesses. But this is about the benefit. How abt the liability/responsibility/right in doing business in a specific sector? In Vietnam, if you register to open a domestic tourist LLC you can not serve foreign tourists. Or if you open a private company, you are not allowed to issue degrees or even just say I own a university. That is the content of my question.
I don't know if you can give me advice right to my points.
Tks,

 

Look there, saved you a bunch of money

 

Berkeley International has come up before. This lovely, unwonderful school is pretty much a non-starter Don't waste your money, the degree that Maniac Craniac made for you is just as valuable as the one you'd pay big bucks for from them

 

.US is the region code for the USA, much like .CA is for Canada, etc.

 

Crap, i'm sorry.... long day Apologies to Woho

 

Maybe but a Whois search reveals that the site is registered to Tony Ellis in the Northern Territoy of Australia, his email is [email protected], and his phone number is +323.32323
The site domain is with Yahoo in Sunnyvale, CA, USA
http://www.whois.net/whois/berkeleyuniversity.us

I asume this guy would run into trouble with the authorities if he tried to run this "university" from Australia.

Take the advice of myself and others and avoid this "university." Some of the people on this board who are providing advice have been checking out such "universities" for 10 years or more and are perhaps some of the worlds experts in this area. One forum member has worked with the FBI in busting some of these 'universities."