Idaho Dept. of Ed recommends Sheila Danzig for foreign credential evaluations

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by galanga, Sep 11, 2005.

Loading...
  1. galanga

    galanga New Member

    We see, on this State of Idaho web page titled "Evaluation Companies/Organizations," a number of names we would expect. There is AACRAO, of course, as well as "Josef Silny & Associates." That's a good thing.

    But there's a grotesque surprise too: included in the list is
    That's Sheila Danzig's operation, of course. She's the person who evaluated as splendiferous ten of the Georgia teachers' SRU degrees. (She dexcribed working with Dixie to a reporter in a May, 2004 story.)

    The site serving that document is http://www.sde.state.id.us/certification/ and it belongs to the Idaho Department of Education's "Bureau of Certification & Professional Standards."

    The document was last modified March 31, 2005 so they should know better!

    Recall that Idaho is also the "home" to Breyer State and Canyon, and an outfit affiliated with the St. Luke "School" of Medicine.
     
  2. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    Most likely your post will make a change to their site.

    Some one will write to them, maybe you?
     
  3. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    Gee, Sheila, we're not in Hayden Lake any more

    :rolleyes:

    Galanga, ain choo glad lerner's teechin' yoo? How els wud yoo no wat to doo?
     
  4. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    And what would be the problem if he did?

    See, Lerner, this, right here, is just one more example of the many reasons why people around here know, in their hearts, that you're really just a shill and a troll and are intentionally just civil enough to keep from getting thrown outta' here. You're not good enough at this to keep from betraying your anti-DI and, more specifically, anti-Gollin sensibilities. You're of the opinion, like all the trolls and shills over in the Crabby Forum and on AED, that there is dishonor in reporting fraud. You all think of it as "outing" and characterize it as despicable.

    When are you going to learn that this place has your number, now? You can no longer get away with anything.
     
  5. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    Re: Gee, Sheila, we're not in Hayden Lake any more

    No only Uncle Janko can teach you what
    to do and what to say.

    Gregg what planet are you from, realy?

    What was wrong in my sujestion, why do you have to twist it, I notticed this many times, you makeup things that I didn't say or do.

    This was practical sujestion.

    Another cheap shot at Learner.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 12, 2005
  6. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    Tell you what. Why don't you write a nice, thoughtful, documented letter or e-mail to State of Idaho setting forth your concerns? Then, you and State of Idaho can--with each other's permission, if granted--share the results here.

    UJ

    Learmer
     
  7. Tell you what. Why don't you take your phony bad English routine and your barely disguised pro-degree mill B.S. and stick it all where the sun don't shine?

    Then, you and your bunghole can -- with each other's permission, if granted -- share the results here.

    Carl
     
  8. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    One more pop up agent.

    No words needed to expose this member of the comunity.
    As long as he on the right side he can post insalts and garbadge
    as readers can see.
    Keep up the good job exposing your self.

    :D
     
  9. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I didn't see any sarcasm in what Lerner said. It seemed like a serious suggestion. Once again a reasonable post draws invective -- another embarrassment for DegreeInfo. :(

    -=Steve=-
     
  10. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member

    Fear not the witch but the witchhunter. :)
     
  11. PJFrench

    PJFrench member

    he can't put it there - his head has taken up that space.
     
  12. Keith D. Potter

    Keith D. Potter New Member

    Hi,

    To Mr. George Gollin - My name is Keith Potter and I am from the Idaho Department of Education - Bureau of Certification/Professional Standards and Adult Services. I became aware of this e-mail, not sent to my department, about the complaint. So I have followed what was in the e-mail to finally get here.

    Why didn't you contact one of us in the bureau, my name is on the website, and tell us your complaint rather than just post to this site? I assure you that we are reasonable and do listen when somebody offers us information.

    If you have information that would help us justify removing someone off our website I would be very happy to receive it.

    Please contact me at 208-332-6887 or e-mail [email protected]

    Thank you.
     
  13. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    Hi Lerner - Having read the original posting in the thread I assumed (perhaps like you) that George had already made the contact. I don't mind taking a shot at Lerner when he does something...wrong...bad...whatever, but I don't think this applies here.
    Jack
     
  14. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    To Mr Potter: Welcome aboard.

    To those of you who know the deal on Sheila: she is now the pinup girl on the Crabby Forum. You know, those zealous defenders of female honour who comment on the genitalia of other people's minor children. You know, those zealous defenders of tolerance who do Jew-hunts. You know, those exemplars of Hellenic wisdom who spew religious hatred and homophobia. You know, those anti-racists and Holocaust deniers who call me a Japanese Negro (sic). They now love Sheila, not to mention Lerner.

    Hermann Goering once groused that the problem with the garden variety anti-Semite is that they always can find an "A-1 Jew". Lucky Sheila! Poor Goering! He must be frowning (in hell) at the capers of his epigones.
     
  15. chud

    chud New Member

    I'm sure Mr. Potter, who is probably unfamiliar with the ranting of this groups elitists, and just looking for information, found this post less than helpful....
     
  16. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Which one's the Crabby Forum?
     
  17. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    I'm sure that Mr. Potter found your post (and mine) even less helpful.
     
  18. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Keith Potter:
    Why didn't you contact one of us in the bureau, my name is on the website, and tell us your complaint rather than just post to this site? I assure you that we are reasonable and do listen when somebody offers us information

    John Bear
    I'm delighted by your interest, Mr. Potter. I would guess Professor Gollin will be in touch with you. As one who has been writing about the diploma mill blight for thirty years I'm afraid I've despaired about Idaho's role in these matters. Some totally fake places like Canyon College AmeriTech University, and Breyer State University have claimed to be Idaho universities for years, and more than a few other debatable institutions have called Idaho home. To Idaho's credit, the state did make things uncomfortable for the California-run Kennedy-Western University, whereupon they "moved" to Hawaii, and now Wyoming.

    My notes show I've written or Emailed on four occasions in the last 5 or 6 years to the Idaho Board of Education (most recently to Gary Silvers), since that is the place tht the Higher Education Directory says is in charge of school licensing. To the best of my knowledge, I've not had an answer.

    Finally for now, this situation gives good reason to repost the all-time classic degree mill expose letter, written by Dr. Steve Levicoff, on behalf of someone swindled by Idaho's Canyon University. I shall post that in my next post.

    John Bear, Ph.D. (Michigan State University)
    Consultant to the FBI's diploma mill task force since 1979.
    Co-author (with the FBI's diploma mill expert Allen Ezell) of the new book "Degree Mills: the billion-dollar fraud that has sold more than a million fake degrees" (Prometheus Books, 2005).
    My credentials at
    http://circledance.tripod.com
     
  19. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Okay, fine... then I'll say it...

    Just because our written words, here, lack the visual and audible cues that help us know when's sarcasm and when not doesn't mean it wasn't there in this case. Absent those cues but, nevertheless, knowing with whom I was dealing, I judged that it was. Under the circumstances, it was not unreasonable for me to have done so... and I stand by it.

    Well, I certainly enjoyed it.

    Fine. Then, let's see if I can be helpful...

    Because discussing these kinds of issues is part of what this site is all about. It is completely appropriate for it to be posted here... as well as reported to you via email, which apparently someone has done. After all, you're here, aren't you?

    Because with Idaho being host to a few of the world's most notorious and good-for-nothing diploma mill and/or otherwise objectively less-than-wonderful so-called "institutions of higher learning," it was not unreasonable to wonder if it would fall on deaf ears.

    Because some people around here believe that if people in positions like yours really and truly cared and worried about such things, then perhaps they should be a bit better at having their finger on the pulse of what's going on in the world of higher education with respect to diploma mills, those who run them, and the variety of appurtenant, nefarious entities traditionally erected thereby in order to give the core of their fraudulent operations false credibility... which clearly worked, in this case, on Idaho.

    Because some of us are of the opinion that if your department held the notion of performing due diligence as near and dear as it probably should, then the infamous Ms Danzig's notorious (and certainly well-known to everyone here), fraudulent foreign credential evaluation operation would never have gotten past you guys in the first place; and that, moreover, a department like yours should have the expertise and resources to more easily spot such fraudsters than was the case.

    Because this place is about more than just sitting around and gossiping idly regarding the failures -- be they real or perceived -- of the Idaho Department of Education, Bureau of Certification/Professional Standards, and is, on the other hand, about, in part, making sure that potential students of that state's fraudulent institutions are fully advised in the premises to that they may make better and more informed decisions. Posting factual information about a failing of your department helps our readers more than it hurts you. It's a choice on our part. Sorry it's got a sting to it from your perspective.

    And, finally, because of everything that John Bear -- one of the most respected names and authors in the world of distance education, and an honored member of this board -- wrote to you in the post immediately above while I was writing this post. As is no surprise to anyone here, I'm not as polite as Dr. Bear. But, given what he wrote, that I'm not seems deserved.

    But do you then actually do anything about it?

    Uh, huh. Where's the "...and remove the offending site with haste" part of that sentence's ending?

    And how'd Danzig's well-known rip-off operation get on your site in the first place? And how many diploma-mill degrees that she certified ended-up being acceptable to your state... and at what cost in terms of the health and safety of its citizens? And given that it did end-up on your site, how can you blame anyone here for being duibous about your intentions or what's in your heart?

    This place -- or at least many of us in it -- are zero-tolerance about diploma mills and their affiliated, nefarious operations; are not terribly sympathetic to government agencies/departments that don't do their jobs well with regard to watching-out for them; and aren't very forgiving when employees of said agencies/departments use the "I didn't know" or "why didn't someone tell us" arguments when, in fact, it's their job to know in the first place.

    You wanna' redeem yourself? In addition to getting Danzig's operation off your site, do something about the worthless Canyon College in Caldwell, ID. When that's gone by your hand (or by your initiation, or even if only by your mere instigation), and when Danzig's operation is also off your web site, you'll be a damned hero around here. Count on it!

    Degreeinformation DL... so named around here by me (or at least I'm taking credit for it until and unless someone can prove that I wasn't the first one to so refer to it around here) as a play on the real-life last name of its misguided founder/creator/maintainer; and as a cogent commentary on the general tenor of its content.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 14, 2005
  20. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Levicoff's letter

    From: Steve Levicoff
    January 15, 2000

    Michael F. Storrs, President
    Canyon College
    521 West Maple Street
    Caldwell, ID 83605

    Dear Michael, et al:

    I am a member of a consortium of academic professionals and consumer activists actively engaged in research and advocacy on distance education issues, especially the exposure of degree mills. We have been in contact with one ____________, have been informed
    of his history of involvement with Canyon College, and are in receipt of correspondence to __________ from Michael F. Storrs, copies of which were sent to John Denmark and attorney Bryan Walker. I have also reviewed __________'s contract, which is so convoluted that even a legitimately accredited school wouldn't touch it.

    This response is written on behalf of __________, but has not been reviewed by him in advance. I note for the record that it is not to be construed as a formal response, and the nature of any feedback with which I have provided __________ should not be construed as legal advice.

    With that in mind, Michael, grab a cup of coffee, plant your ass in a chair, and take your medicine.

    ____________ has never called Canyon College a degree mill on the Internet newsgroup, I did. I submit, sir, that your institution is a fraud, a scam, a sham, a con, and a rip-off. Face it, sweet cakes, Canyon College is a f**king joke.

    Now let's get down to business. Kindly open your textbook to your letter of January 13, 2000, to __________.

    First, I submit that the contract between Canyon College and ___________ is null and void based upon Canyon College's misrepresentation of its programs, its legitimacy, and the acceptance of its degrees. Hell, man, Canyon is a f**king degree mill, and I'll testify to that in any courtroom in the nation - even one in Caldwell, Idaho.

    Then I'll invite judge and jury to a box lunch on the lawn of your luxurious campus - John Denmark's house. (A f**king house! I love it! Hell, man, even the Caldwell Fire Department was on the floor laughing when they verified the property information for me.) And you can explain to the court how you manage to fit a School of Business,
    School of Psychology and Counseling, School of Social Work, School of Health Administration, School of Theology, and School of Divinity into that cute little
    edifice at 521 West Maple Street. (Note to John Denmark: By the way, that was me calling Saturday night. Hell, man, if you're going to have a scam college operating out of your f**king house, you shouldn't answer the phone live on the weekend. I mean, if that isn't obvious . . .)

    Now, you referred to __________'s "recent unprofessional conduct and false or derogatory statements." Nonsense. __________ has exhibited far more patience with you wazoos than I would have at any time. He has not engaged in unprofessional conduct, and his statements about Canyon College were evenly tempered. Even if they had not been, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and shits like a duck, it's a f**king duck. And you guys walk, quack, *and* shit like a typical degree mill.

    I have reviewed the Canyon College web site extensively, and it's a joke. C'mon, dude, six courses for a master's degree? Six courses for a doctorate degree? Not to mention the lack of disclosure about your psychology and counseling programs, which would not qualify a person to sit for the professional board exams in any licensure-based state. Moreover, your FAQ contains misleading statements about the possibility of achieving
    licensure with a Canyon degree. (Am I wrong, sugar buns? Prove it - cite one student who was able to become professionally licensed in any state and in a mental health field with a Canyon degree.)

    I submit that you make false and misleading statements about the transferability of your credits, the possibility of Canyon's future accreditation by a legitimately recognized agency, and the compatibility of its degrees with those of other institutions. (C'mon, sport, a six-course "Masters in Divinity" degree? You're on my turf here, and I'm laughing my ass off.)

    Now let's get to the bottom line. _______'s contract is null and void (chorus join in, "now and forevermore!"). You jackasses wouldn't stand a proverbial snowball's chance in hell if you were to take legal action against him, and if you have been up front with your attorney (which I highly doubt) he has already told you this. (Incidentally, I loved the "we have sought legal counsel" bit. Bryan Walker certainly has solid credentials, right down to his J.D. from the University of Houston Law School. But if he's half the realist he should be, he wouldn't be bonkers enough to take this case on a contingency basis. And unless you're willing to spend megabucks on legal fees for a losing case, it's time to give this issue a rest.)

    So get off ______'s ass. You scammed him once, and he now has the support of a major group of educators and consumer advocates in distance education behind him.
    Legal action? Right, dude - I'll be delighted to have a jury laugh your sleazy little ass out of any courtroom in the country. Just as I'll be laughing if I have to place a call to my buddies at the Idaho State Board of Education (on State Street in beautiful downtown Boise, just a lovely 45-minute drive from Caldwell), the Idaho Attorney General's Office and, of course, The Idaho Statesman (which would have even more of a ball with this than I have had).

    In short, you swindling little charlatan, the matter is closed. Consider __________ out of the contract. And you will do absolutely nothing - I repeat, *nothing* - to hinder his ability to work, to damage his reputation, or to impugn his credibility, or I will go to town on you. Pro bono.

    Now, before you respond - if you have either the balls or the stupidity - be a good boy and check out my own qualifications and experience. You'll find my curriculum vita right on my home page at http://levicoff.tripod.com. You'll find some of the books I have written, including two authoritative volumes on distance education and two law books that are still used as legal texts. So make sure that any response you send is eloquent as hell, because I can't be bothered with amateurs. And if I haven't pushed
    your buttons enough, I'm delighted to tell you that I have posted a copy of this letter right on the newsgroup, where it will be available to potential millions of people around the
    world.

    Trusting that __________ will not hear from you again, I remain -

    With best wishes, kindest regards, and hugs and kisses,

    Steve Levicoff, Ph.D.
    cc: John Denmark
    Bryan K. Walker, Esq.

    I believe Canyon never replied, nor did they press their case against their former employee.
     

Share This Page