Rashad Richey - Academic Fraud?

Impresses the hell out of traffic cops. In Bratislava or here. But you still get fined....

"Can I get a Witless?" (Apologies to Brian and Eddie Holland & Lamont Dozier - ace Motown composers)

 

Unintentional fame for me, but a great plug for Degreeinfo. Disclaimer: I'm NEITHER of these two hosts.

 

Indeed. It is relatively new area but there have been lawsuits in various countries including the United States and Canada.

In one case I recall reading about a couple of years ago a person sued an anonymous poster and I believe was trying to unmask them. The offended party went after the person (or his lawyers did) with hammer and tong through the court system and it dragged on for some time. Eventually the anonymous poster died during the suit (strain of the lawsuit?) and his or her attorney was able to convince the judge to the satisfaction of the judge that the person had died and the case was closed.

In Canada I believe someone won a lawsuit against several anonymous posters. They weren't able to unmask them but were able to gain the lawsuit win. Now all they have to do is either managed to figure out their identity or force their identity to be revealed. I wonder if the damages will earn interest while waiting to be collected.

In any case, you have to ask yourself (even if you think you have a chance of winning) whether the stress and strain of a lawsuit (as in the first case I mentioned) is worth it. That includes financial cost. In the US many people settle lawsuits not because they are guilty but because of the bleeding (financial and emotional).

 

I have no desire for a lawsuit - with anyone. I understand the truth is a valid defense, but it's sure expensive. Rashad has the money, I don't.

 

I imagine that it isn't worth it for him to sue you if he hasn't sued the video bloggers. As long as this stuff isn't impacting his ability to make money which apparently it isn't, a lawsuit in my opinion wouldn't be worth it for him. It would tend to draw more negative attention to him. The constituency he markets to, whoever that is, seems to be continuing to partake.

I had never heard of the guy before except for degree info and those video bloggers that were posted here. But a lawsuit might attract all kinds of attention including media. At that point the benefit to him of the suit would be to get whoever he sued to agree to settle even if they didn't admit fault so that he could have some sort of victory and restore His image.

 

And you are right. The deeper pockets tend to win. That is how Feds work when they get people to accept plea deals. They bleed them emotionally and financially and then get them to accept a plea deal on some charge (often not even the original thing they were investigating). Recall that the people being investigated for alleged Russian collusion weren't actually convicted of Russian collusion. They were convicted of business dealings that came up when they were doing the investigation (and not necessarily even in Russia). When the Feds dig they will find crimes somewhere.

I recall a case I saw of an ex-wife who had her former husband set up in terms of some stuff that was found on his computer. The news documentary said that had he been an ordinary person and not a multimillionaire he would have probably been in jail for a significant amount of time. However, he had deep pockets and was able to pay for prolonged investigation of his case and the skilled forensic experts that eventually proved his innocence.

Unfortunately, that is just the way our justice system works. Money gives you advantages.

 

A US media commentator on political matters seems unlikely to prevail in a lawsuit over criticism of his degrees. Public figure, “fair comment,” etc. But Steve’s point is well taken.

 

The Mexican higher education system is a bit mysterious to me. Would someone explain the validity of a doctoral degree "validated" by Azteca?

 

Azteca degrees with “Recognition of Official Validity of Studies” (RVOE) have as much value as any other Mexican degree. Personally, I think they're valuable. But the university does not issue these recognized degrees to international online students.

Quote from their website: "According to Mexican Higher Education regulations Universidad Azteca is authorised to offer higher education and award degrees with national recognition RVOE as well as own academic and professional higher degrees of the university (grados propios) in accordance with the Mexican Qualifications Framework MMC (almost identical to EQF)." (Link: https://azteca.university/about/recognition)

What’s the validity of a doctoral degree without official validity (RVOE)? That’s an interesting question to consider. Well, those are the only degrees that they grant through validation to online learners from outside Mexico; https://azteca.university/studies/degree-courses/validation-prior-learning.

While I can see value in propio-type degrees issued based only on the recognition of the institution itself, I fail to see the value in a doctorate obtained in this type of setup.

 

Remember, you go to university to get an education and a degree.

Setting the education aside--I have zero insight to it--what matters is how the degree performs. In the U.S., in formal settings where there is a critical eye given to one's credentials, what a foreign credential evaluator has to say about it is what matters most. Otherwise, I don't think it matters very much. Almost 25 years ago I concluded that the gatekeepers--the HR professionals--don't know and don't care. I suspect nothing much has changed.

 

I saw a LinkedIn post by someone calling themselves "Prof. Frankie Lee Graham Jr. EdD, DBA, DPA, DPP, DSc, PsyD, LLD, TESOLD" and noted that Rashad Richey is their mentor. They (Graham) claim to be involved with organizations called Graham Department of Education (GDE), Graham International University (GIU), Graham School of English, Graham High School, Graham Middle School and Graham Elementary School. I assume they awarded themselves their doctorates.

If you ask me, 628 credentials but not a single peer-reviewed article does not an accomplished scholar make.

Edit: Google has cached an older version of their LinkedIn when their post-nominals were a mere, EdD, LLM, MA, MBA, MPA, MPP, MSc. You'd think they would keep some of those even as they add Doctorates.

 

Ah shoot, I fought the edit clock and lost. Their Education section is available on LinkedIn. The short version is that they are awarded most of their credentials from "Graham International University", a clear conflict of interest. Other credentials come from Logos University Int and EDU Effective Business School.

They may actually hold credentials from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (a BA in International Studies in 2008) and AMU (an MA in International Relations awarded in 2011 and an MEd awarded in 2013.) Not sure if their MBA from
Singapore Business School is legit, but anyway there's no reason to embellish or falsify when they have perfectly legitimate credentials.

 

Wowzers....and I thought one doctorate was enough....

 

Wait a minute, I am looking when the doctorates were earned. Some of them he has 2025 ( although that could be when he expects to earn them) as dates and many of them are going on at the same time. Wow, just wow. Extraordinary.

 

Anyone can make those claims. They're ethereal.

"That's not writing; that's typing." -- Truman Capote (about Jack Kerouac)

 

Why did the ghost decide not to pursue his degree from the Ethereal College? Because he heard their accreditation was spirited away!

I view ethereal degrees in a light-hearted, non-serious manner where the aim is humor or social commentary - but I don't think this is the case. This really is a bad joke.