SRU alumna at RA grad school

At http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=86174#post86174, Leonard van der Walt wrote, "With an SRU degree, on the other hand, you can get into some very nice GAAP and RA grad schools."

Gus Sainz responded, "Yeah. It's a shame, however, that none of them are on planet Earth. "

What planet is East Carolina University on?
http://www.ecu.edu/microbiology/students.htm

 

Now that is interesting. Wow!

Tony

 

Also interesting...

is that her professor's academic credentials are all from the University of Illinois, the same place where the "Scourge of Saint Regis", George Gollin, teaches.

What twisted webs we weave!!!

 

If East Carolina University recognizes degrees from SRU, then I shouldn't have any problem getting a job as a professor at this university as soon as my credit card transaction clears in Liberia.

 

Do you have any proof that the student was admitted on the basis of her St. Regis degree? It could be that she was admitted to the program in spite of it. This from ECU’s Graduate School Application Information Web site (see here):

• Admissions Requirements
  
  The Graduate School requires that all applicants have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited four-year institution. Most graduate programs require that this degree be in an area related to the graduate program to which you are applying. Some programs will accept students with baccalaureate degrees in nonrelated areas if the student agrees to take remedial undergraduate course work upon admission into the program.
  
  To qualify for regular admission to the Graduate School, an applicant must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 or a senior year GPA of 3.0, and a satisfactory score on the required standardized test (GRE, MAT, GMAT). Admission to our graduate programs is competitive, and most students have credentials above the minimum requirements listed here. Therefore, the average scores of students accepted into each program are listed in the program descriptions so that you can compare the credentials of our typical students with your own.
  
  Each graduate program decides on the admissibility of its students. Some programs will recommend admission by exception for a limited number of students who do not qualify for regular admission if the students have offsetting strengths in other areas. Students with marginal credentials are advised to consult with the program director about admissibility.

Although it seems that ECU is willing to occasionally make exceptions, currently, it appears as if the student in question somehow (perhaps with the assistance of a St. Regis affiliated credential evaluation service) pulled the wool over the eyes of someone at ECU, and the question of her credentials legitimacy simply “fell through the cracks.”

 

test anxiety?

Perhaps an excellent GPA combined with an unusual life history in her application would make an admissions committee ascribe a low GRE score to test anxiety and deweight it in their deliberations.

I think it's likely that she just slipped through: they were busy, hadn't heard of Saint Regis, and took it on faith that her credentials were accurate and legitimate.

BUT maybe she studied with Dr. Professor Hans J. Kempe, Ph.D., M.D., N.D.

After all,

The internationally renowned scientist, Professor Dr. Hans J. Kempe is the President of PRIME International AG, in Switzerland, a Research Institute of modulated energies in the field of biophysics. He obtained a Doctor of Medicine in Immunology from the Russian Medical Military Academy with honours; M.S. in Mechanical Engineering; B.S. in Physics; M.S. in Physics; PhD in Biophysics; an N.D. in Naturopathy from Clayton College of Natural Health; and Board Certified by the AAMA.

There's also a NASA connection (why DO they so want to be cosmonauts?) and it looks like his head is properly attached, so anything is possible. Maybe he's a good mentor.

G

 

If this individual was admitted to a graduate program on the basis of a degree that by all appearances can simply be purchased, then we have a pretty good illustration of the dangers inherent in uncritical acceptance of flag-of-convenience "accreditation".

I'd like to ask Mark Israel to give us his own opinion of the meaning and significance of this information.

 

I have seen no evidence that a Bachelor's degree "can simply be purchased" from SRU. As George Gollin has shown, SRU uses a ridiculously easy exam to confer high school diplomas and Associate's degrees. However, I think Bachelor's degrees and above may require some actual work, albeit significantly less work than the namesake RA degrees.

SRU will (pretend to) function as an Excelsior-like credit accumulator if you ask it to, so it's possible that this student took some real immunology courses and transferred them in.

As to what basis ECU admitted her on, I have no evidence and nothing to add to other people's speculations.

 

If it has been proven that SRU sells AA degrees for nothing more than a check and passing a test that 75% of pigeons could pass then I believe it is fair and reasonable to assume that SRU is a degree mill. If Mark doesn't want to believe that it's a shady operation when it comes to Bachelor's degrees, then that is unreasonable but fine in my opinion. It is similar to saying that SRU was a degree mill yesterday but you'll have to prove again that they are still a degree mill today.

 

> If Mark doesn't want to believe that it's a shady operation
> when it comes to Bachelor's degrees

SRU is tainted, all right. But there are tainted schools that require some actual work. Witness Kennedy-Western.

 

Why didn't she just lay down a grand and buy a doctorate??

I suspect that it is much easier for a bachelor's degree to fly under the radar.

 

he didn't say that

Hi Bill,

I don't think that's quite what Mark meant. We know that SRU would sell an AA degree in exchange for money and the time it took to fill out a trivially simple test form. Is there any hard, reliable documentation anywhere of somebody's experience with an SRU BA so that we know what's really "required"?

G

 

Perhaps Mark wasn't answering the question on the table? If he was then it would seem to indicate to me that he was saying perhaps the SRU Bachelor's degree is known by ECU to be a reasonable degree that was earned and we just weren't aware of the fact.

 

What does John Bear say??

I apologize for double posting (I posted this same response on another thread about the subject).

But I'm curious.... at one time John Bear said that if "one, just one" example of an RA institution accepting a SRU grad could be proven he might be willing to modify or at least reconsider his stance on this organization, or something to that effect...

It would be great to hear John Bear's analysis of the situation, and whether this indeed is that "one" example he (and many of us) have been waiting to see.

Not that it means SRU is OK, it is just an interesting data point in the continuing discussion of this institution and its quest for legitimacy.

 

it was probably a mistake

It seems likely that an admissions person at the school made a mistake, and didn't realize that SRU wasn't REALLY recognized by IAU/UNESCO, etc. etc.

I don't think that fooling somebody who is a little too trusting, and doesn't understand about SRU, amounts to acceptance of an SRU credential.

G

 

Re: What does John Bear say??

I posted this in response to your message in another thread, but it bears repeating here. Dr. Bear wanted proof that an RA institution accepted St. Regis degrees or transfer credits as a matter of policy. This clearly isn’t the case here, as this student simply “fell through the cracks.”

 

Serious work in the bachelors? Then go for the doctorate.

http://www.saintregisedu.org/honorary_worldpay.html

 

ECU student de-listed

See http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12022.

G

 

As late as this last summer, SRU had a webpage up that certainly appeared to be selling degrees. They (or rather the 'NBOE') also seemed to be reselling Liberian accreditation.

SRU has a propensity to create phony "marketing entities", witness the totally fake American DL "universities" they created out of nothing, complete with Liberian accreditation, this summer.

I'd suspect that any academic requirements that SRU now posts on their webpages are mere "marketing entities" as well, and should be treated with considerable skepticism.

If SRU really has changed and is now legitimate, quasi-legitimate, or whatever it is that you are suggesting they might be, I'd like to see some evidence of their academic credibility presented by trustworthy and reliable third parties.

 

Bill Dayson wrote:

> As late as this last summer, SRU had a webpage up that
> certainly appeared to be selling degrees.

If you can find that page with the Wayback Machine, it might well convince me.

> I'd suspect that any academic requirements that SRU now
> posts on their webpages are mere "marketing entities" as well,
> and should be treated with considerable skepticism.

Skepticism, by all means! But skepticism of itself does not justify the positive assertion in your phrase "a degree that by all appearances can simply be purchased".

> If SRU really has changed

That "if" clause does not reflect anything I've said or thought.

Dennis Ruhl wrote:

> Serious work in the bachelors? Then go for the doctorate.
> http://www.saintregisedu.org/honorary_worldpay.html

So they're openly selling honorary degrees. Some RA schools would do the same, if their accreditors would let them.

Bill Huffman wrote:

> Perhaps Mark wasn't answering the question on the table?

Perhaps there's more one question on the table? In a thread started by me, I don't see why other people should get to decide what "the question" is. But I answered what I think you're referring to as "the question" when I said, "As to what basis ECU admitted her on, I have no evidence and nothing to add to other people's speculations." My point about the requirements for an SRU Bachelor's degree was in response to Bill Dayson's phrase "a degree that by all appearances can simply be purchased", and had no reference to anything at ECU.

> If he was then it would seem to indicate to me that he was
> saying perhaps the SRU Bachelor's degree is known by ECU to
> be a reasonable degree that was earned and we just weren't
> aware of the fact.

I wasn't saying that. "Known by ECU to be a reasonable degree"? Even yesterday I was going to say "Very unlikely, my friend"; and today it's very, very unlikely.