Suffield University

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by Duped, Nov 27, 2003.

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  1. Duped

    Duped New Member

    Does anyone know how long this "university" has been online? I know it is a mill, but a close friend is wanting us all to believe he got his PHD from this institution. I had no idea what a problem this has become until I did some snooping on the internet, finding the Suffield website and this forum. What an eye opener. After being confronted with the truth, this person went on to explain that he indeed DID do the work necessary and that Suffield must have changed their website.....ya...right.
    Appreciate any help with this.
     
  2. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    According to Whois, its domain has been registered only since last December:

    Registrant:
    Domains by Proxy, Inc.
    15111 N Hayden Rd., Suite 160
    PMB353
    Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
    United States

    Registered through: GoDaddy.com
    Domain Name: SUFFIELDUNIVERSITY.COM
    Created on: 17-Dec-02
    Expires on: 17-Dec-04

    Fake accreditation, no source of degree-granting authority, diplomas at levels in almost any field. Standard mill stuff. Except....

    "Suffield College & University is located in the United States." So are courts and prisons. Let's hope they meet up.

    Claims accreditation from a fake agency (NDLAC) that lists just two schools: Suffield and Redding Universities. Redding's domain is registered by the same person who registered the NDLAC site.

    Your friend didn't get a Ph.D. there. He got a diploma with those words and his name. Not the same.

    BTW, a search of this board would reveal threads discussing this operation, like
    here.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 27, 2003
  3. Duped

    Duped New Member

    I applied to this place for my BA with a major in a field I know nothing about. I got a congrats note within 48 hours. What a joke.

    I just hope this person doesn't actually try to get a job with this fake diploma. It's a doctorate in psychology if you please. I would imagine the consequences would be very bad if found out.
    At the very least it is embarassing to his family, whose elderly parents just don't understand that a diploma or degree can be bought online. They just trust. What a mess. I would think this person needs to be seeing a psycholgist themselves to do such a thing.

    Thanks for your reply and your help. If this place just went online in Dec. of 2002, then he is covering one lie with another, wanting us to believe that he has been doing courses with them for two years. Oh ya...there is even a graduation he says. Oh dear
     
  4. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

    Rich Douglas wrote:

    > According to Whois, its domain has been registered only
    > since last December


    But the content of the Website is older than that. Compare Suffield University's FAQ page:

    "The degree program has been specifically developed by Suffield College and University to provide a legal way for people to gain their academic qualifications by using their previous learning experience and accomplishments."
    "At this time, None of the recognized regional accrediting organizations accept as members institutions that are not dedicated to traditional education that requires residency and classroom attendance."
    http://www.suffielduniversity.com/FAQ/default.asp

    with Americus University's FAQ page:

    "The degree program has been specifically developed by Americus University to provide a legal way for people to gain their academic qualifications by using their previous experience and accomplishment."
    http://web.archive.org/web/20020204145357/http://www.1onlinecollegedegrees.com/FAQ.htm

    and Trinity College and University's FAQ page:
    "At this time, NONE of the recognized regional accrediting organizations accept as members institutions that are not dedicated to traditional education that requires residency and classroom attendance."
    http://www.trinity-college.edu/faq.html

    Americus University goes back to 2001, and Trinity College and University goes back decades.
     
  5. Duped

    Duped New Member

    So this place could have been on the net...just with another domain? Does anyone think that this place may have been legit in past years? It hasn't been listed in Bears' books as far as I can tell.
     
  6. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

    > So this place could have been on the net...
    > just with another domain?


    The name "Suffield" is apparently new. But Suffield is operated either by the same people who operate Americus, or by people who plagiarized Americus's Website.

    > Does anyone think that this place may have been legit in
    > past years?


    No.

    You could ask to see your friend's Ph.D. thesis. He may have submitted a substantial thesis. (Diploma mills have been known to accept substantial theses -- although they don't usually have anyone on staff who can understand them.) But more likely, your friend will refuse to show you the thesis.
     
  7. traderneil

    traderneil New Member

    Suffield University/ Trinity College

    I first received an email from Trinity College explaining how easy it would be to get a graduate degree. I did some searching and came up with Suffield University. For about a thousand dollars Suffield says you can get a combined MS/Phd degree in a short amount of time.WOW WHAT A DEAL I THOUGHT> I couldn't believe my eyes and started to accept everthing they said on their website. I was already calling myself Dr.Neil. Well I started sending them emails with questions> and they answered them but stupidly,and with one word answers. I found this forum and realized it was like the old saying IF its too good to be true than it probably is. Thanks to John Bear
     
  8. galanga

    galanga New Member

    a litle more info is here...

    http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/oregon_north_dakota/index_or.html#suffield_college_and_university

    The FAQ section of the Suffield site is especially amusing:

    7. Is this a legal degree?
    (If you have to ask...)

    ...

    9. How long will it take to get my degree?
    In most cases the whole process can be completed within 14 days.

    ...

    21. Can I get a brochure mailed to my home address?
    (No.)

    22. How can I phone you?
    Please! No phone calls!

    ...

    26. Is this a diploma mill?
    (Again, if you have to ask...)

    G
     
  9. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

  10. bgossett

    bgossett New Member

  11. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    You know, if we ever had a degreeinfo convention (now there's a truly bizarre idea!), each of us ought to wear a t-shirt from a "campus store" of a l-t-w "school."
     
  12. bgossett

    bgossett New Member

    Great idea, Unk. It would have the added advantage of facilitating visual inspection of the neck area thereby ensuring identification of SRU faculty spies. It might also answer the question of how they keep their heads on.
     
  13. roysavia

    roysavia New Member

    The only two degrees this institution is eligible to confer on prospective students are:

    BS - Bull Shit
    MBA - Master of Blind Ambition :rolleyes:
     
  14. jzdziarski

    jzdziarski New Member

    Suffield = Bogus

    I did a little digging into Suffield and found some useful information. It's laughable, the thought that they are reputable in any way. Even if you just wanted to buy a degree online to have something to put on your resume, I wouldn't waste my time with these people - you could print one out yourself and make it look more reputable.

    1. They are accredited by NDLAC, which doesn't seem to really exist as anything but a front. The WHOIS information points to some guy in CT, and the web forms used on their website were made with ezsitedesigner.com. There is no member list, and ironically the only two colleges listed as "feature" colleges include suffield university and another clone.

    2. Suffield, unlike any other reputable distance learning college, doesn't have their own IP space. They have one IP listed under netplex:

    $ whois -h whois.arin.net 209.140.192.183
    [Querying whois.arin.net]
    [whois.arin.net]
    WINSTAR NETBLK-WINSTAR-BLK6 (NET-209-140-0-0-1)
    209.140.0.0 - 209.141.255.255
    NETPLEX NTPLX-GN (NET-209-140-192-0-1)
    209.140.192.0 - 209.140.223.255

    In fact, if you go to any of the other IP addresses in their network block you get other websites including car dealerships and personal websites...on top of this their SMTP server is configured to suspiciously hide information about them, so they are clearly running on a hosted server probably paying $9.95 a mo, whereas any reputable college would at least have their own box.

    4. I submitted some information to them just to see what their process was like. Clearly they have no evaluation practices or even make an attempt to determine if you know ANYTHING. 1 day later, I received the email below. I merely sent to them a partial work history and nothing suggesting I knew anything about anything.

    From: <[email protected]>
    To: <hidden>
    Subject: Congratulations from Suffield University!!
    Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 08:25:16 -0500

    Congratulations! (Please print this e-mail)

    Dear Jonathan,
    After careful review of your previous life learning experiences by the
    curriculum assessment board:
    You have been awarded the degree(s) of:
    'Bachelor of Science' in the major of 'Computer Science'.
    'Master of Science' in the major of 'Computer Science'.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To receive your degree you will need to proceed to our secured payment
    site:
    http://payment.suffielduniversity.com
    (Please click on the above link; if you have difficulty accessing the site
    please call 1-866-919-9992.)


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Your student I.D. number is: <hidden>.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Your student I.D. will enable you to receive all the benefits afforded you
    by your Suffield University degree.(Degree confirmation, Alumni area,
    College store, ect)

    Remember you will need your student I.D. to enter the secure payment site.

    Sincerely,
    Joel Silver
    Program Coordinator
    866-919-9992
     
  15. ianmoseley

    ianmoseley New Member

    Domains by Proxy specialise in helping people hide their whois details.

    You could complain to them that the site is not legitimate, since they claim to exercise due diligence, but I doubt it will achieve anything
     
  16. ianmoseley

    ianmoseley New Member

  17. bgossett

    bgossett New Member

    That is interesting. The page apparently "floats" and isn't internally linked from elsewhere on the proresplus site. There is a link, naturally, from the Suffield site, where proresplus gets a four-paragraph, glowing recommendation.

    Suffield seems to have some relationship to the new mill Armed Forces University, both apparently having roots in Connecticut, which is also the home of proresplus.
     
  18. jzdziarski

    jzdziarski New Member

    ...and the location of NDLAC, the alleged "accreditation" behind Suffield. I got another email from Suffield today - it seems everything there revolves around a guy named Joel. Odd that I haven't spoken to anyone else there, mebbe Joel IS suffield university.
     
  19. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    uncle janko: "You know, if we ever had a degreeinfo convention (now there's a truly bizarre idea!), each of us ought to wear a t-shirt from a "campus store" of a l-t-w "school."

    John: Actually I had a visit this week from a person who posts here, and was presented with this. And I do really like the idea of the convention, even if (or perhaps especially if) the name badges were the screen names only, and anonymity could be preserved for them as wants it.
     

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