University of London International Programmes

I am absolutely working on my Doctorate at the Institute of Education, UCL. I am a part-time international Ed.D. student. I have taken a year off to work on this project, but I am still in good standing with UCL, and intend to finish my degree by the end of 2020 or beginning of 2021. I have never claimed to have completed this course.

You were correct about the LinkedIn saying 2017... But that was unintentional, and has now been corrected. LinkedIn doesn't have a 'current' option and I unfortunately don't spend all my time remembering what I need to update on my social media.

I am building a start-up. I am currently working on term sheets with a co-founder/CTO and part of those terms are the use of his developers in Armenia, which is already underway. But this is a startup and I do not have the capital to hire a big team. Also, this accusation that I am starting a university shows you have misunderstood the project and its aim. I am building a platform that will facilitate students to connect with teachers directly. Teachers who teach these courses already, but typically for very low wages. Students who take these courses already but typically for very steep tuition rates. So I am not building a university. I am building a technology platform that will hopefully disrupt private universities that overcharge students and underpay teachers. And, maybe this is just a fantasy Steve... It's really too early to tell. But, I like the fantasy that I can build a platform where students pay much less tuition and teachers earn much more money. So, I'm going to keep dreaming that dream and working on making it real.

And, this idea that I should not be recruiting because I am not fully developed... Why? I am not trying to take money from anyone. I am not trying to put anyone out. I am honestly and truly trying to give these teachers a better option. And, a chance to build the courses they already teach on my platform with the help of my tech team. It costs them nothing, and because they already have the courses, will take them relatively little effort. I'm not promising them anything. Just offering potential. And, their success is my success, so I will work to make that potential realized.

And finally, with the exception of that one oversight on my LinkedIn page which has now been corrected, my credentials as an educator are sound, as are my experiences and reputation.

I really don't understand where all this vitriol is coming from Steve. Lots of accusations and assumptions all of which are either baseless or blown completely out of proportion. I have not tried to deceive anyone about anything. I stated I am working on my doctorate, which I am. Never said I have one (the LinkedIn thing was an oversight). I told you this is a startup (and so obviously is under development). I never said I was a big company with lots of people working for me. All I was asking for was for students who are taking UOLIP courses and have good teachers to let them know about my project in case they want to join. If they don't like the project or its current stage of development they don't have to build a profile.

So what's really bothering you mate? Why, are you so unnecessarily aggressive? Have you had bad experiences in your own education (btw are you a current student somewhere?)? If so, I'd actually like to hear that story, because I really am trying to offer a better option than what's currently available. And, I'd like to tell you mine. And, it sounds like we actually may hold some of the same thoughts and ideals. This project is born out of my own loathing of profiteering in private education. I detest the way universities in the west are selling their brands to profiteers in the emerging markets. I am disgusted by how much students are being charged in those institutions as a result and how little added value is actually given. So this might be a chance to have a good conversation about a dysfunctional system that needs to be disrupted.

 

Let me throw you a clue Thomas. We've been having that conversation since this site was started 20 years ago. You're late to the party. One question I've got for you is simply this, why would any student want to go to your school? It's unknown, untested, unaccredited and your out on the internet randomly begging for instructors (very unattractive, I have to say.) So why should anyone give you their money since whatever paper they get in return will be essentially worthless.

 

I can't believe I may sound like I'm coming to the defense of a project I know nothing about but it doesn't look like our guest here is awarding any credentials or would require any accreditation. We get these from time to time, the places that seem to just be prepping you for exams at actual schools. As with all of these, the question invariably comes up; Am I getting a diploma from UCL because I took UCL exams? Or am I getting a diploma from this school/company with a UCL stamp on it of some sort? It's hard to tell what is actually being claimed since so much of the website is blank.

I would just add, Thomas, that misspelling "Madison Square Garden" on your website doesn't help with the initial impression seeming a bit shady. Though it also appears above what might very well be the placeholder email that your website template came with.

Look, I work in HR. I work for a big Fortune 500 company. When I reach out to people to try to recruit them, something I don't really do very much of in my present role sadly, people have a generally good idea of who I am and which company I represent. I have a company email. You can call our main number and be directed to my office. It's all good. These are things I look for when a headhunter approaches me.

But when the headhunter uses language that implies that they are an employee and not a third party recruiter for a particular employer, is evasive about their company or the nature of their relationship, I now have to wonder if this guy or gal even has a contract with that company or if they are hoping to find qualified candidates and extort a fee after the fact. That matters to me as a potential applicant because I might just be better off applying through their website. Aside from not sending my personal information to a stranger of unknown provenance I want to make sure that when I do send my personal information out that it is landing in the spot that best positions me to get a call for an interview. Intermediaries are not always credible, reliable or a good idea.

So with all of that in mind, I would encourage you to 1) correct the typos. Seriously, dude, you're working on a doctorate and you can't spell check your website? If this is a business you're serious about then you need to act like it. 2) Fill in ALL of the gaps on your website and cover why someone unfamiliar with UCL, particularly someone from the US, might consider UCL. Explain how you fit in. Explain what you do and do not do. Explain all fees, including ones that might be UCL's and not yours and either a contact to verify a contractual arrangement between UCL and your school or a very clear explanation that there is no such arrangement but that is OK because of X,Y or Z (i.e. We aren't UCL, we are prepping you for the exams at UCL).

Because I gotta tell ya, without that basic information I cannot imagine any qualified instructor would want to jump on board with you. It would be like if you wanted me to hire you as a consultant but instead of a business card you wanted to write your phone number on my hand. Get your crap together, be presentation ready and then hit the market.

 

It's a placeholder. Something the team put up while they develop the back end. The site is not active yet. I am building it. I am currently looking for instructors who teach University of London International Programmes who are interested in building their courses onto the site now. When that is done, the site will go live. I am currently working with about 10 instructors but the more the merrier. That is my current focus.

 

Thomas,

If you've been in academic management for as long as you state, you would know a few things:
Misrepresentation of degrees is generally considered fraud. Stating that your misrepresentation was unintentional implies incompetence. You simply don't list a degree that you haven't earned, without clarifying that you are a student in the degree program or listing an anticipated date of degree completion. Yes, even professional social media allows you to do that.
Your webpage is riddled with... misrepresentations, to put it kindly. A pattern of misrepresentation, can lead people to another term...
The very banner of your page implies that you'll help them finish their degree at the University of London.
When you state that they can finish their degree at a fraction of the tuition rates? How is that to occur when your courses are not recognized?
You keep referencing the University of London, do you have an official professional relationship? If not... it's a serious misrepresentation....
You're using the implication of University of London affiliation and price undercutting, for an off-shores commercial venture. Why would any Chair, Dean, or Executive allow an inferior organization to undercut them with their own faculty and instructional materials?
You're using multiple watermarked pictures on your website? You're operating a commercial entity...
How are you going to operated a LMS, when your WordPress skills are...
Where do you come up with the notion that there is the profit margin you declared, from an established and highly reputable flagship institution? There are a number of people here in academic management, and I'm not sure any of us from reputable institutions have seen that.
While this is a personal opinion, I struggle with the concept of someone calling themselves a CEO, when they do not have a team of executives and are pulling in real revenue of significance.

Perhaps you're not intentionally trying to be... misrepresentative... and are simply overzealous and in over your head. If that's the case, I implore you take a pause, and start reviewing everything before you go further. Develop a real vision and mission statement, and focus. You also really need to clearly articulate and have in writing an official affiliation with any institution that you're implying affiliation with, immediately or cease it. You're certainly not starting out on a good foot, and in the end, we only have our reputations. Currently though, what you're doing appears to follow a pattern that... well... yeah. It's also a pattern that has been followed by many fraudulent operations, be careful which road you travel.

 

This is a great question.

I am not the school. The school is University of London, which is actually a federation of universities and colleges (e.g. LSE, UCL, Kings College, etc...). They have developed a huge portfolio of 'distance learning' programs. All the curriculum is developed by a number of the 19 universities in the federation. So for example there is a suite of programs with academic direction coming from the LSE called EMFSS (Economics, Management, Finance and Social Sciences).

What is great about these programmes is that because all the curriculum is developed by LSE academics (with the same level of rigour and standard) and all the exams are written by the same academics (these programmes are 100% exam based). Whatever marks the students get are real (no possibility of cheating or plagiarizing).

However, because they are so difficult very few students can pass without a teaching and learning component. As a result there are about 70 institutions around the world that teach these programmes (SIM in Singapore, HELP in Malaysia, HKU SPACE in Hong Kong, etc...) and there are over 54,000 students a year most are studying in these institutions (I wrote my original post trying to communicate with some of these students).

The problem with many of these institutions (as is the problem with TNE in general) is they charge high tuition fees and have most if not all part-time teaching faculties.

So I want to create a platform for these teachers to teach their courses directly to those 54,000 plus students so the teachers can make more money and the students pay less tuition. And, if it works I want to do the same with iGCSEs (English Curriculum/Cambridge) and IB.

So the degree the students get is a University of London degree, and the teachers that teach them are the same ones at the institutions that teach those programmes around the world.

 

First of all, it's not unrepresentative to say I am currently working on a degree programme. And, I did put the anticipated completion date, and forgot to change it when that date passed, because I don't spend my time doting over my LinkedIn profile (I don't really spend a lot of time pining over my LinkedIn page because I've never not had a job)... And to that end, I never referred you to my LinkedIn page. You went there all on your own.

And, again the web page is not live. So whatever grievances you have with it are redundant.

And, University of London degrees are recognised all over the world. And, there distance learning programmes are taught all over the world. I am creating a space for the teachers that already teach those courses to do so and get paid better. I am not offering the degrees. University of London is. I am not doing the teaching. The qualified and experienced teachers all around the world are. I am simply offering a space for those students to find their best teacher and pay them directly (which will be much cheaper than the tuition than many of the 70+ teaching centers around the world that teach these programmes). And, not every teaching center is bad. Some are doing a great job. But there are quite a few that are taking advantage of their teachers, and that's what I want to disrupt.

And, the profit margin (70%) I gave as an example was of an institution I used to work for. And, the 30% revenue towards teacher pay is standard industry practice.

And, if you are in academic management and work in a good institution then great... Keep up the good work!

But if you know anything about what TNE is really like in places like Pakistan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Africa and the Middle East and have seen how the sausage gets made then you know what I'm talking about. Not all, but many of the TNE institutions take advantage.

 

So people have to sign up for the University of London course and then, in addition, sign up for your "program" which is just a tutoring service. So this takes a reasonably priced degree from the University of London and doubles or triples the cost. Do you offer any guarantees? Why would I pay your company anything. No track record, etc. U of L has their own tutors. Why wouldn't I simply use them? And BTW, this does not seem to be "disruptive" of higher education. It's just a tutoring service. Remora

 

So the first thing you need to understand is that this is already being done in 70+ institutions University of London call 'teaching centers' around the world some are recognised by University of London, many are not (there is a map of recognised institutions on the UOL website... Just click on 'distance learning' and then 'teaching centers'.

Now, technically students do not need to attend these teaching centers. When they sign up with UOL they get all there materials and at the end of the year they take there exams at British Council. However, these programmes are difficult, so out of the 54,000 students worldwide who take them, many end up going to these teaching centers. Now once there the teaching centers often charge on average just north of 10,000 USD per year tuition (that's on top of the fees students pay University of London). And, like I said many of those 54,000 students are currently already paying that money to those institutions. What do those institutions provide for that 10K? Not curriculum development (that's done by UOL), not assessment (that's also done by UOL). They provide a classroom and a teacher. But quite often they only hire, or majority hire part-time instructors and pay them an hourly wage only for the time they spend in the classroom... Again, this is happening right now all over the world. Over 54,000 students are currently in this system.

So to the tutoring question... Kind of but not entirely. You see when I think of tutors I think of a one off few hour session to help me with something I'm struggling with. These instructors have built entire courses for the above mentioned teaching centers (but they are part-time so technically that is their IP, because they only get paid for teaching not curriculum development). So were talking a years worth of coursework, not a few hours in a session.

 

Many of the U of London's traditional "external programmes" aren't taught. Students sign up, the university sends students a syllabus, the students study independently, then they take exams. So there are a whole variety of tutors out there who specialize in tutoring these students. There have been since the 19th century when many people in remote parts of the British Empire studied by correspondence that way. It's most emphatically nothing new.

I kind of like it, if truth be told. If I was in the market for a distance-learning philosophy BA, I'd give serious thought to the U. of London external philosophy BA, along with DL tutoring by somebody like Pathways.

 

You are “absolutely working” on your doctorate but have taken a year off to work on your Instatute project? Then, sir, you are not currently working on your doctorate. You may have taken a break from UCL under appropriate circumstances, but you are still like a husband separated from his spouse. Trying to con a group of accomplished educators that have been in this field since before you were a gleam in your parents’ eyes. Nice try, Tom.

Moreover, LinkedIn is hardly social media. It is the primary database of résumés around the world, to which people post their own résumés to find better jobs, engage in professional networking, and otherwise improve their lot in life. Are you attempting to put it on a par with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter? Get real. LinkedIn is not only a different breed, it is significant enough to reflect, by nature, a person’s most up-to-date credentials. It is, and should be, the first thing that gets updated when a change in status takes place.

In case you’re curious, I do not have a LinkedIn page – the account I have with them is totally blank and was set up strictly for me to access other people’s pages.

And, in the meantime, you are full unqualified to do what you are purporting to do. As long as you do not have a doctorate, sir, you are an amateur.

In short, Tommy, m’lad, you are like an evangelical Christian: yesterday a heathen, born again today, and tomorrow you’re calling yourself a theologian. Zeal without knowledge.

Oversight, my ass. If this is an oversight, sir, it’s one that you have allowed to fester for almost three years. At that point, I think we are safe in calling it intentional deception.

What vitriol? I am enjoying our little téte-a-téte. Because this is what I do, Thomas: I am a consumer advocate, helping to protect the public from wankers like you who don’t know what they’re doing.

And once again, you’re calling “the LinkedIn thing” a mere oversight? As Dana Carvey would say in his guise as The Church Lady (look it up), “How conveeeeeeenient.”

Tommy, m’lad (don’t-cha love the Brigadoon reference?), c’mon out of your corner and take a breath of fresh air. Because, quite clearly, I have you backed into a corner. I am on the offensive, and you are – not only with me, but with others in this thread – on the defensive. I don’t call what I’m doing unnecessary aggression, I call it early intervention. A new rip-off has come on the scene (that’s you, mate), and our hero (yeah, that’s l’il ol’ moi) has arrived on the scene to prevent the rip-off from scamming educators who are too dumb to recognize a rip-off on their own.

But asking whether I have had bad experiences (I have not) and whether I am a current student (I am not) shows not only your lack of preparation for the battle, but also your lack of ability to engage in independent research. You are like the biblical king who sent his 1,000 troops out again a neighboring king who had 10,000 troops, and who got trounced because he didn’t do his pre-battle research.

When you first breezed into our midst, as you should have noticed, several of us looked you up and did our research. (I will admit that my initial response to your original post, the one word “Scam,” was based on your web site alone – that review was all that was needed for my initial conclusion).

So, Thomas, be a good boy and do your research. Google my name and click on the first link – that’s a start. Because if you want to be my adversary, you must be worthy of being my adversary. And at this point, you are not worthy.

And tidy up your act. Many of the mistakes you’re making at this point are dumb ones – and while I’m used to eating people like you for lunch, at this juncture you do not even qualify as a snack. But keep trying – I, for one, am thoroughly enjoying our exchange.

 

Steve, mate. I do not have time to make an online troll an adversary, nor do I care enough to type your name into Google. I have better things to do. And, if this is what you do for a living than I feel really sorry for you, because hurling insults at people you don't know all day probably means you have become at least as ugly in real life as you present yourself here. Honestly, there is a kinder and better way to be.

And, I'm sure your online presence is just gleaming, shiny and beautiful... You seem to spend a lot of time online, so I'm sure it's a big part of your identity.

So now you are trying to attach me personally. Yes, I am divorced. That happens to 50% of people who get married. It's unfortunate, but I'm making the best of it. The fact that you are spending so much time cyber-stalking me again shows that you really need some professional help. Regardless, of how good it makes you feel on the inside trolling people, I can assure you this is not normal behaviour, and it is not healthy for you.

Tbh, I haven't really read much more of what you read. Like I said I don't really have time for internet trolls.

Just back to the LinkedIn thing to say my last piece, and then move on with my life. I started the programme in 2012, with the expectation of finishing in 2017. So at some point around 2012 I probably added that to my LinkedIn. A lot has happened since then (including my divorce and starting this project). So it wasn't really on the forefront of things to do and thus I forgot. Now to someone like you who obviously holds their online presence as their entire identity it must be hard to understand that. But for many of us these things really just aren't that important.

I have been taking time off of official enrollment to redirect my financial resources to the project, but I have continued working on my thesis. I finished all the taught courses, all my research and most of the analysis before I took an official break, so it is possible for me to refine my writing without regularly meeting with my supervisor.

 

Thomas, um, mate . . . If you want to engage with this forum and are not willing to make the time to read a one-page bio, then you will only continue to make dumb-ass assumptions and ask stupid questions about whether I had bad experiences in my own education (which I did not), whether I am a student (which I am not), and now whether I do this for a living (which I do not). You will continue to embarrass yourself through your lack of knowledge by being unwilling to click a mouse a couple of times, and the only ammunition you are able to load in your attacks consists of blanks. No loss to me, sport.

There you go, presuming again. No, I actually spend very little time online. And no, while I have my fans, I’m sure I have an equal number of detractors. When I bust people like you, it comes with the turf.

“Attach” you personally? For someone who presumes to be an educator, you’ve got to spend more time on your writing skills. Be that as it may I never said anything about your marriage (about which I knew nothing), I simply used an illustration that you are “like a husband separated from his spouse” in terms of your current student relationship with UCL. Now you’re using that as an excuse to whine about your divorce, about which I can’t say I care a bit. (Quite a shame, since Thomas isn't really a bad-looking guy. You can see him at http://bibf.academia.edu/ThomasWeeksBarnitt. On the other hand, many people thought that Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer were also good looking. But I digress . . . )

Nonsense. You have edited your LinkedIn profile several times over the past few years, and could have updated your educational profile any number of times. Your neglect in doing so was obviously intentional and had nothing to do with your being distracted.

As a side note, we are quite used to people like you who have weak points or downright misstatements in their personal profiles or corporate websites. When they are exposed on this forum, they go into their site and make the corrections that should have been made years earlier. In that sense, we become a quality control point for their shams. So I’m delighted, Thomas, that we could help you.

I’m delighted to hear that. But presuming, once again, that my online presence is my “entire identity?” We call that an ad hominem attack (or what you earlier referred to as an “attach”). Surely you can do better.

Yes, we’ve seen this all before – you are likely not even drawing a salary from the two latest adventures that you list at the top of your LinkedIn profile. After all, you’re “redirecting [your] financial resources” to these projects. And, in the meantime, you are not officially enrolled in your doctoral program (we’ve seen this phenomenon a lot here as well). Which means that you are likely not making any progress toward your doctorate.

Look, Thomas, I’m sure you’re a nice guy even though you might be a B.S. artist. But if you do not realize that you have not created any fans here, perhaps you never will. You act as if I’m the only one who has called you on bullshit, but in fact several of our members have done so. So give it up, um, mate, and put your time to better use. And if you still don’t want to check me out, don’t say that I didn’t offer you the opportunity to do so. Remember, I’m the one who is laughing at you.

My suggestion: Let this go. Seriously - don't even reply. With every response you continue to land your foot further up your bum (yes, I occasionally speak U.K. English). If you go for that sort of thing, more power to you. You've become quite good for entertainment, but it certainly isn't helping your reputation here. No pardon me, I shall go laugh at you again.

 

You probably should care. Because should the poo hit the fan and the media is raking you over the coals asking if you're running a scam, Dr. Levicoff is on the short list of people they will contact for an expert opinion. The thing about "trolls" is that they are unknown losers hiding behind anonymity. They are not published authors who, if they do sling mud, at least have the decency to sign their name to it.

If that matter of self interest is still of no concern to you, let me offer a more blunt observation. You're acting evasive and defensive. Within your first few posts you were called out on misrepresenting having a doctorate. You'll also notice that you cannot delete your posts and that this particular forum is treated most favorably by Google's algorithms. Which means that when people Google you or your organization, this exchange is going to come up. Only time will tell who comes out on the right side of history. But, at present, you'll notice that when you Google "Instatute" it comes back with your facebook page, then your website, then a series of websites discussing the misspelling of "institute" as "instatute." Then finally onto the twitter profile of an identically named organization stating it is the "future of schools" and based out of Dubai. Which means there is plenty of room for a forum with such a high domain authority as this to be prominently displayed. Of course, this is more likely to affect the Instatute the more the word "instatute" appears which may be of relevance to the owner of the Instatute who is concerned for the Instatute's future.

I'm not going to say your venture is a scam. I don't know enough about it or UCL or training centres in general. What I can say is that, as a seasoned community college adjunct, I would not even feel comfortable sending a resume to your present organization, let alone considering to teach. Your Google trail is nonexistent which can mean "new" or "fly by night." Your website is filled with misspelled placeholders. You can't update a simple template before soliciting professionals to take a risk? Because you are, whether you acknowledge it or not, asking would-be instructors to take a risk. You're an unknown. Maybe Instatute is the next udacity. Maybe this is the next Kennedy Western. We don't know and you're not doing a whole lot to assuage the concerns of any of us. As almost any of the people commenting here could easily be potential instructors you might take that into consideration.

So that is my humble advice, Mr. Thomas Weeks-Barnitt, CEO of Instatute. I'm just some rando human resources guy in Upstate New York, though. Take it as you will.

 

So Google might pick up on this thread the more it sees the word Instatute?

Hmmmmmm . . . I almost think it would be more fun at this point to call it the Instatoot.
But as long as Google will recognize Instatute, who am I to change it?

 

This made me laugh. Also, I'm awarding bonus points for your use of the word "assuage." It's entirely underused.

 

My amour-propre is buttressed by your adulation.

 

This thread is already on page two of the Google results for "Thomas Weeks-Barnitt."

Interestingly, this also points me to Mr. Weeks-Barnitt's YouTube Channel which has a handy video explaining Instatute to us. Of course, it was posted a year ago so I'm not sure that helps the argument of not having time to update that website...

It sounds like that rather than pitching a job here, Thomas was using the model employed by those websites seeking English teachers for students in Asia. You come and sign on to teach, you attract students and teach for a fee while using their platform and they shave a few bucks off the top in exchange for letting you use their platform to find students, manage the course and collect your money.

So...yeah.

 

Wow . . . And to think that after a year, Thomas's YouTube page has a whole three subscribers. That's the same number of subscribers his eight-year-old nephew has.

This guy is hardly worth wasting time on, but I would imagine that, at this point, he regrets having ever posted at DI.

Or maybe not - "educational entrepreneurs" are often in d-e-n-i-a-l. Which, since Thomas is apparently based in the Middle East, can also be called d'Nile.