What countries do not require accreditation?

or have a very low cost and simple accreditation process?

 

So you can start your mill and offer online classes?

 

Dysfunctional countries?

 

Right! Dysfunctional countries!

Hi

Yes - indeed. Dysfunctional -- or unreal.

My first vote goes to Panama. My second to British Virgin Islands and unreal places like Seborga and Hutt River Province. My third -- uh, various dots in the Pacific like Wallis & Futuna Islands.

WE get spamdoodlers touting "legal and licensed" uh..."universities" in Panama all the time. All you need to start a University there is a (bought) license from the Ministry. That lets you operate a school, which you can call a University and you can confer degree-looking papers if you like. They aren't worth anything, though. To be a mainstream university in Panama requires the supervision of, and approval of all courses, teaching etc. by the University of Panama. None of the foolie-skoolies touted by the spam-meisters have that.

The unreal countries will take your money too. A lot of these schools claim to be accredited by the "International Parliament for Safety and Peace,." which appears to be an address Palermo Sicily, where people are supposed to send money.

BVI requires that you set up an IBC (cost about $1,200) and for that you get a charter declaring your "school" is legal so you won't (likely) go to jail for selling worthless degrees -- and a post-box in Tortola for dazzled fools to send you money.

It's not easy to accredit in Pakistan or Vietnam, but that doesn't stop American unaccreds like Preston (or American sounding ones like the late "Florida Green U.") from taking money from locals.

All in all, "bad schools" are bad business -- like organized crime. Still, tempting to some, lucrative to be sure, and easier to join.

You don't have to wait for your Uncle Vito's invitation.

Johann

 

The easiest should be Somalia or some other country with no central government control over its territory. But such location is not making a good brand name for your "school".

It is better to try some small or island country/territory (if possible, English-speaking one). I would rather pick British Virgin Islands than Panama, "British" in name of school's location is good for impression and easy to misinterpret as "accredited from UK" :biggrin:

 

Denmark? Didn't they manage to pass new legislation which closed long-unaccredited Knightsbridge U. -- or were there other reasons?

And U.S. -federally, I guess you're right, Steve, but - as I'm sure you know - some states (e.g. Wyoming) have passed "accredit or leave" laws. According a recent posting by Dr. Steve Levicoff, (in another forum) Pennyslvania even has an exception to the "accreditation-exempt religious schools" deal that I thought was U.S. - wide. That was a real surprise, to me.

Johann

 

The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization has posted an evaluation of state policies on the exemption of religious schools. According to ODA, 21 states (plus Puerto Rico) do have religious exemptions, while 29 states (plus the District of Columbia) do not. Pennsylvania is, in fact, listed by ODA as one of the 29 states that do not have a religious exemption. The ODA evaluation is dated August 2009, so it appears to be reasonably current.

The idea that religious schools throughout the US are automatically exempt from state regulation is widely believed, but it seems to be a myth. It's true that many US states do provide religious exemptions, but an even larger number of states do not.

 

For a big enough fool -ANYTHING is easy to misinterpret. Such a school (hatched by BVI incorporation) may be "legal" (somewhere on this planet) but the degrees it sells are STILL worthless. It's not a business I think anyone here really wants to get into -- at least I hope not.

Again, it's like "mob" operations. Interesting to discuss -- and you're not expected to "sign up," just because you find the subject interesting.

Johann

 

There's a perfectly legal way for a new school to completely bypass all of the rules about licensing or accreditation, in any state. Simply offer classes and education -- but not degrees. As far as I know, there is no regulation of private tutoring anywhere in the US.

You might need a business license if you advertise and charge for your classes -- as with any other paid service that you might offer -- but that's not difficult or expensive to get.

 

Johann, thank you. While I do have three almost four degrees from accredited Universities in the US, I do have different reasons and motivations other than starting a diploma mill. Just because a school is accredited, doesn't mean it is not a diploma mill. Walden University and University of Phoenix are two that come to mind. Also, Jackonville University didn't lose their accreditation when it was discovered the president plagiarized his mission statement.

While the school I would set up would be for profit, it would aim towards low income earners in foreign countries that would have very little options. Since, I have traveled and worked overseas the last five years, especially as a teacher, I have seen smart kids denied education, because they didn't have the money.

I have seen dumb kids get grades for pay.

The completion of a degree would require an apprenticeship and an on-line journal showing what was learned was incorporated into his/her work environment.

 

I think that in Somalia you need pirate accreditation. Aaaarrr! irate:

 

Sorry, I mean Steveforrester.

 

These two universities (Walden & Phoenix) may be expensive, but they are legitimate institutions. I would hardly consider them to be mills.

 

caldog: "There's a perfectly legal way for a new school to completely bypass all of the rules about licensing or accreditation, in any state. Simply offer classes and education -- but not degrees."

John: Or, on occasion, the exact opposite. Vancouver University Worldwide operated for many years in BC, Canada. Their claim to being legal, at times, was that BC law regulated schools that "offered courses and granted degrees" -- and they did not offer courses, but only awarded degrees, so they didn't need to be approved.

 

This sounds like a "life_experience_degree" :dunno:

 

Anyone trying to setup a school on such a thin budget is probably going to end up in mill territory whether or not that was their original intent.