Belford University
Belford University is an organization offering online unaccredited degrees for "life experience". The organization maintains a post office box in Humble, Texas, but its certificates are mailed from the United Arab Emirates.[1]
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[edit] Accreditation status
The school is not accredited by any accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) or Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Neither of the organizations from which Belford claims accreditation, the International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities (IAAOU) and the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA), are recognized accreditation associations of higher learning.[2] Without recognized accreditation, Belford's degrees and credits might not be acceptable to employers or other academic institutions, and use of degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions.[3] Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include South Korea[4] and the US states of Oregon,[5][6] Michigan,[7] Maine,[8] North Dakota,[6] New Jersey,[6] Washington,[5][9] Nevada,[5][10] Illinois,[5] Indiana[5] and Texas.[11][12] Many other states are also considering restrictions on the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions.[13]
[edit] Controversy and criticism
A 2005 investigative report on WHEC-TV in Rochester, New York, characterized Belford as "just one of hundreds of diploma mills easily accessible online."[14]
According to David Linkletter of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Belford "is not a legitimate institute of higher education. No legitimate university offers a complete degree on the basis of one's life experience. I particularly like the 'order now' button on their Web site, which is another clue...To the extent that Belford University is in Texas, it is operating in violation of the Texas Education Code."[1] Furthermore, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has indicated that Belford, Rochville University, and the agencies from which they claim accreditation "appear to be operated by the same people."[1]
In a 2007 article, a Yale Daily News journalist reported that he had applied for a doctorate with what he described as a brief paltry life experience justification, and was approved for his requested degree 12 hours later. He said that the basic price for a doctorate was $549 and entitled the recipient to a transcript showing a 3.0 grade point average. Latin honors could be obtained for an additional fee of $25 and Belford offered to back-date a degree for an additional $75 fee.[15]
Several people with "degrees" from Belford have been severely penalized for attempting to use them to qualify for jobs or promotions. A fire chief was dismissed from his job for his Belford "degree" in 2006.[16] Similarly, a faculty member at Pensacola State College was dismissed in January 2011 for "present[ing] college administrators with an unaccredited master’s degree from an online diploma mill that he obtained while on a paid sabbatical."[17] In 2008, a candidate for sheriff in Mahoning County, Ohio, was removed from the ballot after the Supreme Court of Ohio determined that his associate's degree from Belford could not be used to satisfy the state's requirement that a sheriff have at least two years of post-secondary education.[18]
Ahmad Tavakoli, a member of Iran's parliament, has made allegations that the vice president of Iran, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, holds a fraudulent PhD degree from Belford University. Tavakoli has published documents on his website purporting to show fraudulent documents created by Rahimi.[19]
[edit] Belford High School
Belford High School is an online entity, also based in Humble, Texas, and apparently affiliated with Belford University, that offers high school diplomas for a fee. The school's diplomas have no value and the school has been sued for defrauding purchasers.[20]
[edit] See also
- Accreditation mill
- Diploma mill
- List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
- List of unrecognized higher education accreditation organizations
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Malisow, Craig (2006-07-20). "First-Degree Fraud". Houston Press. http://www.houstonpress.com/2006-07-20/news/first-degree-fraud/. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ Recognized Accrediting Organizations (as of February, 2006), CHEA
- ^ Diploma Mills and Accreditation - Accreditation
- ^ Guide to teaching English in Korea Koreapot.com
- ^ a b c d e Unaccredited Colleges, Oregon Office of Degree Authorization
- ^ a b c State mulls online learning by the Associated Press, Billings Gazette, January 30, 2005
- ^ Colleges and Universities not accredited by CHEA, Michigan Education and Children's Services
- ^ Accredited and Non-Accredited Colleges and Universities, Maine’s List of Non-Accredited Post-Secondary Schools
- ^ Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, Washington Consumer Information
- ^ Use of False or Misleading Degrees Nevada statute NRS 394.700
- ^ Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
- ^ Two less doctors in the house - Hebert, Wilson back away from Ph.D.'s issued by ‘diploma mills', by Stephen Palkot, Fort Bend Herald, September 28, 2007
- ^ Is Oregon the only state that disallows use of unaccredited degrees? Oregon Office of Degree Authorization
- ^ "I-Team 10 Investigation: Diploma mills". WHEC-TV. 2005-02-08. http://www.10nbc.com/index.asp?template=item&story_id=13935. Retrieved 2007-03-13.[dead link]
- ^ Diploma mills deserve their own rankings, by Michael Seringhaus, Yale Daily News, April 5, 2007
- ^ Kalil, Mike, Salem candidate defends degree from diploma mill, New Hampshire Union Leader, March 13, 2006
- ^ Wernowsky, Kris (January 18, 2011). "PSC fires professor". Pensacola News Journal. http://www.pnj.com/article/20110118/NEWS01/110118019/PSC-fires-professor. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
- ^ The Vindicator (Youngstown, Ohio), Elections board disqualifies Alli’s bid, January 11, 2008, and Wellington says candidacy issue should have been settled locally, February 15, 2008
- ^ How a Belford Chain develops, [1], June 16, 2011. In Farsi.
- ^ Beata Mostafavi, Flint woman wants to shut down alleged diploma mill Belford High School via lawsuit, Flint Journal, November 20, 2009
[edit] External links
- Belford University - official website
- Belford High School
- Council for Higher Education Accreditation - provides public database documenting accreditation of United States colleges and universities
