Concordia College and University
Encyclopedia
Concordia College and University is an entity with a primary mailing address
in Dominica
that represents itself as a higher education
institution that awards associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree
s in almost any subject, based solely on the purchaser's work and life experience, without any class attendance, study, or academic examinations. Concordia College and University is widely considered to be a diploma mill
.
, and Liberia
. As of February 2011, one of the multiple Internet domains used by the this entity lists its name as "Concordia College & University Delaware," founded in 1999, with a location in Wilmington, Delaware
.
by the governments of Indonesia
and Liberia
, but it is not accredited by any higher education accrediting body recognized in the United States
or most other countries where its degrees are advertised.
The school has been called a diploma mill
by Allen Ezell, a retired FBI agent who co-authored the book "Degree Mills". According to John Bear
, Concordia College and University has an address in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
, and gives degrees based on "life experience".
Concordia College and University claims that its degrees are recognized by the National Academy of Higher Education
, an entity that is not recognized as a higher education accreditor by either the United States Department of Education
or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation and that several educational organizations identify as an unrecognized accreditation organization or accreditation mill
. In 2003 Concordia College and University was reported to be claiming accreditation by the Distance Graduation Accrediting Association, which is not recognized as an accreditor by the U.S. Department of Education or any foreign equivalent.
In September 2004, The East Carolinian, the student newspaper of East Carolina University
in Greenville, North Carolina
reported that "There are at least a half-dozen legitimate Concordia colleges and Concordia universities around the country. But Concordia College and University is a diploma mill
that offers degrees in as little turnaround time as 12 hours."
The article noted, "The fake Concordia College and University admonishes Web surfers to 'be safe and purchase a government approved degree.' The government, it turns out, is war-torn Liberia
. The school's offices are in Dominica
, and its U.S. mailing address is in Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
. Its website domain is in Pakistan
."
in Oregon
to use an unlawful degree.
Concordia College and University also appears on a State of Michigan
list of non-accredited colleges and universities.
In 2003 the North Dakota Legislative Assembly
moved forward a bill "that would punish anyone trying to use a degree from a diploma mill as a legitimate credential." In a 2003 article discussing the legislation, The Chronicle of Higher Education
stated that "state officials are concerned that illegitimate institutions are mimicking the names of legitimate ones," citing as an example "an entity called Concordia College & University" whose name is similar to that of Concordia College
in Moorhead, Minnesota
, an accredited school attended by many North Dakota
students. The article further noted that for Concordia College & University "No classes or exams are required. Associate and bachelor's degrees cost $599, master's degrees $699, and doctorates $1,099, including shipping and handling, the site says, noting that degree recipients get a certified diploma and two transcripts, complete with watermarks."
In September 2009, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann warned residents about Concordia College and University. Hosemann said Concordia College and University LLC has been using the secretary of state’s Web site to misrepresent the organization as a licensed educational institution. Hosemann said Concordia College is a registered limited liability corporation, but it is not accredited as an educational institution in Mississippi. Hosemann said a cease and desist letter had been sent to Concordia demanding that it remove the false and misleading claims from the company Web site.
grand jury indicted John McGuire, the new police chief of Fostoria, Ohio
on two felony
counts of tampering with records and two misdemeanor
charges of falsification
involving his qualifications. The Toledo Blade noted he "obtained a criminal-justice degree from Concordia College and University, an online degree program in the Virgin Islands."
In February 2007, the paper reported that documents filed in a drug case showed that a police dog of the Fostoria police department had also received a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Concordia in 2006. The dog's degree was planned to be used as evidence in the court trial, but the prosecutor noted "I don't think it's necessary to bring the actual dog" A few weeks later it was revealed that the degree had been purchased by Greg Peiffer, general manager and president of Fostoria radio station WFOB
, who said it was obtained with minimal effort.
The trial of McGuire was originally scheduled for March 2007 but was delayed. In May, McGuire testified that the degree was based on a combination of life experience and transferred credits from courses he took at the U.S. Air Force Community College. The judge in the case ruled that McGuire "earned his degree", noting evidence that McGuire had helped search for bodies at the World Trade Center
site after the
September 2001 terrorist attacks, had attended the FBI Academy
, had assisted in the search for Olympic Park bomber Eric Robert Rudolph
, and had served in Operation Desert Storm. With regard to the diploma awarded to the dog, the judge said that "This court finds no similarity between those two degrees."
of Norwell, Massachusetts
, was convicted of fraud
and larceny
for misrepresenting herself as a licensed psychologist
and for falsely advertising that she held a doctorate in psychology. Part of her crime was claiming to have a Ph.D. based on having received a degree from Concordia. She holds a valid master's degree
and devoted five years of study to a Ph.D. program which she did not complete. She is therefore legally qualified to use the term "psychotherapist" but not "psychologist" according to state licensing requirements.
She told the jury
that she felt she had earned a Ph.D., so she paid about $1,300 to obtain her degree (Ph.D. with a major in psychology) over the Internet from Concordia College and University. This credential ultimately proved to be worthless.
after the British High Court ruled that the company had misled BSkyB about its expertise. Part of EDS' case hinged on the testimony of Joe Galloway, a former Managing Director for CRM Solutions, who provided implementation timeframes to BSkyB that later turned out to be unrealistic. Galloway's credibility as a witness was severely undermined by his defence of a mail-order degree from Concordia. Although he "gave detailed evidence on how he took plane journeys between the islands and attended a college there", a member of the opposing legal team managed to obtain the same degree for his dog "Lulu". The blow to the witness' credibility was reported as pivotal to the success of the case.
Address (geography)
An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used for describing the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along with other identifiers such as house or...
in Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
that represents itself as a higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
institution that awards associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
s in almost any subject, based solely on the purchaser's work and life experience, without any class attendance, study, or academic examinations. Concordia College and University is widely considered to be a diploma mill
Diploma mill
A diploma mill is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. The purchaser can then claim to hold an academic degree, and the organization is motivated by making a profit...
.
Locations
Concordia College and University has used multiple addresses. For most of its existence it has stated that it is incorporated in Dominica, but it also has listed addresses in locations including the U.S. Virgin Islands, SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. As of February 2011, one of the multiple Internet domains used by the this entity lists its name as "Concordia College & University Delaware," founded in 1999, with a location in Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
.
Accreditation
Concordia College and University claims to be recognized and accreditedEducational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...
by the governments of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, but it is not accredited by any higher education accrediting body recognized in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
or most other countries where its degrees are advertised.
The school has been called a diploma mill
Diploma mill
A diploma mill is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. The purchaser can then claim to hold an academic degree, and the organization is motivated by making a profit...
by Allen Ezell, a retired FBI agent who co-authored the book "Degree Mills". According to John Bear
John Bear
John Bjorn Bear is an American authority on distance education and a writer of creative reference works. Bear holds bachelor and master degrees from University of California, Berkeley and a doctorate from Michigan State University...
, Concordia College and University has an address in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
, and gives degrees based on "life experience".
Concordia College and University claims that its degrees are recognized by the National Academy of Higher Education
National Academy of Higher Education
National Academy of Higher Education identifies itself as an organization specializing in evaluation of people's educational credentials. Some United States educational authorities identify it as an unrecognized accreditation organization or accreditation mill...
, an entity that is not recognized as a higher education accreditor by either the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation and that several educational organizations identify as an unrecognized accreditation organization or accreditation mill
Accreditation mill
An accreditation mill is an organization that purports to award educational accreditation to higher education institutions without having government authority or recognition from mainstream academia to operate as an accreditor. Implicit in the terminology is the assumption that the "mill" has low...
. In 2003 Concordia College and University was reported to be claiming accreditation by the Distance Graduation Accrediting Association, which is not recognized as an accreditor by the U.S. Department of Education or any foreign equivalent.
In September 2004, The East Carolinian, the student newspaper of East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
in Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
reported that "There are at least a half-dozen legitimate Concordia colleges and Concordia universities around the country. But Concordia College and University is a diploma mill
Diploma mill
A diploma mill is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. The purchaser can then claim to hold an academic degree, and the organization is motivated by making a profit...
that offers degrees in as little turnaround time as 12 hours."
The article noted, "The fake Concordia College and University admonishes Web surfers to 'be safe and purchase a government approved degree.' The government, it turns out, is war-torn Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. The school's offices are in Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
, and its U.S. mailing address is in Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint John is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. St...
. Its website domain is in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
."
Concerns by U.S. state regulators
The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization lists a "Concordia University" in its list of unaccredited degree suppliers, and notes that it is a Class B misdemeanorMisdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
to use an unlawful degree.
Concordia College and University also appears on a State of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
list of non-accredited colleges and universities.
In 2003 the North Dakota Legislative Assembly
North Dakota Legislative Assembly
The North Dakota Legislative Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Dakota. The Legislative Assembly consists of two chambers, the lower North Dakota House of Representatives, with 94 representatives, and the upper North Dakota Senate, with 47 senators...
moved forward a bill "that would punish anyone trying to use a degree from a diploma mill as a legitimate credential." In a 2003 article discussing the legislation, The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty, staff members and administrators....
stated that "state officials are concerned that illegitimate institutions are mimicking the names of legitimate ones," citing as an example "an entity called Concordia College & University" whose name is similar to that of Concordia College
Concordia College, Moorhead
Concordia College is a private liberal arts school located in Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and offers bachelors' degrees in the arts and music, as well as a master's degree in education. The college was founded by Norwegian...
in Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 38,065 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Clay County....
, an accredited school attended by many North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
students. The article further noted that for Concordia College & University "No classes or exams are required. Associate and bachelor's degrees cost $599, master's degrees $699, and doctorates $1,099, including shipping and handling, the site says, noting that degree recipients get a certified diploma and two transcripts, complete with watermarks."
In September 2009, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann warned residents about Concordia College and University. Hosemann said Concordia College and University LLC has been using the secretary of state’s Web site to misrepresent the organization as a licensed educational institution. Hosemann said Concordia College is a registered limited liability corporation, but it is not accredited as an educational institution in Mississippi. Hosemann said a cease and desist letter had been sent to Concordia demanding that it remove the false and misleading claims from the company Web site.
Seneca County, Ohio
In October 2006 a Seneca County, OhioSeneca County, Ohio
Seneca County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 56,745. Its county seat is Tiffin and it is named for the Seneca Indians.The Tiffin Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Seneca County....
grand jury indicted John McGuire, the new police chief of Fostoria, Ohio
Fostoria, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,931 people, 5,565 households, and 3,628 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,917.6 people per square mile . There were 6,024 housing units at an average density of 829.2 per square mile...
on two felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
counts of tampering with records and two misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
charges of falsification
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
involving his qualifications. The Toledo Blade noted he "obtained a criminal-justice degree from Concordia College and University, an online degree program in the Virgin Islands."
In February 2007, the paper reported that documents filed in a drug case showed that a police dog of the Fostoria police department had also received a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Concordia in 2006. The dog's degree was planned to be used as evidence in the court trial, but the prosecutor noted "I don't think it's necessary to bring the actual dog" A few weeks later it was revealed that the degree had been purchased by Greg Peiffer, general manager and president of Fostoria radio station WFOB
WFOB
WFOB is a commercially licensed AM radio station, broadcasting at 1430 kilohertz at a maximum power output of 1,000 watts, with a three-tower directional antenna pattern, with differing constants day and night...
, who said it was obtained with minimal effort.
The trial of McGuire was originally scheduled for March 2007 but was delayed. In May, McGuire testified that the degree was based on a combination of life experience and transferred credits from courses he took at the U.S. Air Force Community College. The judge in the case ruled that McGuire "earned his degree", noting evidence that McGuire had helped search for bodies at the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
site after the
September 2001 terrorist attacks, had attended the FBI Academy
FBI Academy
The FBI Academy, located in Quantico, Virginia, is the training site for new Special Agents of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was first opened for use in 1972 on 385 acres of woodland. It is a relatively small government academy, housing three dormitory buildings and...
, had assisted in the search for Olympic Park bomber Eric Robert Rudolph
Eric Robert Rudolph
Eric Robert Rudolph , also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is a criminal responsible for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injured at least 150 others in the name of an anti-abortion and anti-gay agenda...
, and had served in Operation Desert Storm. With regard to the diploma awarded to the dog, the judge said that "This court finds no similarity between those two degrees."
Louise Wightman
In May 2007 Louise WightmanLouise Wightman
Louise Fitzgerald Wightman , better known as Lucy Wightman , is a writer, photographer, and blogger who became known in the 1970s and 1980s as a Boston and Providence area exotic dancer, radio talk show host, and award-winning bodybuilder. She performed under the stage name Princess Cheyenne in...
of Norwell, Massachusetts
Norwell, Massachusetts
Norwell is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population is currently 10,506 at the 2010 Census.Norwell was first settled in 1634 as a part of the settlement of Satuit , which encompasses present day Scituate and Norwell. It was officially created, in 1849 and soon became...
, was convicted of fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
and larceny
Larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the wrongful acquisition of the personal property of another person. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of England into their own law. It has been abolished in England and Wales,...
for misrepresenting herself as a licensed psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
and for falsely advertising that she held a doctorate in psychology. Part of her crime was claiming to have a Ph.D. based on having received a degree from Concordia. She holds a valid master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
and devoted five years of study to a Ph.D. program which she did not complete. She is therefore legally qualified to use the term "psychotherapist" but not "psychologist" according to state licensing requirements.
She told the jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
that she felt she had earned a Ph.D., so she paid about $1,300 to obtain her degree (Ph.D. with a major in psychology) over the Internet from Concordia College and University. This credential ultimately proved to be worthless.
Joe Galloway
In 2010, IT services firm EDS lost a court case brought by broadcaster BSkyBBritish Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
after the British High Court ruled that the company had misled BSkyB about its expertise. Part of EDS' case hinged on the testimony of Joe Galloway, a former Managing Director for CRM Solutions, who provided implementation timeframes to BSkyB that later turned out to be unrealistic. Galloway's credibility as a witness was severely undermined by his defence of a mail-order degree from Concordia. Although he "gave detailed evidence on how he took plane journeys between the islands and attended a college there", a member of the opposing legal team managed to obtain the same degree for his dog "Lulu". The blow to the witness' credibility was reported as pivotal to the success of the case.
See also
- Diploma millDiploma millA diploma mill is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. The purchaser can then claim to hold an academic degree, and the organization is motivated by making a profit...
- List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
- Educational accreditationEducational accreditationEducational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...