Rochville University
Encyclopedia
Rochville University is an unaccredited online university
offering a "Life Experience Degree, and Certificate Program". It has been accused of being a diploma mill
. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
has indicated that Rochville, Belford University
, and the agencies from which they claim accreditation, "appear to be operated by the same people".The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization lists it as "fake".
(IAAOU), the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA), the Board of Online Universities Accreditation (BOUA), and the World Online Education Accrediting Commission
(WOEAC). Because Rochville University is not accredited by any recognized accreditation bodies in the United States, its degrees and credits are unlikely to be acceptable to employers or other institutions. Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include Oregon
, Michigan
, Maine
, North Dakota
, New Jersey
, Washington, Nevada
, Illinois
, Indiana
, and Texas
. Many other states are also considering restrictions on the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions.
.
According to GetEducated.com, an online learning consumer group, Rochville University operates under various aliases, including affordabledegrees.com. An advertisement on affordabledegrees.com asks prospective students whether they "struggle in relationships, as 'she' thinks you don't have a promising future?" The advertisement then promises "an accredited degree on the basis of life experience you already have with no studies, no attendance, no waiting, and no examinations." The website claims that this degree can be obtained online "for as little as $399 and received in just 14 days!"
In 2009, GetEducated.com reportedly managed to purchase an online MBA for its mascot, a dog named Chester Ludlow. The news release indicates that $499 and a resume were submitted to Rochville in May and a week later the degree with a packet of corresponding paperwork arrived from Dubai
showing that the dog graduated with a 3.19 G.P.A. In addition to the MBA diploma and transcripts, Chester received a "certificate of distinction in finance and a certificate of membership in the student council".
On 15 December 2005, CNN
aired a report on diploma mill
s and terrorism. As part of its coverage, the network purchased a master's degree in chemistry from Rochville in the name of Abu Salsabil Hassan Omar, presumably an identity of their own creation. Attempts to find a physical presence for Rochville failed. CNN reported that its website was operated from Sarasota, Florida
. The diploma received by the network was mailed from the United Arab Emirates
.
There have also been concerns that some prople may have used degrees obtained from Rochville and other online universities for fraudulent purposes. On 22 February 2007 Yorkshire
police announced plans to re-investigate 700 court cases after the conviction of Gene Morrison
, "a fraudster who conned the courts for three decades by posing as a forensic expert." Morrison was convicted of 22 counts involving his claimed education, including four counts of obtaining money by deception, seven counts of attempting to obtain property by deception, eight counts of perverting the course of justice or intending to pervert the course of justice, and three counts of perjury. The court ruled that his BSc degree in forensic science, a master's degree with excellence in forensic investigation and a doctorate in criminology
from Rochville University in the United States were gained "not from years of study and learning, but from accessing a website, www.affordabledegrees.com, and paying a fee."
The Sacramento Bee reported that firefighters who had purchased degrees from diploma mills to get raises were having their raises revoked. Rochville University was listed as one of the institutions that had provided degrees. In Guam
, a Rochville online degree was determined to be inadequate to meet the educational requirements for the position of chief of police.
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
offering a "Life Experience Degree, and Certificate Program". It has been accused of being 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...
. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is an agency of the Texas state government that oversees all public post-secondary education in Texas. It is headquartered at 1200 East Anderson Lane in Austin....
has indicated that Rochville, Belford University
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.-Accreditation status:...
, and the agencies from which they claim accreditation, "appear to be operated by the same people".The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization lists it as "fake".
Accreditation status
Rochville has claimed to be accredited by various organizations but none are recognized higher education accreditors. These have included the International Accreditation Agency for Online UniversitiesInternational Accreditation Agency for Online Universities
The International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities is a self-styled "accreditation" board based in the United States. It has no status with the United States Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
(IAAOU), the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA), the Board of Online Universities Accreditation (BOUA), and the World Online Education Accrediting Commission
World Online Education Accrediting Commission
The World Online Education Accrediting Commission is an entity with no identified geographic location that represents itself as an accrediting organization for online degree providers...
(WOEAC). Because Rochville University is not accredited by any recognized accreditation bodies in the United States, its degrees and credits are unlikely to be acceptable to employers or other institutions. Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include 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...
, 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"....
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, 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....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Washington, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Many other states are also considering restrictions on the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions.
Criticism and controversy
Claims have been made that Rochville University is a fraudulent diploma millDiploma 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...
.
According to GetEducated.com, an online learning consumer group, Rochville University operates under various aliases, including affordabledegrees.com. An advertisement on affordabledegrees.com asks prospective students whether they "struggle in relationships, as 'she' thinks you don't have a promising future?" The advertisement then promises "an accredited degree on the basis of life experience you already have with no studies, no attendance, no waiting, and no examinations." The website claims that this degree can be obtained online "for as little as $399 and received in just 14 days!"
In 2009, GetEducated.com reportedly managed to purchase an online MBA for its mascot, a dog named Chester Ludlow. The news release indicates that $499 and a resume were submitted to Rochville in May and a week later the degree with a packet of corresponding paperwork arrived from Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
showing that the dog graduated with a 3.19 G.P.A. In addition to the MBA diploma and transcripts, Chester received a "certificate of distinction in finance and a certificate of membership in the student council".
On 15 December 2005, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
aired a report on 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...
s and terrorism. As part of its coverage, the network purchased a master's degree in chemistry from Rochville in the name of Abu Salsabil Hassan Omar, presumably an identity of their own creation. Attempts to find a physical presence for Rochville failed. CNN reported that its website was operated from Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
. The diploma received by the network was mailed from the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
There have also been concerns that some prople may have used degrees obtained from Rochville and other online universities for fraudulent purposes. On 22 February 2007 Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
police announced plans to re-investigate 700 court cases after the conviction of Gene Morrison
Gene Morrison
Gene Anthony “Rocky” Morrison was a fraudulent forensic detective who operated over three decades in the Hyde area of Greater Manchester, England, under the title Dr...
, "a fraudster who conned the courts for three decades by posing as a forensic expert." Morrison was convicted of 22 counts involving his claimed education, including four counts of obtaining money by deception, seven counts of attempting to obtain property by deception, eight counts of perverting the course of justice or intending to pervert the course of justice, and three counts of perjury. The court ruled that his BSc degree in forensic science, a master's degree with excellence in forensic investigation and a doctorate in criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
from Rochville University in the United States were gained "not from years of study and learning, but from accessing a website, www.affordabledegrees.com, and paying a fee."
The Sacramento Bee reported that firefighters who had purchased degrees from diploma mills to get raises were having their raises revoked. Rochville University was listed as one of the institutions that had provided degrees. In Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, a Rochville online degree was determined to be inadequate to meet the educational requirements for the position of chief of police.
See also
- Belford UniversityBelford UniversityBelford 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.-Accreditation status:...
- Accreditation millAccreditation millAn 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...
- List of unrecognized higher education accreditation organizations
External links
- Rochville University - official site