20th Jan 2010
The ‘Accredibase Report’ by Eyal Ben Cohen and Rachel Winch of Verifile Limited, one of the leading background screening firms in the United Kingdom, is the result of an 18-month research project supported by the East of England Development Agency and Cambridge University into what the authors call degree and accreditation mills – fake Universities and Colleges which con students out of their money and supply fake degrees that deceive employers into offering jobs, sometimes with alarming or fatal consequences.
Report co-author Eyal Ben Cohen says: “We have so far identified 1,762 fake institutions, and we are still investigating a further 1,545 currently filed as ‘suspicious’ before publishing them on the online ‘Accredibase’ database.“
Report co-author Eyal Ben Cohen adds: “The problem of unaccredited institutions and bogus colleges is evidently a large and very real one facing employers, universities and government agencies around the world.”
Fake degrees are much more of a problem than people simply buying them to impress their friends, family or boss or trying to earn more money. The harsh reality is that some fake qualifications can be highly dangerous and have already resulted in tragic consequences.
Fake degrees can make it easier for terrorists to infiltrate facilities by securing them jobs on the inside. The sale of Doctorates can also result in deaths. The BBC exposed one purchaser in the UK who works as a clinical director in a hospital. There could be many more. In 2007 a teenage cancer patient’s death was hastened by the treatment given by a ‘Doctor’ practicing naturopathic medicine. In October of last year, eminent British forensic psychologist, Gene Morrison, was convicted of raping three children. Morrison had earlier received £250,000 for his ‘expert’ services before he was exposed as possessing a fake degree purchased for £130.
The Report lists a number of key ‘warning signs’ to look for in any suspected educational institution:
-It does not have authority to operate or grant degrees from the education authorities where it claims to be based.
- You can get a degree in a very short space of time – sometimes just a few days.
- You can get a degree based entirely on your work or life experience.
- Contact details are limited to an email address and the institution is vague about its location.
- It will let you choose your own course title and specify the graduation year you want to appear on your certificate.
- Sample certificates, transcripts or verification letters are available to view on the website.
- It makes over-complicated or misleading claims about accreditation or recognition.
- Its name is similar to that of a recognised and respected education institution.
- It uses a misleading internet domain – such as ‘.ac’ instead of the regulated ‘.ac.uk’ used by higher education institutions in the United Kingdom.
- The website is poorly designed, has poor spelling and grammar or it plagiarises copy from other institutions.
Alan Contreras of Oregon’s Office of Degree Authorization, one of the international leaders aggressively challenging fake universities, calls the Accredibase Report: “…an excellent job assembling facts about the degree mill problem in the world today. In the murky world of bogus credentials and dubious evaluators, The Accredibase Report provides an example of how research in this field ought to be done.”
To download a copy of the Report please go to www.accredibase.com
Contact:
REPORT CO-AUTHOR: Eyal Ben Cohen.
Email ebc@verifile.co.uk
Tel. Direct line 01234 834667
