- See Concordia University
for the various unrelated educational institutions that have
similar names.
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 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.
Accreditation
Concordia
College and University claims to be recognized and accredited 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
."
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
misdemeanor 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.
Individual cases
Seneca County, Ohio
In
October 2006 a Seneca County, Ohio
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 theSeptember 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."
Louise Wightman
In May
2007 Louise Wightman 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.
See also
References
- Fake Diploma Fox News25, May 18, 2005
- page 211, 212
- concordia-college.net
- Credential Watch
- Unrecognized Accreditation Agencies
- Diploma mills offer degrees for a price and not
much else, The East Carolinian, September 30,
2004
- Oregon Office of Degree Authorization
- State of Michigan, Colleges and universities not accredited by an
accrediting body of the Council on Higher Education
Accreditation
- Hosemann warns of diploma mill in Mississippi
Mississippi Business Journal September 11, 2009
- Police chief in Fostoria accused of tampering
Toledo Blade. October 20, 2006
- Jennifer Feehan and "Police dog's bachelor's degree prods legal howling
about chief", Toledo Blade, February 28, 2007
- Sandra Whitta, Lawsuit threatened over alleged 'trash talk,
Fostoria Review Times, March 27, 2007.
- Fostoria Review Times, Chief's day in court will be in 2007, November
9, 2006
- Shuff cleared to hear case, Factoria Review
Times, April 5, 2007
- Jennifer Feehan, "Fostoria police chief is acquitted: Judge tries to
clarify matters in tampering case", Toledo Blade, May
16, 2007
- Ex-stripper found guilty in fraud psychology
case by Megan Tench and Andrew Ryan, The Boston
Globe, May 4, 2007.
- Also see "Fake diploma", Fox 25 Undercover, Fox
News, Boston, May 18, 2005, for the story of her indictment in
2005.
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