Online Learning Update Ray Schroeder, editor, COLRS - Online@Illinois Springfield

Online Learning Update - a blog published daily since 2001 by Ray Schroeder, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Springfield

Monday, September 29, 2008
BBC uncovers Brits using fake degrees purchased online - Journal Online
An investigation by the BBC has found that academic qualifications sold on the internet by a fake university are being used by thousands worldwide, including almost 150 in Britain. St Regis University, allegedly based in Liberia, was shut down in 2005 after the U.S. government found that it was actually being run by fraudsters based in Washington State. Whilst the two men who founded the illegitimate institution have now been jailed, it is believed they made up to £4 million selling fake qualifications online. According to the institution’s website, bribes to Liberian officials had secured its legitimacy.

 



Comments:
As the President of Regis University in Denver, Colorado, I am especially aware of the damage done by degree mills like St. Regis, which has injured the reputation of my school. Founded in 1877, the real Regis has 15,000 students seeking legitimate degrees at our American campuses and online.

In contrast, St. Regis was a fraud masquerading as a legitimate school. It is important that potential students, regulators, and employers differentiate between the legitimate institutions of higher learning and the criminals who cheat the public by using names that trade on the good reputation of real schools.

(Rev.) Michael J. Sheeran, S.J.
President, Regis University
president@regis.edu
 
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