Rochville University was an online
diploma mill
A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fa ...
offering a "Life Experience Degree, and Certificate Program" without coursework or prior transcript evaluation. The State of Texas classified it as an "illegal supplier of educational credentials" whose degrees may not be used in Texas. The
Oregon Office of Degree Authorization The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization (ODA) is a unit of the Office of Student Access and Completion, with responsibilities related to maintaining high standards in private higher education institutions in Oregon. ODA administers laws and prov ...
lists it as "fake".
Its operation is believed to be centered in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
and its diplomas and degree certificates have been mailed from
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
.
[Dog Earns Online MBA](_blank)
GetEducated.com, September 21, 2009 Along with many similar enterprises, it is owned by the
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
based company,
Axact
Axact ( ur, ) is a Pakistan software company that runs numerous websites selling fraudulent academic degrees. The company also owns the media company BOL Network.
History
Axact was founded by Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh, who serves as its chairman ...
, whose main business, according to a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' investigation, is "to take the centuries-old scam of selling fake academic degrees and turn it into an Internet-era scheme on a global scale".
The
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is an agency of the U.S. state of Texas's government that oversees all public post-secondary education in the state. It is headquartered at 1801 North Congress Avenue in Austin.
THECB det ...
indicated in 2006 that Rochville,
Belford University
Belford University was an organization that offered online unaccredited degrees for "life experience". The organization maintained a post office box in Humble, Texas, but its certificates were mailed from the United Arab Emirates. Along with many ...
, and the agencies from which they claimed accreditation appeared to be operated by the same individuals.
In 2012, a U.S. District Court ordered Belford University, Rochville University's sister operation, shut down and its founder pay $22.7 million in damages.
Accreditation status
Rochville University has claimed to be accredited by various organizations, but none are recognized higher education accreditors. These have included the International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities (IAAOU), the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA), the Board of Online Universities Accreditation (BOUA), and the World Online Education Accrediting Commission (WOEAC). The
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is an agency of the U.S. state of Texas's government that oversees all public post-secondary education in the state. It is headquartered at 1801 North Congress Avenue in Austin.
THECB det ...
reported that Rochville University and the accreditation boards appeared to be operated by the same individuals.
[ According to its website, the BOUA has accredited only one other institution, ]Ashwood University
Ashwood University is a diploma mill in Pakistan. It claims to award academic degrees based on "life experience." Ashwood University is not accredited by any recognised accreditation body. As such, its degrees may not be acceptable to employers o ...
, which is believed to be Rochville University's sister operation.
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 academic institutions.[ Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include ]Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
,[State mulls online learning](_blank)
by the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, ''Billings Gazette
The ''Billings Gazette'' is a daily newspaper based in Billings, Montana that primarily covers issues in southeast Montana and parts of northern Wyoming. Historically it has been known as the largest newspaper in Montana and is geographically one ...
'', January 30, 2005 Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
, North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
, New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
,[Use of False or Misleading Degrees](_blank)
/ref>Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, Nevada statute NRS 394.700 Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, and Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.[Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas]
''Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board'' 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 mill
A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fa ...
.
According to GetEducated.com, an online learning consumer group, Rochville University operates under various aliases, including affordabledegrees.com.
In 2009, GetEducated.com purchased 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 (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
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".
In 2005, investigators for CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
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. Its website was operated from Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
. The diploma received by the network was mailed from the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
.
There have also been concerns that some people may have used degrees obtained from Rochville and other online universities for fraudulent purposes. On 22 February 2007 Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
police announced plans to re-investigate 700 court cases after the conviction of Gene Morrison
Gene Anthony “Rocky” Morrison (born 1958) was a fraudulent forensic detective who operated over three decades in the Hyde area of Greater Manchester, England, under the title Dr. Gene Morrison.
Memorable for his trademark sheepskin jacket, ...
, "a fraudster
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensa ...
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
Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...
, a master's degree with excellence in forensic investigation and a doctorate in criminology
Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...
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."
In 2011, 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 (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, a Rochville online degree was determined to be inadequate to meet the educational requirements for the position of chief of police.
Connection with Belford University
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is an agency of the U.S. state of Texas's government that oversees all public post-secondary education in the state. It is headquartered at 1801 North Congress Avenue in Austin.
THECB det ...
indicated in 2006 that Rochville, Belford University
Belford University was an organization that offered online unaccredited degrees for "life experience". The organization maintained a post office box in Humble, Texas, but its certificates were mailed from the United Arab Emirates. Along with many ...
, and the agencies from which they claimed accreditation appeared to be operated by the same people.[ In August 2012, a U.S. District Court ordered Belford University, Rochville University's sister operation, shut down and its founder, Salem Kureshi, pay $22.7 million in damages.] Court documents revealed that Belford University
Belford University was an organization that offered online unaccredited degrees for "life experience". The organization maintained a post office box in Humble, Texas, but its certificates were mailed from the United Arab Emirates. Along with many ...
was run by 30-year-old Salem Kureshi from his apartment in Karachi, Pakistan. The court found that Kureshi "operates a sophisticated internet ripoff scheme through various websites, which falsely represent the existence of an accredited and legitimate high school, whose diplomas will be widely accepted by employers, professional associations, other schools, colleges and universities."
See also
* 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 term ...
*
References
{{reflist, 30em
External links
Rochville University
- official site
Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in the United States
Axact