Unaccredited institutions of higher learning
Degrees or other qualifications from unaccredited institutions may not be accepted by civil service or other employers.
An institution may lack accreditation for one of several reasons. A new institution may not yet have attained accreditation, while a long-established institution may have lost accreditation due to financial difficulties or other factors. Some unaccredited institutions are fraudulent diploma mills. Some institutions (for example, some Bible colleges and seminaries) choose not to participate in the accreditation process because they view it as an infringement of their religious, academic, or political freedom.
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[edit] Australia
In Australia, it is a criminal offence use the term "university" or to purport to offer university degrees (Bachelors, Masters, Doctors) without government authorization.[1] This authorization is generally given in the form of an Act of a State or Federal Parliament, specifically referring to that institution. (Each state will recognize the institutions authorized under the law of the other states.)Separate to this, there is also the authorization under the Higher Education Funding Act to receive federal government funds for students; this is a separate process from authorization to grant degrees, so some institutions are entitled to grant degrees but not to receive government funds to do so.
There is also registration under CRICOS (the ESOS Act) - a student visa can only be issued to a student if they are studying at an institution with a valid CRICOS registration[2]
Finland
All universities and colleges are currently state or municipal organs, funded directly from public funds. There is no process for accrediting private universities, and public universities are not allowed to collect tuition fees from full-time students. The last private university to be nationalized was Åbo Akademi (1981).India
According to the India Department of Education, regarding institutions without accreditation or an Act of Parliament, "It is emphasized that these fake institutions have no legal entity to call themselves as University/Vishwvidyalaya and to award ‘degrees’ which are not treated as valid for academic/employment purposes."[3]Ireland
Legitimate higher education qualifications in Ireland are placed on, or formally aligned, with the National Framework of Qualifications. This framework was established by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland in accordance with the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act (1999). It is illegal under the Universities Act (1997) for any body offering higher education services to use the term "university" without the permission of the Minister for Education and Science. It is likewise illegal under the Institutes of Technologies Acts (1992–2006) to use the term "institute of technology" or "regional technical college" without permissionNew Zealand
The New Zealand Education Act prohibits use of the terms "degree" and "university" by institutions other than the country's eight accredited universities. In 2004 authorities announced their intention to take action against unaccredited schools using the words "degree" and "university," including the University of Newlands, an unaccredited distance-learning provider based in the Wellington suburb of Newlands. Other unaccredited New Zealand institutions reported to be using the word "university" included the New Zealand University of Golf in Auckland, the online Tawa-Linden and Tauranga Universities of the Third Age, and the Southern University of New Zealand. Newlands owner Rochelle M. Forrester said she would consider removing the word "university" from the name of her institution in order to comply with the law.[4]After the University of Newlands was listed as a "wannabe" or "degree mill" by The Australian newspaper, the institution was given permission by the New Zealand High Court to proceed to trial in its suit against the paper's publisher for defamation.[5] The presiding judge noted that such degrees may be illegal and that purporting to offer such degrees could be deemed dishonest or unethical conduct. He also ruled that defamation occurs in the country where the material is downloaded from the Internet. In December 2005 the Court of Appeal said the defamation case could not go ahead. Newlands and Ms. Forrester had not shown it had a good arguable case that an act had been done in New Zealand for which damages could be claimed from a party outside New Zealand. Without their showing a good arguable case, New Zealand courts would not assume jurisdiction.
South Korea
In March 2006 prosecutors in Seoul had "broken up a crime ring selling bogus music diplomas from Russia, which helped many land university jobs and seats in orchestras."[6] People who used these degrees were criminally charged.United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom the institution offering degrees must be accredited and a list maintained by the Department for Education and Skills.[7] Prosecutions under the Education Reform Act are rare, as many of the bodies on the internet are based outside UK jurisdiction.Prosecutions under other legislation do occur. In 2004 Thames Valley College in London was prosecuted under the Trade Descriptions Act for offering degrees from the 'University of North America', a limited liability company set up by themselves in the US with no academic staff and no premises other than a mail forwarding service.
United States of America
See also: Diploma mills in the United States
In the United States, unaccredited degrees may not be acceptable for financial aid, civil service or other employment purposes. Criminal penalties sometimes apply should such a degree be presented in lieu of one from an accredited school. The use of unaccredited degree titles is legally restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions.[9] Some U.S. state laws allow authorities to shut down large illegal operations of unaccredited schools or diploma mills.[citation needed]
See also
- Accreditation mill
- List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
- List of unrecognized accreditation associations of higher learning
References
- ^ "The Role of the Australian Government". Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Archived from the original on 2005-07-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20050717130044/http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/higher_education/policy_issues_reviews/key_issues/assuring_quality_in_higher_education/the_role_of_the_australian_government.htm.
- ^ "Fake Degrees and Unaccredited Higher Education Providers". Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Archived from the original on 2005-05-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20050525003938/http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/higher_education/policy_issues_reviews/key_issues/assuring_quality_in_higher_education/fake_degrees.htm.
- ^ "Brief Write - Fake Universities/institutions". Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development. Archived from the original on 2006-10-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20061009183806/http://www.education.nic.in/htmlweb/he-centraluniversities-list.htm.
- ^ David Cohen, New Zealand Vows a Crackdown on Diploma Mills in Wake of Unusual Defamation Lawsuit, The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 26, 2004
- ^ http://www.aus.ac.nz/publications/tertiary_update/2004/No32.htm[broken citation]
- ^ South Korea - Bogus diploma ring busted, Taipei Times, March 21, 2006
- ^ http://www.dfes.gov.uk/providersregister/
- ^ http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html?src=qc
- ^ U.S. Department of Education, Diploma Mills and Accreditation
