Bircham International University

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bircham International University describes itself as an international distance education university. It formerly operated from the Bahamas, or the United Kingdom, and is now registered in Spain. It lacks recognized educational accreditation in all of these places.[1]

Contents

[edit] History and location

According to its website[2], Bircham was established in Europe in 1992 and is "registered" in Delaware (USA), Spain, and the Bahamas. According to John Bear's guide, Bircham was founded in 1992 in the United Kingdom as Oxford International University, but changed its name in 2000 and has addresses in the Bahamas, Spain, England, Florida, New Zealand, and Taiwan.[3]

[edit] Accreditation status

Bircham is not accredited by any recognized accreditation agency. It claims accreditation by the Academy for the Promotion of International Culture and Scientific Exchange and the American Association of Drugless Practitioners,[4][5] neither of which is a recognized accreditation agency. At one time BIU apparently claimed accreditation from Educational Quality Accreditation. Bears' Guide describes Educational Quality Accreditation as "the unlocatable and unrecognized accreditor for the nonwonderful Bircham International University."[6] According to IAU Universities List of accredited schools, Bircham is not accredited in Spain.[7][1] Other sources explicitly listing it as unaccredited include The Maine Department of Education and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which state that Bircham has "No degree-granting authority from Spain (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers [AACRAO] evaluation)".[8][9] Bircham's website acknowledges that the institution is not accredited by any agency recognized by the U.S. Council on Higher Education Accreditation, but it states that "as a provider of non formal education, ... no further authorization from a Ministry of Education is required."[10]

Because BIU is not accredited by a recognized accreditation body in the countries where it operates, its degrees and credits might not be acceptable to employers or other institutions, and use of degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions. [11][12]

[edit] Policies

In January 2008 BIU's website states that tuition is charged on a per-credit basis.[13]. Tuition fees formerly were charged on a per-degree basis, not on a per-credit or per-course basis.[14][15] Charging tuition on a per-degree basis is a practice that is one of the commonly identified features of a degree mill.[16]

Spain has a government institution for general consumer affairs not specific to academic institutions.[17] BIU states that they are a member of the institution.[18] This means that should a consumer have a complaint, the institute can act as an intermediary for that complaint.

[edit] Criticism and controversy

Bircham is listed as a questionable non-accredited school by Quackwatch.[19] The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization [20] alerted the public that this institution had "no connection to legitimate Oxford University in Great Britain." A 2003 article in South Florida's CityLink magazine reported that Oregon education officials had said that Bircham was "totally bogus," and quoted former FBI agent Allen Ezell, who investigated diploma mills as part of the agency's Operation Dipscam, as describing some of Bircham's promotional claims as "pure hokum."[15]

In July 2007 a Mexican newspaper reported that the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) of Mexico had issued a warning against Bircham International and ten other foreign institutions identified as having committed academic fraud.[21]

In April 2008 the Nairobi Business Daily reported, "For two years, the locally unaccredited Bircham International University has been illegally operating in Kenya, wooing unsuspecting students to its distance learning classes."[22]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Unaccredited colleges", Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-13. 
  2. ^ Bircham International University website (accessed July 23, 2007)
  3. ^ Bear, John; Mariah Bear (2003-01-01). Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 1-58008-431-1.  page 206, 207
  4. ^ Academy for the Promotion of International Culture and Scientific Exchange website
  5. ^ American Association of Drugless Practitioners website
  6. ^ Educational Quality Accreditation, By John Bear, Mariah P. Bear, Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, 14th edition, page 54
  7. ^ "Accredited Spanish Universities", IAU Universities List, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-13. 
  8. ^ "Non-Accredited Colleges & Universities List", Maine Department of Education, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-16. 
  9. ^ "Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas", Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-17. 
  10. ^ Bircham International University website (accessed August 1, 2007)
  11. ^ Diploma Mills and Accreditation by US Department of Education
  12. ^ Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  13. ^ Degrees, Bircham International University website (accessed January 25, 2008)
  14. ^ Bircham International University website (archived April 6, 2007)
  15. ^ a b Schoolhouse crock, City Link, October 15, 2003
  16. ^ Is the Internet Becoming a Haven for Diploma Mills?, Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., 2000/7/12.
  17. ^ Instituto Nacional del Consumo
  18. ^ Letter from Instituto Nacional del Consumo
  19. ^ Barrett, Stephen. "Questionable Organizations: An Overview", Quackwatch, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-13. 
  20. ^ Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, Unaccredited colleges list, updated 8/23/2006
  21. ^ SEP alerta sobre universidades “patito”, Correo, El Diario del Estado de Guanajuato, July 20, 2007 (In Spanish)
  22. ^ Queries over credibility of Spanish institution, Mwaura Kimani, Nairobi Business Daily, April 14 2008

[edit] External links