- Bircham International University
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Bircham International University is a private independent institution of higher education via distance education that offers adult degree programs at professional, undergraduate and graduate levels.[1] It is registered in Spain and Delaware.[2] It formerly operated from the Bahamas, or the United Kingdom. It has no recognized educational accreditation in these places.[3][4]
Contents
History and location
According to its website,[5] Bircham was established in Europe in 1992 and is registered in Delaware (United States), Spain, and the Bahamas. According to the 2003 edition of John Bear's guide, Bircham was founded in 1992 in the United Kingdom as Oxford International University (no connection to the Oxford University in Great Britain)[6], but changed its name in 2000.[7] In 2008 it was reported to be operating in Nairobi, Kenya.[8] As of 2010, it is registered in Spain as a business in the "regulated educational services" and "post-graduate educational services" sectors [1] and in Delaware as a "nonprofit or religious" organization.[2]. The 2011 edition of the DICES guide[9] includes Bircham International University in its selection of academic institutions.[10] It explains that BIU offers an innovative method of instruction and a commitment to fulfill the needs of the adult professional student. Bircham offers degree programs and student services in English,[11] Spanish,[12] French,[13] Portugues,[14] Japanese,[15] Chinese[16] and Arabic.[17] Additionally it provides a website that lists students and instructors.[18]
Accreditation status
Bircham is not accredited by any recognized accreditation agency.[3] BIU claimed accreditation from an organization called Educational Quality Accreditation, which the 2003 edition of Bears' Guide describes as "the unlocatable and unrecognized accreditor for the nonwonderful Bircham International University."[19] As of July 2010, its website contains a list of accreditations from entities that are not recognized as educational accreditors.[20] Some of these entities, including the Academy for the Promotion of International Culture and Scientific Exchange and the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, also list Bircham among their membership or have listed Bircham in this manner in the past.[21][22] Neither of these is a recognized accreditation agency. As of 2010, BIU is listed as a member of the European Foundation for Quality in eLearning,[23] a membership organization that does not engage in educational accreditation, and also the International Accreditation and Recognition Council,[24] an unrecognized accreditation agency.[25]
According to IAU Universities List of accredited schools, Bircham is not accredited in Spain.[26] 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)".[27][28] The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization considers BIU an unaccredited foreign degree supplier.[29] 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."[30]
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.[31][32]
Non-degree training and courses
BIU's offerings include non-degree courses and training modules in several topics.[33] The International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) lists BIU as an authorized provider of continuing education and training.[34] The European Adult Education Training Database includes a listing for a BIU course on adult education by distance learning.[35]
Criticism and controversy
Bircham is listed as a questionable non-accredited school by Quackwatch.[36] 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".[37]
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.[38]
In April 2008 the Nairobi Business Daily reported that Bircham International University was operating in Kenya without authorization, "wooing unsuspecting students to its distance learning classes". An official of Kenya's Commission for Higher Education was quoted as warning that BIU degree certificates would not be recognised.[8] In March 2010 the same newspaper published a correction, stating that the April 2008 story had been provided by a person "who at the time of publication had a partnership dispute with Bircham over rights to represent the university in Kenya". The correction stated that BIU "is a Spanish institution of distance learning and is in good standing with Spanish authorities that offers alternatives to formal adult higher education specifically aimed at adult working professionals" and that its programmes "can be legalized and validated by the Embassy of Kenya in the USA or Spain despite the institution not being registered by the Commission for Higher Education in Kenya".[39]
See also
- Educational accreditation
- Degree mill
- Accreditation mill
- List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
References
- ^ a b ICEX Spanish Companies Info
- ^ a b Delaware Company Search 3169257
- ^ a b "Unaccredited colleges". Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization. http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.aspx. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ State of Michigan list of unaccredited schools, updated October 2009
- ^ Bircham International University website
- ^ Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, Unaccredited colleges list
- ^ Bear, John; Mariah Bear (2003-01-01). Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 1-58008-431-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=k67XC_7y5xEC. pages 192-193
- ^ a b Mwaura Kimani, Queries over credibility of Spanish institution, Nairobi Business Daily, April 14, 2008. Archived at allafrica.com, accessed July 10, 2010.
- ^ DICES International Guide of Academic Institutions
- ^ DICES Guide page 80, 174, 204 & 210
- ^ BIU English
- ^ BIU Spanish
- ^ BIU French
- ^ BIU Portugues
- ^ BIU Japanese
- ^ BIU Chinese
- ^ BIU Arabic
- ^ BIU Network
- ^ Educational Quality Accreditation, by John Bear, Mariah P. Bear, Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, 14th edition, page 54
- ^ [1]
- ^ Academy for the Promotion of International Culture and Scientific Exchange website, archived September 28, 2007
- ^ American Association of Drugless Practitioners website, archived July 17, 2008
- ^ EFQUEL members, European Foundation for Quality in eLearning website, accessed June 27, 2010
- ^ International Accreditation & Recognition Council website
- ^ Unapproved Accrediting Bodies, State of Michigan, revised February 9, 2009
- ^ "Accredited Spanish Universities". IAU Universities List. 2007. http://www.unesco.org/iau/onlinedatabases/list_data/s-nw.html#Spain. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
- ^ "Non-Accredited Colleges & Universities List". Maine Department of Education. 2007. http://www.maine.gov/education/highered/Non-Accredited/an-bu.htm#b. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ "Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas". Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. 2007. http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/PrivateInstitutions/NoTX.cfm. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ^ Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, Unaccredited colleges list
- ^ Bircham International University website (accessed August 1, 2007)
- ^ Diploma Mills and Accreditation by US Department of Education
- ^ Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
- ^ BIU Independent Courses
- ^ Bircham International University, IACET Authorized Provider Directory, accessed April 30, 2010
- ^ Bircham International University listing, European Grundvigt Database, accessed April 30, 2010
- ^ Barrett, Stephen (2007). "Questionable Organizations: An Overview". Quackwatch. http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecorg.html. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
- ^ Schoolhouse crock, City Link, October 15, 2003
- ^ SEP alerta sobre universidades “patito”, Correo, El Diario del Estado de Guanajuato, July 20, 2007 (In Spanish)
- ^ Bircham International University - Correction and Clarification, Nairobi Business Daily, March 8, 2010
External links
- Bircham International University official website
Categories:- Unaccredited institutions of higher learning
- Distance education institutions
- Educational institutions established in 1992
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