Rochville University

Rochville University is an unaccredited online university offering a "Life Experience Degree, and Certificate Program." It has been accused of being a diploma mill.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has indicated that Rochville, Belford University, and the agencies from which they claim accreditation "appear to be operated by the same people."[1]

Accreditation

Rochville University is not accredited by any accreditation body recognized by its country. According to the US Department of Education, unaccredited 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. None of the organizations from which Rochville has claimed accreditation, are recognized accreditation associations.

In the past, Rochville has claimed recognition from the International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities (IAAOU) and the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA), and as of mid-2007, it claims accreditation from the Board of Online Universities Accreditation (BOUA) and the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA) (and, on some of its pages, the World Online Education Accreditation Commission, WOEAC). None of these are recognised as legitimate accreditation organisations.

Criticism and controversy

On December 15, 2005, CNN aired a report on diploma mills and terrorism. As part of its coverage, the network purchased a "master's degree" in chemistry from Rochville in the name of Abu Salsabil Hassan Omar:

"Who is Omairer? The federal government says he's an explosives and chemical weapons expert for the terrorist group al Qaeda . So how did this alleged terrorist with a five million dollar bounty on his head earn a Masters in Chemistry from this American university?

Well, we earned it for him with $500 and an Internet connection. And the United States district attorney in Spokane, Washington, says there could be thousands of potential terrorists who have done what we just did." [2]

A CNN reporter was able to purchase better grades and honors for "Omar," for an additional $30.

The report stated that all attempts to find a physical presence for Rochville failed, noting that the "diploma" purchased by the network was mailed from the United Arab Emirates.

On February 22, 2007 Yorkshire police announced plans to re-investigate 700 court cases after the conviction of Gene Morrison, "a fraudster who conned the courts for three decades by posing as a forensic expert." Morris 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. Court ruled his BSc in Forensic Science, a Masters with excellence in Forensic Investigation and a Doctorate in Criminology 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."

See also

• Belford University
• Diploma mill
• List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
• List of unrecognized accreditation associations of higher learning

Links

• Rochville University - official site
• CNN Security Watch, "Diploma Mills Represent Security Threat to United States," December 15, 2000.
• Malisow, Craig, ""First Degree Fraud," Houston Press, July 20, 2006. Accessed August 17, 2006.