Tag: Higher education

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Edu Alliance Names North America Advisory Council

Edu Alliance a international higher education consulting firm with offices in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America announces the formation of a Advisory Council for North America

The nine founding members are:

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Edu Alliance North America Advisory Council
  • Dr. Roger G. Brown: Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC
  • Dr. Denise Gifford: Dean Of Students and Associate Provost for Widener University in Pennsylvania, was first woman Dean of Students Zayed University, UAE and past Vice President for Student Affairs the University of Louisville
  • Dr. Steve Jones: past Chancellor of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, President of Urbana University, and Antioch University New England
  • Dr. Allen Meadors: Chancellor Emeritus University of North Carolina-Pembroke, and served as Executive Director for Higher Education for the Ministry of Higher Education in the United Arab Emirates
  • Jay Noren, M.D., Past President Wayne State University, Founding Provost Khalifa University & currently Founding Director Executive Master of Healthcare Administration Program, University of Illinois-Chicago College of Medicine and School of Public Health
  • Marci Powell: President/CEO of Marci Powell & Associates, former Global Director for Education at Polycom and past President United States Distance Learning Association
  • Kenneth Salomon: chair of the Thompson Coburn Lobbying & Policy Group. member of the United States Olympic Ethics Committee
  • Dr. Pamela Shay: Senior Vice President Accreditation & Institutional Effectiveness for Franklin University, Columbus, Ohio
  • Judyth Wier: past Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Cottey College in Missouri, and Chief Fundraising Officer for the University of New Orleans,

Dean E. Hoke, Co-Founder of Edu Alliance and North America Managing Director stated, “2017 will be a time of significant change in higher education. There will be new challenges in international education, fundraising, accreditation, regulatory issues, and online learning. Edu Alliance and its Advisory Council members have significant experience in a variety of areas in the US and the international higher education community. They are true practitioners who provide Edu Alliance and its clients a wealth of experience.”

Edu Alliance office in Bloomington, Indiana will be officially open January 16th and Mr. Hoke will be coming to the United States to personally meet with higher education institutions, and state associations for colleges and universities in the south and midwest from mid January – March 2017.

_________________________________________________________________

For Further Information Contact

Dean E. Hoke – Edu Alliance Group

dean.hoke@edu-alliance.net

US: 502-417-3332 UAE: +971 (0)50 641 0237

www.edu-alliance.net

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Fake degrees: Nixon U and Paramount California U are back!

On October 31st I received multiple messages the case against Axact CEO Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh was dismissed by a District and Session Judge in Pakistan (Court acquits Axact boss in fake degree case). The Axact chief was exposed in a Spring 2015 article by the New York Times that detailed the inner workings of a diploma scam which included the creation of over 300 fictitious educational institutions and accreditation agencies. The diploma mills generated for its owners hundred’s of millions of dollars by selling fake degrees to individuals worldwide and especially in the GCC.

Px19-073 RAWALPINDI: May19 - FIA workers seen during a raid on office of a private company at G. T. Road. ONLINE PHOTO by Raees Khan
May19 – FIA workers seen during a raid on office of a private company at G. T. Road.
ONLINE PHOTO by Raees Khan

Bogus universities have been a subject area I have been following for quite sometime in the US and in the MENA region. I contacted and assisted in early 2015 Al Fanar and The National about another bogus university in which both papers published stories. On May 26th, 2015 I wrote an article on my blog called Call for Action: Shut Down Diploma Mills, which focused on how many people in the GCC have a degree from an Axact bogus university posted on their LinkedIn profile. A number of publications re-printed my article or conducted follow-up stories. In addition many other papers have written on the subject including Gulf News and Emirates 24\7.  I thought the diploma mill companies led by Axact had been exposed and after the raid the Pakistan justice system would convict these perpetrators, I was wrong.

I was contacted by a person who had been duped earlier into enroling of one of the bogus schools. This individual sent me a message on October 23rd, which said: ” “am not sure whether you remember me. I think that the education scammers are back. Had phone calls on different occasions. If you reply to this mail, can supply you with the numbers.”

 On October 31st, I received from this person an email he/she received:

pcu-letterParamount California University is one of the Axact bogus schools and I had thought the raids in Pakistan shut them down along with 300+ others sites. I went to the website to see if they and another Axact bogus school, Nixon University were still operating. Here is what I found:

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What can we do about these companies who by their actions are hurting education throughout the GCC, doing harm to companies who hire these grads and hurting the reputation of legitimate universities worldwide who have quality online degrees? I recommend the federal agencies in the GCC to consider the following actions:

  1. Take a very aggressive stand in letting the public know these companies are still operating
  2. The appropriate government agencies in the GCC coordinate a plan of action to turn off and shut down such diploma mills
  3. Dismiss or not hire any person who shows on their Cv or public record they have a degree from an identified bogus school
  4. Block the Internet addresses of any identified bogus school

While the Axact scandal is not as critical as war/peace, and reducing poverty, the education of the nation’s citizens is vital for business and society. Governments spend anywhere from 15-25% of their GNP to provide legitimate education to its citizens. I had hoped in 2015 the Pakistan raid on Axact and the arrest of the CEO would put this group and others like them out of business. Unfortunately the alleged leader is now free and it appears the justice system failed in getting a conviction. It now up to other governments worldwide to take action.