Belford University is an organization offering online unaccredited degrees for "life experience". The organization maintains a post office box in Humble, Texas, but its certificates are mailed from the United Arab Emirates.^[1]

Contents 1 Accreditation status 2 Controversy and criticism 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Accreditation status

The school is not accredited by any accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) or Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Neither of the organizations from which Belford claims accreditation, the International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities (IAAOU) and the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA), are recognized accreditation associations of higher learning.^[2] Without recognized accreditation, Belford's degrees and credits might not be acceptable to employers or other academic institutions, and use of degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions.^[3] Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include Oregon,^{[4] [5]} Michigan,^[6] Maine,^[7] North Dakota,^[5] New Jersey,^[5] Washington,^{[4] [8]} Nevada,^[4][9] Illinois,^[4] Indiana,^[4] Texas^[10][11] and Korea.^[12] Many other states are also considering restrictions on the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions. ^[13]

[edit] Controversy and criticism

A 2005 investigative report on WHEC-TV in Rochester, NY, characterized Belford as "just one of hundreds of diploma mills easily accessible online."^[14]

According to David Linkletter of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Belford "is not a legitimate institute of higher education. No legitimate university offers a complete degree on the basis of one's life experience. I particularly like the 'order now' button on their Web site, which is another clue...To the extent that Belford University is in Texas, it is operating in violation of the Texas Education Code."^[1] Furthermore, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has indicated that Belford, Rochville University, and the agencies from which they claim accreditation "appear to be operated by the same people."^[1]

On 13 March 2006, Arthur Barnes, a former fire chief, was dismissed from his job for his Belford "degree". According to the New Hampshire Union Leader, "The Web site www.belforduniversity.org offers master's degrees based on 'life experience' for $479. Users are asked to submit their work experience on the Web to qualify for the degree. And if there is no work experience, they can still get a degree by finishing an online multiple-choice test." In fact, "The program even lets users choose their grade point averages. A 3.0 GPA is free, but they can earn a 4.0 for an extra $75. The program also promises to ship the degrees out within a week."^[15]

In 2008, a candidate for sheriff in Mahoning County, Ohio, was removed from the ballot after the Supreme Court of Ohio determined that his associate's degree from Belford could not be used to satisfy the state's requirement that a sheriff have at least two years of post-secondary education.^[16]

In a 2007 article, a Yale Daily News journalist reported that he had applied for a doctorate with what he described as a brief paltry life experience justification, and was approved for his requested degree 12 hours later. He said that the basic price for a doctorate was $549 and entitled the recipient to a transcript showing a 3.0 grade point average. Latin honors could be obtained for an additional fee of $25 and Belford offered to back-date a degree for an additional $75 fee.^[17]

[edit] See also

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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Belford University - official website
• Belford High School
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation - provides public database documenting accreditation of U.S. colleges and universities