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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
More Than 1,100 Colleges Join Yellow Ribbon Program for Military Veterans
A total of 1,165 colleges have signed up for a federal effort to help military veterans attend college.
Record-Setting Jury Verdict Could Mean (More) Profits for NYU
New York University’s 2007 patent-royalty sale anticipated the potential for further payments.
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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August 22, 2008
Saudi Arabia Opens Investigation Into Residents Who Used U.S.-Based Diploma Mill
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Higher Education is investigating whether people have used fake degrees purchased from an illegal diploma mill in the United States to obtain work in the Middle Eastern country.
The U.S. Department of Justice shut down the illegal operation in 2005, and earlier this year the diploma mill’s operators pleaded guilty to fraud. They were subsequently sentenced to prison terms for their roles in the scam, which took in $7.3-million from some 10,000 people. It was only last month that a list of those people was published by the local newspaper in Spokane, Wash., where the diploma mill was based.
The Arab News reported that Saudi authorities opened an investigation after 69 Saudi residents were among those listed by the Spokane newspaper.
A member of the Saudi Shura Council, a legislative body, criticized Saudi newspapers for having published advertisements for the illegitimate operation in the first place. The official, Abdullah Al-Tuwairqi, urged government officials to extend the investigation to newspapers that publish such ads without first conducting background checks on the institutions, the Arab News reported.
Similar questions are being asked in other Arab countries, as people in Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Sudan, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates were also listed as purchasers of the bogus certificates.
In Bahrain, the Gulf Daily News reported that the Higher Education Council, which is responsible for verifying foreign degrees, had not encountered any of the 10 Bahrainis who appear on the list of purchasers. —Andrew Mills
Posted on Friday August 22, 2008 | Permalink |
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