“Also Concerned” writes in:
We can post and post and post. But now we need to plan and organize.
So, what do we want? Our “old Hillel.” A JEWSISH DAY SCHOOL. And how can we do this? There should be one highly visible thread addressing the “how to.” We can offer suggestions, unite, and act. We must ACT.
Some preliminary suggestions:
1. Lots of letters to the Jewish Journal.
2. An ad in the Jewish Journal
3. A Save-Hillel phoneathon or Save-Hillel letter to Hillel families. Postings here say most parents think “everything is back to normal.”
4. The alumni: Are they in a position to really do something? If so, what?
Yes, according to the State of California, CCU has always been approved by the State of California regulated by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education. Due to a change in legislation, however, this bureau is now part of Consumer Affairs NOT Education, which makes California unique in this regard. State approval grants CCU the authority to award academic degrees up to and including the doctoral level.
Hope this helps!
Consumer Affairs concern business institutions:
California Coast University is NOT now accredited, nor has ever been accredited for doctoral degrees by the US Department of Education , the Council for Higher Education or the Distance Education and Training Council.
Call the DETC in Washington to confirm this.
This office will explain that approved does not mean accredited.
information.
According to the following website: http://www.detc.org/school_details.php?id=178
California Coast University
700 North Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701
USA
Phone: 714-547-9625
Fax: 717-547-5777
E-mail: info@calcoast.edu
Web Site: http://www.calcoast.edu
Founded: 1973
First Accredited: 2005
Next Review: 2009
Category: Degree Granting
Associate of Arts in: Business Administration and Psychology; Bachelor of Science degrees in: Business Administration, Management, Health Care Administration and Psychology; and Master of Business Administration; MBA with concentration in Human Resources; Master of Science in Management, Master of Science in Psychology; Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, and a Master of Education in Administration.
Subjects:
——————————————————————————–
Academic Degrees
Administration
Business Administration
College Level Subjects
Education
Education-Curriculum and Instruction
Management
Psychology
Florida Statute § 817.567
817.567. Making false claims of academic degree or title
(1) No person in the state may claim, either orally or in writing, to possess an academic degree, as defined in s. 246.021, or the title associated with said degree, UNLESS the person has, in fact, been awarded said degree FROM AN INSITITUTION THAT IS:
(a) Accredited by a regional or professional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation; (NOT THE CASE)
(b) Provided, operated, and supported by a state government or any of its political subdivisions or by the Federal Government;
(SEEMS TO BE THE CASE HERE ACCORDING TO THE POST ABOVE–“has always been approved by the State of California regulated by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education”)
If qualification (b) has been sufficiently satisfied, which according to Anonymous it was (I have not done any research to confirm the veracity of this statement), then it doesn’t matter that qualification (a) was not satisfied.
It sounds like CCU needed either US Dept. of Ed. approval OR State approval. As long as it had one (which it sounds like it did) then the degree is okay and not fraud. In other words, CCU did not need BOTH types of approval–unfortunately.
If I am misunderstanding these statutes please inform me.
“In May 2004, The General Accounting Office referred to California Coast University as an unaccredited institution before the US Senate Hearings on Diploma Mills and Other Unaccredited Schools. The GAO “searched the internet for nontraditional, unaccredited, postsecondary schools that offerd degrees for a relatively low flat fee, promote the award of academic credits based on life experience, and do not require any classroom instruction”. California Coast University was one of the institutions that had conducted business in this manner.”
Who is the General Accounting Office? What was the outcome of the US Senate Hearings? What were its findings?
And how does this fit in with qualification (b) as stated above?
California Coast University was first accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council in 2005. This institutional national accreditation is recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education. Accreditation is not retroactive; prior to 2005 all degrees or certificates from Califronia Coast University are not accredited.
The DETC accredits and evaluates the academic programs in distance learning instiutions.
The California Bureau mentioned only gives an institution the right to operate in its state. This bureau does not evaluate the academic integrity of institutions in California. That is why it is not under the Education Department but under the Office of Consumer affairs.
You are confusing the business concept of approval versus the educational concept of accreditation.
Just a reminder…. In the article in the Newspaper, mentioned that such a degree what not a requirement of the position.
The fact is that the man received a degree, what is not clear is whether there is a prohibition for it to appear on a resume since the University was not accredited. ….and for an individual who holds himself out to be cream of the crop, I would hardly believe that he did not do his due diligence and research the school. It was probably the easy way to obtain the credential figuring no one would delve into it this deep.
“You are confusing the business concept of approval versus the educational concept of accreditation”
The State of Florida says EITHER :
a) “accredited” by US Dept of Ed OR
b) ‘”supported” by the State/meaning Business Approval is all that’s needed and NOT “accreditation “–“has always been approved by the State of California “–the word “accreditation” is used in provision a) and not b).
The degree satisfies b). It doesn’t have to also satisfy a)
If you feel you have a case here by all means pursue it
California Coast University was cited by the United States Senate in 2004 as one of the unaccredited schools that received federal monies to pay for the bogus degrees of its own government employees .
This is why the school stopped issuing doctorates and CCU did not receive any accreditation until 2005.
You can read about this school’s past by googling the US Senate’s 2004 report on Diploma Mills and Unaccredited Universities.
You will also read in this report about the witnesses’ and Senators’ opinions of the character of the individuals who would seek this type of unaccredited degree to advance themselves while misleading and ultimately hurting others by their lack of real knowledge.
Who should be called? The other number is a dead end.
There is not a defensible case here.
To reiterate the point from above, according to OUR state law
The State of Florida says EITHER :
a) “accredited” by US Dept of Ed OR
b) ‘”supported” by the State/meaning Business Approval is all that’s needed and NOT “accreditation “–”has always been approved by the State of California “–the word “accreditation” is used in provision a) and not b).
The degree satisfies b). It doesn’t have to also satisfy a)
Therefore, there is really nothing to pursue. However, all interested parties should take note that potentially it is not a degree from a recognized accredited school. That is all.
The bigger issues relate to our teachers and their treatment – ruling by intimidation, taking the family out of the Hillel family – creating a cold corporate culture rather than a nurturing, warm. hamish, environments for our teachers and students. This is a monumental issue!!!!!
Hillel is accredited by SACS. Are we accredited by any other organization? Is a doctorate required at any point for us to maintain our good standing and accreditation? I seem to remember something about this from many years ago when my children were in another accredited Jewish day school. I don’t know how to research this, but it is worth looking into. At that time, the headmaster needed a PhD. for our accreditation.
It is not advisable at this time to question our accreditation. We have not violated any of the policies related to the administrative head of school.
Based on review of the listed policies and procedures, SACS does not require the administrative head of school to possess a doctoral degree.
Again, although the PhD. is not required, the fraud as been committed
by using it as part of the legitimate credentials by submitted resume & faulty profile. There is a case! Let us all not be distracted by individuals who try to mislead us. As mentioned, someone should call the Better Business Bureau now!!
If you are that convinced that fraud was committed, why are you asking someone to call the BBB – -why don’t you do it yourself?
And why are you so defensive – are you the public relation person for Holden, Trying to toss sand in our eyes?
It is not about being defensive. This was not the intention. The question was simple, if this has been identified, and you have consulted your counsel, why would you be asking someone else to make the call when you are the one with the information. There was no malice intended in the response posted.
Sorry, if you were offended. Based on the information I have read from everyone who posted, are you positive that there is fraud. A degree was obtained, whether it is worth the paper it was written on is what is in question.
It is like a diamond that is certified – a person can still have a diamond that is a diamond but not certified. A degree may be in hand but it may not be from an accredited school. The question is, is that defensible as fraud?
….and no, I do not do public relations for Holden or anyone else for that matter.
Talking on diamonds, we should also consider the cut, quality, clarity and color…
Sorry if you are offended, but a degree was NOT obtained, please refer to paper trails regarding CCU prior to 2004 situation. Any resume quoting the degree before CCU was certified is Fraud! Read the previous trails: the Fox Television Network employee – gone! The FEMA employee – gone!
Someone needs to call SACS so that the Dean will also soon be – gone!
Sorry, did not see that information.
If you did not see the information, please look at: Are Qualified Administrators Making the Decisions at Hillel? from March 29 :
This came from an anonymous source, and Hillel had a board meeting about it as well yesterday evening.
“Dr.” Holden received his Doctor of Education degree (Ed.D) from California Coast University, a distance learning (correspondence) school.
California Coast University’s doctoral program at the time “Dr.” Holden was granted his “degree” was unaccredited by any regional or national accrediting body.
In 2004 it was discovered that “Dr.” Lynn Ianni, a psychological therapist working for the Fox Television Network on the reality show “The Swan” was not really a doctor at all. Where did she receive her Phd? … California Coast University.
“Accreditation does matter”
Should a person with a doctoral degree purchased on the internet from a non-accredited doctoral program be shaping the future of Hillel?
Another message refers to an article about John Pennington, FEMA advisor, who also attended California Coast University. The article states:
In testimony before Congress last year, investigators for the General Accounting Office identified California Coast as a diploma mill.
No one here needs to be defensive or apologize.
We are all on the same side.
to those who did NOT read the trail from March 29th: Are Qualified Administrators Making the Decisions at Hillel?
In 2004 it was discovered that “Dr.” Lynn Ianni, a psychological therapist working for the Fox Television Network on the reality show “The Swan” was not really a doctor at all. Where did she receive her Phd? … California Coast University.
“Accreditation does matter”
Should a person with a doctoral degree purchased on the internet from a non-accredited doctoral program be shaping the future of Hillel?
Another message refers to an article about John Pennington, FEMA advisor, who also attended California Coast University. The article states:
In testimony before Congress last year, investigators for the General Accounting Office identified California Coast as a diploma mill.
While a Head of School may not need a doctorate to lead a SACS accredited institution, clearly a Head of School with credentials from an institution not accredited by the US Department of Education at the time the degree was conferred is definitely a problem.
SACS specifically counts the number of accredited bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees of the faculty and administration.
Moreover, SACS looks at the percentages of teachers licensed in their fields in the state they are currently working in.
Heads of school also refer to their credentials informally . What would happen if SACS or CAJE representatives merely asked in passing, “Where did you go to graduate school? What did you do your dissertation on? ”
These are normal questions professionals ask each other at conferences and meetings. Dissertation Abstracts will only accept scholarly work by individuals from reputable universities. If other professionals wanted to read such a dissertation, where would they find it?
What is the Better Business Bureau going to do? What business is being reported? The headmaster of a school is not a “business.” So, the only party you will be able to report is the school. I don’t even think that the school would qualify as a “business.” Moreover, even if they did file some sort of report, what result would the BBB be able to attain? Are they going to file a report on their website saying that Holden is a fraud? That the ppl at Hillel are stupid enough to be conned by a person with a higher education degree from an online school?
I’m in the process of dealing with the BBB right now and there is very little they can do to an actual business. How much less can they do for an organization that really is not classifiable as a business?
In my opinion, this is not an issue for the BBB.
SACS contact info:
http://www.sacscasi.org/region/contactus.html
Diploma Mill News
Sunday, July 31, 2005
2 teachers’ degrees under fire
Detroit News: “After about a year of haggling, Huron School District officials are heading into binding arbitration with two teachers who earned degrees from an online university and want the pay raises they say should come with them. Jennifer Fox, a high school English teacher, and Aileen Thorington, a high school math teacher, earned degrees that could boost their salaries by $7,000 to $14,000. District officials argue that because the degrees came from Mississippi-based Cambridge State University, which is not accredited by a state-approved agency, the teachers don’t deserve the pay hikes. ‘The school board felt these degrees weren’t bona fide degrees, and we didn’t believe it appropriate to pay these teachers additional money for … degrees that were obtained from a very questionable agency,’ said Ken Appleby, school board vice president. The teachers, however, believed their degrees — and the Cambridge State program — were legitimate, and district officials did approve their study at the school before knowing if it was accredited. It’s one of the first public cases in Michigan of teachers using advanced degrees from what district officials consider to be, at best, an illegitimate school and, at worst, a diploma mill. The case goes to arbitration Sept. 20 as a new state law cracking down on the manufacturers and users of fake degrees takes effect. The Authentic Credentials in Education Act, signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm less than two weeks ago, makes it illegal to manufacture fake academic credentials or use them to get a job, promotion or loan.”
¶ 7/31/2005 12:12:00 PM
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Otterbein hires attorneys to get to bottom of link with diploma mill
wkyc.com: “Otterbein College has hired a law firm to review the suburban Columbus school’s relationship with a Florida-based diploma mill. The chairman of the school’s board of trustees, Tom Morrison, says the board wants to make sure something like this never happens again. William McCoggle of Miami was charged last week with grand theft and fraud after a grand jury investigation of his company, Move On Toward Education and Training, which allegedly awarded hundreds of sham teacher certificates.”
¶ 7/28/2005 12:17:00 PM
Monday, July 18, 2005
Grand jury to issue report of school district driver’s ed program
Herald.com 07/18/2005: “The Miami-Dade Grand Jury will issue a report this afternoon about teachers who have inappropriately receiving certification to teach driver’s education classes and possibly other subjects, The Herald has learned. Details are expected to be released by State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle at a 3 p.m. news conference, but a memo from Superintendent Rudy Crew confirmed the substance of the report. The allegations, which predate Crew’s arrival last summer, were the subject of a February 2004 investigation by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. According to that report, a teacher at Palmetto Senior High partnered with Eastern Oklahoma State College to provide non-credit professional-development classes for teachers. But because transcripts from Eastern Okalahmoa State were unclear, many teachers were apparently able to use the questionable classes to maintain their teaching certificates or become eligible to teach additional subjects. The Palmetto teacher, William McCoggle, ran the operation as business called Moving On Toward Education and Training. He could not immediately be reached for comment.”
¶ 7/18/2005 10:51:00 PM
Monday, July 11, 2005
Prosecutors Block Site Offering ‘Berkley’ Degrees
The Daily Californian: “Until last week, a man who calls himself Dr. Dennis Globosky sold thousands of degrees over the Internet from a familiar-sounding University of Berkley for as little as $2,065. UC Berkeley officials previously sent cease and desist letters to Globosky, claiming he violated the school’s trademark rights. However, it was not until last week, after Pennsylvania prosecutors sued Globosky and his business for consumer fraud, that his company was stopped from issuing degrees. A state judge issued a preliminary injunction against the Pennsylvania company on Thursday, shutting the school down and freezing Globosky’s assets. Globosky named the school to fool potential employers into believing the degree recipients graduated from UC Berkeley, said experts in the diploma mill industry, where customers can quickly get any degree they want for little more than a cash payment. The industry brings in about $200 million per year.”
¶ 7/11/2005 02:08:00 PM
University of Berkley grants cat a Master Degree for money
Teachers.net: “Last year, the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office decided to sue an institution its officials called a ‘diploma mill,’ after Colby Nolan, their undercover student, got his master’s degree in business administration. The fact that Colby is a pet cat bolstered their case. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday against another institution the attorney general said is a diploma mill, the office is going for the University of Berkley’s jugular, and it isn’t bothering with pet tricks. The lawsuit, filed in local court in Erie County, where the business is based, charged a former New Mexico state trooper, Dennis Globosky, 50, with selling thousands of fake degrees in the United States and abroad, since the late 1990s, and operating under a bogus accreditation institution. Along with the complaint, the attorney general asked the court to immediately shut down Berkley’s operations. After several hours of review Wednesday morning, the judge granted the request. ‘Defendants knew their worthless, fraudulent degrees, phony accreditation, bogus faculty, falsely portrayed physical facilities — would be used to mislead employers,’ the complaint reads.”
¶ 7/11/2005 02:03:00 PM
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Pennsylvania Attorney General Corbett Seeks to Shut Down Erie-Based “Diploma Mill”
Pennsylvania Attorney General: “Attorney General Tom Corbett today filed a civil lawsuit against a former New Mexico State Trooper accused of operating an Erie-based online ‘diploma mill’ and phony accreditation institution that sold thousands of bogus Associate, Bachelor’s, Masters, Doctorate and Honorary degrees to individuals nationally and internationally. The complaint and separate motion for special injunction seeking to shut down the online business was filed in Erie County Court. The legal action investigated by Corbett’s Bureau of Consumer Protection additionally seeks to permanently prohibit the defendant from engaging in business in the state and require the payment of fines and costs. During a news conference at his Erie Office today, Corbett identified the defendants as 50-year-old Dennis James Globosky, last known address 204 German St., Erie, and Globosky’s businesses, ‘The University of Berkley,’ ‘The University of Berkley Online,’ UofB Inc., and ‘accreditation institution’ New Millennium Accrediting Partnership for Educators Worldwide or ‘N.A.P.F.E.W.’ Globosky served on the New Mexico State Police force from 1978-1979. According to the lawsuit, Globosky is operating from offices located at 2700 West 21st St., Suite 24, Erie, despite representations in advertising materials that the University has numerous satellite offices throughout the U.S., including Berkley, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois. Various documents claim that ‘N.A.P.F.E.W.’ has a Washington, D.C. mailing address. Corbett’s investigators said Globosky, who holds a high school diploma from Wattsburg Area High School in Erie County, refers to himself in promotional materials for the University as Dr. Globosky, Director of Academic Administration. He advertises, promotes and sells the academic degrees through the Internet on websites including http://www.berkley-u.edu plus 17 feeder sites. The online University catalog includes pictures of buildings and academic structures that appear to have been taken from legitimate colleges and universities, including Harvard.”
¶ 7/06/2005 01:59:00 PM
Center of Advancement for Jewish Education in Miami (CAJE):
http://www.caje-miami.org/articlenav.php?id=21
In cases of questionable academic credentials,
as you can see from the above examples,
it is up to the Miami State Attorney’s Office to investigate these matters to see if there is indeed a violation of Florida Law Statutes.
Then let’s call SACS, CAJE, and the Miami Attorney’s Office.
The squeaky hinge gets the grease.
While there are some writers on this blog that still seem to think an unaccredited degree is a “non-issue” , hopefully they will change their minds after reading The US Senate 2004 Hearing reports on Diploma Mills and Unaccredited Institutions and this small sample of prosecuted cases.
Academic Integrity is never a “non-issue”.
It is an issue with regard to the fact that the Board hired this person, gave him an employment contract, and gave him power to employ/fire whomever he pleases. It took a “search committee” to span the nation in order to find the best suited individual to lead the school, and the best person that the board found was someone with an online degree.
The fact that this is where his degree came from does not make him a bad person. In my opinion, it does say anything about his character. I don’t know him, so I can’t say anything bad. If I had an online education degree, I would put it on my resume as well.
I just cannot fathom that this is the most qualified individual for the job. What was the “search committee’s” criteria for hiring the new headmaster? From the rumors I heard, the pay is good. How was it that nobody with a “conventional” degree was available?
When is the next election to the board? If parents do not like what is going on, they must run for the board and get elected. That way, they don’t have to fight the board and its decisions but they can actually create the school policy.
I too question how a national search yields someone who possesses a degree from an online diploma mill. Surely more qualified candidates exist.
I also question how a national search does not yield a SINGLE Jew qualified to be Head of School.
Do they really believe there aren’t enough intellectual Jews with prestigious degrees who live in the US and would qualify to head a Jewish day school?
I have heard that at the Robert M. Beren Academy in Houston, Texas, an Orthodox Jewish Day School, successfully resolved a similar situation to the one we find ourselves in today.
The Beren Academy had employed an administrator who was not fit to serve his position in ways that served the best interests of their school.
That school successfully broke the contract with this administrator and did not open themselves up to any legal liability in doing so.
Can the Digger and other readers please look into this matter and see if indeed a precedent had been set at that school as to how to successfully and legally break contracts with such types of administrators?
Speaking to people who work there might be particularly informative.
I think we all should be able to read Adam Holden’s dissertation as well as Dr. Judy Dach’s.
Dr. Judy Dach is the Educational Guru who has made all major educational decisions for Hillel for more than a decade.
Which scholarly or academic journals have published Adam Holden and Judy Dach’s dissertions ?
The Hillel family is entitled to know.
Dissertations are supposed to be published, and therefore, public knowledge — information that is open to public review.
If they are not published in any academic journals, then I question whether these individuals are really as qualified as they walk around pretending to be.
Board elections are once a year. I am unsure how one would get elected, however, basically, I believe that a nominating committee chooses a slate of individuals and these are the people who are elected to the board. There is no real vote. The board nominates and it becomes a shoe-in, for lack of a better term. The board members are hand picked.
Elections are once a year in May/June. However some have 2 year terms. There is also a financial commitment associated with being on the board – that precludes the average person from serving.
Next Board Meeting: May 10
June 7 is the Annual Board Members Meeting
The board is a clique — it is very picky and exclusive of the people it befriends and allows in to the Secret Society.
“Board elections are once a year. I am unsure how one would get elected, however, basically, I believe that a nominating committee chooses a slate of individuals and these are the people who are elected to the board. There is no real vote. The board nominates and it becomes a shoe-in, for lack of a better term. The board members are hand picked.”
In this case, it doesn’t pay for anyone to attend the annual board meeting.
There has to be a more equitable way to select members who sit on the board so as to be more inclusive.
If nobody has ever tried to get elected to the board, nobody can say that that the procedures are unfair.
Whoever wants to run just needs to make sure to abide by all the guidelines laid out and to get support from other members.
Making a blanket statement that the board is not democratically elected is just going to make people think twice about even attempting.
If people do not like what is going on, the best way for change would be to become the policy maker.
If that person is unfairly discriminated against by the ones currently in power and is told that they cannot run, another round of letters needs to be sent to parents explaining the unfair practices of getting onto the board, a fact that will further alienate the board from the community, resulting in decrease in enrollment.
For anything to change, parents must get more involved with the board.
Yes.
The unfair practices need to be in the letter.
What should we say in the letter about that?
I have not heard from anyone with personal experience that the board has participated in unfair practices with regard to other members running for vacant positions.
Before putting anything about that in the letter, it must be confirmed by someone who attempted to become a member to the board and was refused even though that person followed all the correct procedures.
Otherwise, they are just empty accusations that may create liability for the letter-writer and/or anyone that signs.
Good point. Thank you.
Again, Thank you!