Why Do Fake Degree Holders Pick Such Stupid Names For Their Universities?

[garro]

Our school seems to get an almost endless supply of applicants with dodgy degrees. What really surprises me though is that the names of these universities are so obviously suspicious. I mean 'The University of Susexx' in Honolulu. Come on. Or the Oxx Ford University. Why do people send such obvious fakes? Are they just taking the piss?

[twschw]

Please Mr. Garro could you be so kind as to explain what is the meaning of this post? Just another negative topic about teachers or prospective teachers in Thailand it would seem.

[garro]

I am sorry if my post offends prospective teachers with fake degrees. It was callous of me to be so critical of some of the pieces of paper submitted by my fellow professionals.

As for the point of my thread? Surely it is up to the moderators to decide if my topic is unworthy? If you don't see the point well don't respond. I don't think that you are expected to voice your opinion on every post on the forum; even if your opinions are such golden stuff.

Edited October 9, 2008 by garro

[twschw]

The tone of your reply is answer enough for me. Have a great day.

[toptuan]

Why Do Fake Degree Holders Pick Such Stupid Names For Their Universities?

Stupid is, as stupid does.

[Loaded]

degreediscussion dot com has an interesting forum that discusses unaccredited universities and degree mills.

I had a young yank come in once with his resume/CV and a CDRom with a scanned copy of his 'degree' from the University of Queensland! He didn't know anything about the university and he had even written on his Resume that he was working in Starbucks or somewhere in the States while he was supposed to be studying in Australia! He didn't get a job from me but he is still in Chiang Mai and is doing quite well.

[garro]

degreediscussion dot com has an interesting forum that discusses unaccredited universities and degree mills.

I had a young yank come in once with his resume/CV and a CDRom with a scanned copy of his 'degree' from the University of Queensland! He didn't know anything about the university and he had even written on his Resume that he was working in Starbucks or somewhere in the States while he was supposed to be studying in Australia! He didn't get a job from me but he is still in Chiang Mai and is doing quite well.

Loaded, the University of South Queensland is an accredited distance learning outfit sort of like the Open University in the UK. I completed a PGCE with them previously.

[PhilHarries]

Why worry? It makes your job sorting the wheat from the chaff easier.

Thank God for my genuine BSc from CamFord University, Papua New Guinea.

[PeaceBlondie]

Do you mean to say there is no Univ. of Fishbury? No University of Oaklihoma? I went to TEFL school with a guy who claimed to have graduated from the best known school in a certain state. Having lived there myself, and having had a relative who attended that renowned school, I asked him casual, pertinent questions about college life there. He did not know the name of the biggest street that went past the campus, or the most popular night clubs. He got a job in a very remote province, though.

Fake degrees and fake teachers are a legitimate discussion topic here, and at the Unyvercity of Hahvahd. My resume contains a URL to the website of my third-rate but very real uni in Texas. Decades later, I recall my professors' names, the courses I took, etc. Just this week I recalled that I took an intermediate accounting course from a lecturer whose income tax return I had just audited.

[Niloc]

I obtained a fake student card so I could get cheap rail tickets etc. It was supposed to be from Germany and the first German I showed it to laughed and pointed out that the city did not even exist, much less the University!!

This was 1n 1966 so maybe it has been built by now!

Colin

[desertrat]

I offered my Masters from Imperial with Astronomy subjects, the interviewer thought I was a Fortune Teller.

I have seen large parties held here for/by hi-sos, to celebrate their graduation from "Southern Pacific Universty- Hawaii" et al

Edited October 9, 2008 by desertrat

[Ijustwannateach]

In answer to the OP's question: I think that both those who get fake degrees and those who accept them are not always the sharpest knives in the drawer; if you were running a 'schoolish' business and didn't mind if people had fake degrees (because if you're not checking then you don't mind) then why care too much if they have 'good' fake degrees?

I'd like to remind everyone that fake degrees are illegal documents and are forms of fraud here in Thailand (as opposed to 'life experience' degrees, which are simply unaccredited and meaningless pieces of paper, or 'working without a degree,' which is at least honest and in some cases perfectly acceptable though getting harder). If you offer a fake degree to your employer or a Thai government ministry, you could potentially be deported and/or imprisoned- so don't do it.

"S"

[Loaded]

degreediscussion dot com has an interesting forum that discusses unaccredited universities and degree mills.

I had a young yank come in once with his resume/CV and a CDRom with a scanned copy of his 'degree' from the University of Queensland! He didn't know anything about the university and he had even written on his Resume that he was working in Starbucks or somewhere in the States while he was supposed to be studying in Australia! He didn't get a job from me but he is still in Chiang Mai and is doing quite well.

Loaded, the University of South Queensland is an accredited distance learning outfit sort of like the Open University in the UK. I completed a PGCE with them previously.

Not too proud to say that I now look stupid.

[phaethon]

I hope you haven't rejected any candidates from the respected KSR University which only issues certificates to persons who have actually, physically been to their large campus which takes up an entire street near the National Museum.

K.

Professor of Photocopying

Department of Backpacking

KSR University

[garro]

I hope you haven't rejected any candidates from the respected KSR University which only issues certificates to persons who have actually, physically been to their large campus which takes up an entire street near the National Museum.

K.

Professor of Photocopying

Department of Backpacking

KSR University

[stevejones123]

In Saudi, I once was interviewing a candidate who had a genuine first degree from a Sudanese University and a second 'Masters' from a diploma mill in the States. I told him we wouldn't be taking the Masters into account as it was from a diploma mill. The next day he came in with the originals of the Masters, attested by Notary Public and the US State Department, about five documents in all. He insisted all documents were genuine. I told him I was not disputing the authenticity of the documents, simply that the qualification referred to was meaningless.

To explain what I meant I got a scrap of paper and wrote on it "Mr. X is a qualified neurosurgeon: signed Steve, 26/11/2008, Tel: 00 966 xxx xxxx". I told him that he could then take that scrap of paper to a Notary Public and the Notary Public would issue a document saying it was genuine. If conscientious they might even phone me first, though under no obligation to do so. However the document would be issued and the US Department of State would then issue another saying that the Notary Public's document was a genuine document issued by a genuine Notary Public (there might actually be an intermediate stage between the Notary and the DoS). Nevertheless for all the attestations the paper would remain a useless scrap of paper.

The gentleman was most put out. "I had to write three book reviews to get that Masters" he said.

[phaethon]

Hi Steve,

I was about to phone you. Mr X just applied for a job as Cheif Brayn Sergon here at St Mary's Hospital, London. Your post saved me a call - he's hired.

Cheers,

K.

Edited October 9, 2008 by phaethon

[JetsetBkk]

...I mean 'The University of Susexx' in Honolulu... Or the Oxx Ford University...

Perhaps his 'x' key bounces.

[bruceboy]

Any more silly names of universities?

[garro]

Any more silly names of universities?

Cambridge State University (in Jackson, Mississippi)

Canterbury University of the Seychelles

Knightsbridge University

University of Central Europe(Mississippi) - This is my favorite; by the time you graduate from this university you do believe that Mississippi is in central Europe.

You can find a full list here;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unacc...higher_learning

[grtaylor]

However, some are less easy to spot as fakes. A farang friend of mine teaches at a bilingual school and is often asked to review the qualifications of applicants. He was shown one from the "University of Leeds", which does exist, in West Yorkshire, UK, and is a highly respected institution.

However, the certificate was, to him, obviously, a fake, as he himself is a Leeds graduate, has a real one and knows what they look like. The Vice-Chancellor's names was wrong, and the certificate had all that flowery language which you never get on real British degree certificates, "The Board of Regents by the authority invested in it, does with these presents invest xxxxx with the all rights, privileges, and appurtenances . . . . " etc.

Also, many fake certificates are of too high a quality for the time they were supposedly granted. My pre-computer degree certificate (1976) has my name typed on it with a type-writer, and the Vice-Chancellors signature is a rubber stamp!

G

Edited October 10, 2008 by grtaylor

[phaethon]

Would you accept a degree from this place: http://www.belforduniversity.org/

"Earn a recognized University degree based on work or life experience from Belford University within 7 days!"

Or even:

http://www.nd-center.com/Samples.html

"Created for novelty purposes" - Yeah right!

[sgtpeppers]

degreediscussion dot com has an interesting forum that discusses unaccredited universities and degree mills.

I had a young yank come in once with his resume/CV and a CDRom with a scanned copy of his 'degree' from the University of Queensland! He didn't know anything about the university and he had even written on his Resume that he was working in Starbucks or somewhere in the States while he was supposed to be studying in Australia! He didn't get a job from me but he is still in Chiang Mai and is doing quite well.

Loaded, the University of South Queensland is an accredited distance learning outfit sort of like the Open University in the UK. I completed a PGCE with them previously.

Not too proud to say that I now look stupid.

ummm.

The University of Queensland and the University of South Queensland are 2 TOTALLY different unis.

[Loaded]

degreediscussion dot com has an interesting forum that discusses unaccredited universities and degree mills.

I had a young yank come in once with his resume/CV and a CDRom with a scanned copy of his 'degree' from the University of Queensland! He didn't know anything about the university and he had even written on his Resume that he was working in Starbucks or somewhere in the States while he was supposed to be studying in Australia! He didn't get a job from me but he is still in Chiang Mai and is doing quite well.

Loaded, the University of South Queensland is an accredited distance learning outfit sort of like the Open University in the UK. I completed a PGCE with them previously.

Not too proud to say that I now look stupid.

ummm.

The University of Queensland and the University of South Queensland are 2 TOTALLY different unis.

jeez, now I'm totally lost

[watdog]

Whatsamatta U.

[phaethon]

Huxley College have a

. You can see an address by the president HERE.

[MacMac]

I have a question that is slightly off topic but still has some relevance. I have just completed an honours degree with the Open University in the UK. I decided to do an open degree which allowed me to pick the subjects I was interested rather than restricting me to a named degree. I chose to split my degree between English and Religious studies because both are relevant to the UK primary school curriculum and I would like to start a teaching career in the UK before I move out to Thailand. Anyway the English subjects I took are considered by the Open University to be relevant to both a BA and BSc, therefore I am in a position to accept either a BA (honours) Open degree or a BSc (honours) Open degree. Personally I think a BSc sounds better but would a BSc in English and Religious Studies be rejected as a possible fake because it does sound a little unusual.

[Sporting Dog]

Hi Steve,

I was about to phone you. Mr X just applied for a job as Cheif Brayn Sergon here at St Mary's Hospital, London. Your post saved me a call - he's hired.

Cheers,

K.

:D

[stevejones123]

and the certificate had all that flowery language which you never get on real British degree certificates,

It's a general rule that the more impressive the degree certificate the worse the university. Oxbridge degrees are incredibly plain.

[Scott]

MacMac: It would look suspicious to me if I saw a Bs degree in English or Religion, but if it checks as authentic (and they have to be checked--supposedly), I'd accept it.

I could write a book about fake degrees and fake degree holders. Recently busted two people with fake degrees--I never hired them; I inherited them, but the Ministry of Education in a review noticed the 'dodgy degrees' and asked us to check them out. These two guys just went ballistic when they were asked about it. Of course it was my fault for checking and how dare I check on them and who in the h_ll did I think I was to do such a thing! Unbelievably arrogant about the whole deal.

Had another guy who turned in a fake degree, but he actually had a degree, but didn't have it with him, so he had gotten a fake one at KSR. He was completely distraught when caught, offered to resign immediately etc. Checked with his 'real' school and got verification back.

I have nothing against non-degreed teachers per se, but I do against people that commit fraud. Lots of good folks without a degree who are enthusiastic, hard working and willing to learn. Also quite committed. At least I know what I am getting.

The fakes and frauds are usually quite arrogant and at some point seem to start thinking that they are actually better than everyone else.

Good topic Garro.