Bircham International University
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2008-06-25T17:52:51Z
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'''Bircham International University''' describes itself as an international [[distance education]] university. It formerly operated from the [[Bahamas]], or the [[United Kingdom]], and is now registered in [[Spain]]. It has no recognized [[educational accreditation]] in any of these places.<ref name="ODA" />
==History and location==
According to its website<ref>[http://www.bircham.edu/ Bircham International University website] (accessed July 23, 2007)</ref>, Bircham was established in Europe in [[1992]] and is "registered" in [[Delaware]] ([[USA]]), Spain, and the Bahamas. According to [[John Bear]]'s guide, Bircham was founded in 1992 in the [[United Kingdom]] as '''Oxford International University''', but changed its name in 2000 and has addresses in the Bahamas, Spain, England, Florida, New Zealand, and Taiwan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bear |first=John |authorlink=John Bear |coauthors=Mariah Bear |title=Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning |date=2003-01-01 |publisher=Ten Speed Press |id= ISBN 1-58008-431-1}} page 206, 207</ref>
==Accreditation status==
Bircham is [[educational accreditation|not accredited]] by any recognized accreditation agency. It claims accreditation by the [[Academy for the Promotion of International Culture and Scientific Exchange]] and the [[American Association of Drugless Practitioners]],<ref>[http://www.apics.com/welcome.htm Academy for the Promotion of International Culture and Scientific Exchange website]</ref><ref>[http://www.aadp.net/ American Association of Drugless Practitioners website]</ref> neither of which is a [[List of recognized accreditation associations of higher learning|recognized accreditation agency]]. At one time BIU apparently claimed accreditation from '''Educational Quality Accreditation'''. Bears' Guide describes Educational Quality Accreditation as "the unlocatable and unrecognized accreditor for the nonwonderful Bircham International University."<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=k67XC_7y5xEC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=+%22Bircham+International+University%22&source=web&ots=PTNYjsUo6q&sig=3ZdaN7MmeEQF65h4qYivP1EDFLU Educational Quality Accreditation], By [[John Bear]], Mariah P. Bear, Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, 14th edition, page 54</ref> According to [[IAU Universities List]] of accredited schools, Bircham is not accredited in Spain.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.unesco.org/iau/onlinedatabases/list_data/s-nw.html#Spain | title=Accredited Spanish Universities | publisher=[[IAU Universities List]] | date= 2007 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-03-13}}</ref><ref name="ODA">{{cite news | url=http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.aspx | title=Unaccredited colleges | publisher=[[Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization]] | date= 2007 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-03-13}}</ref> Other sources explicitly listing it as unaccredited include The [[Maine Department of Education]] and the [[Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board]], which state that Bircham has "No degree-granting authority from Spain ([[American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers]] <nowiki>[AACRAO]</nowiki> evaluation)".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.maine.gov/education/highered/Non-Accredited/an-bu.htm#b| title=Non-Accredited Colleges & Universities List | publisher=[[Maine Department of Education]] | date= 2007 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-04-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/PrivateInstitutions/NoTX.cfm | title=Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas | publisher=[[Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board]] | date= 2007 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-07-17}}</ref> Bircham's website acknowledges that the institution is not accredited by any agency recognized by the U.S. [[Council on Higher Education Accreditation]], but it states that "as a provider of non formal education, ... no further authorization from a Ministry of Education is required."<ref>[http://www.bircham.net/ Bircham International University website] (accessed August 1, 2007)</ref>
Because BIU is not accredited by a recognized accreditation body in the countries where it operates, its degrees and credits might not be acceptable to employers or other institutions, and use of degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions. <ref>[http://www.ed.gov/students/prep/college/diplomamills/accreditation.html Diploma Mills and Accreditation] by [[US Department of Education]]</ref><ref>[http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/PrivateInstitutions/NoTX.cfm Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas] by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board</ref>
==Policies==
In January 2008 BIU's website states that [[tuition]] is charged on a per-credit basis.<ref>[http://www.bircham.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=3&Itemid=18 Degrees], Bircham International University website (accessed [[January 25]], [[2008]])</ref>. Tuition fees formerly were charged on a per-degree basis, not on a per-credit or per-course basis.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070406053244/www.bircham.edu/english/titulos.html Bircham International University website] (archived [[April 6]], [[2007]])</ref><ref name=crock/> Charging tuition on a per-degree basis is a practice that is one of the commonly identified features of a [[degree mill]].<ref>[http://www.bbb.com/alerts/article.asp?ID=185 Is the Internet Becoming a Haven for Diploma Mills?], Council of [[Better Business Bureau]]s, Inc., 2000/7/12.</ref>
Spain has a government institution for general consumer affairs not specific to academic institutions.<ref>[http://consumo-inc.es/arbitraje/interior/adhesion/adhesion.htm Instituto Nacional del Consumo]</ref> BIU states that they are a member of the institution.<ref>[http://www.bircham.edu/INC.pdf Letter from Instituto Nacional del Consumo]</ref> This means that should a consumer have a complaint, the institute can act as an intermediary for that complaint.
==Criticism and controversy==
Bircham is listed as a questionable non-accredited school by [[Quackwatch]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecorg.html | title=Questionable Organizations: An Overview | publisher=[[Quackwatch]] | date= 2007 | first=Stephen | last=Barrett | accessdate = 2007-03-13}}</ref> The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization <ref>Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, [http://web.archive.org/web/20061215064711/http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html Unaccredited colleges list, updated 8/23/2006]</ref> alerted the public that this institution had "no connection to legitimate [[Oxford University]] in Great Britain." A 2003 article in South Florida's ''CityLink'' magazine reported that Oregon education officials had said that Bircham was "totally bogus," and quoted former [[FBI]] agent Allen Ezell, who investigated [[diploma mill]]s as part of the agency's [[Operation Dipscam]], as describing some of Bircham's promotional claims as "pure [[Hokum (disambiguation)|hokum]]."<ref name=crock>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070402214223/http://www.citylinkmagazine.com/archives/101503coverstory.html Schoolhouse crock], ''City Link'', October 15, 2003</ref>
In July 2007 a Mexican newspaper reported that the [[Secretariat of Public Education]] (SEP) of [[Mexico]] had issued a warning against Bircham International and ten other foreign institutions identified as having committed [[academic fraud]].<ref>[http://www.correo-gto.com.mx/notas.asp?id=33377 SEP alerta sobre universidades “patito”], ''Correo'', El Diario del Estado de Guanajuato, July 20, 2007 (In Spanish)</ref>
In April 2008 the [[Nairobi]] Business Daily reported, "For two years, the locally unaccredited Bircham International University has been illegally operating in Kenya, wooing unsuspecting students to its distance learning classes."<ref>[http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6965&Itemid=5822 Queries over credibility of Spanish institution], Mwaura Kimani, Nairobi Business Daily, April 14 2008</ref>
==See also==
*[[Educational accreditation]]
*[[Accreditation mill]]
*[[List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning]]
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==External links==
* [http://www.bircham.edu/ Bircham International University] Official Site
* [http://www.unesco.org/iau/world-universities/index.html The World Higher Education Database (IAU/UNESCO)] List of accredited schools throughout the world
*[http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Non-accreditedSchools_78090_7.pdf Appears on list of unaccredited schools] for [[Michigan]]
[[Category:Unaccredited institutions of higher learning]]
[[Category:Distance education institutions]]