Fairfax University was an unaccredited[1] distance-learning institution established in Louisiana in 1986 and discontinued in 2004. Prior to losing its state of Louisiana license in 2001, it held graduation ceremonies in the US. Its president was the British academic Alan M. Jones, PhD.[2] In 2005 the University was relaunched as Fairfax University Institute with Alan Jones still as its President. In June 2007 several news media sources reported that it had relocated to the Cayman Islands where it was operating under its new name.[3][4][5]
U.S. state education agencies report that Fairfax operated in the past from the U.S. states of Louisiana (the university had an administration office in Baton Rouge until 2004),[6] Montana, and South Dakota and from the United Kingdom.[1]
According to HEDD, the UK Higher Education’s official system for candidate verification and university authentication, which deals with degree fraud and in line with other national accreditation agencies in other countries, degrees from Fairfax University are not recognised as having any academic validity in the United Kingdom.[7]
Alumni
edit- Samuel Kobia, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches.[8] The World Council of Churches removed the degree of PhD from his curriculum vitae (CV) after a controversy about Fairfax.
- Sven Otto Littorin, former Swedish Minister for Employment.[3] Littorin removed the degree of MBA from his CV after a controversy about Fairfax.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b See Oregon Office of Degree Authorization List of Unaccredited colleges Archived May 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine and Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas Archived 2008-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Fairfax University Prospectus, 1995
- ^ a b James Savage, Minister's MBA 'came from degree mill' Archived September 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, The Local, June 19, 2007
- ^ Dubious Degree for Swedish Official, Inside Higher Ed, June 20, 2007
- ^ Minister got some explaining to do, Independent Online, June 21, 2007
- ^ Fairfax University's administration office listed in a directory of Louisiana educational institutions
- ^ "Fairfax University | Higher Education Degree Datacheck".
- ^ WCC says it removed doctorate from CV of its general secretary Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, Ecumenical News International, 13 Feb, 2008
Further reading
edit- Fraud and Education: The Worm in the Apple by Harold J. Noah and Max A. Eckstein, published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. This book mentions Fairfax University and describes it as an 'elusive university'.
External links
edit- Fairfax University Institute website, archived February 11, 2007