BBC News - American University of London sells study-free MBA - 0 views
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A so-called university sold an MBA degree for thousands of pounds with no academic work required, a BBC Newsnight investigation has revealed.
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The American University of London (AUOL) awarded a fictitious person created by the programme a Master's in Business in exchange for a £4,500 fee.
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Its website claims that that all of their courses "have been designed to the most exacting standards, in accordance with the most stringent criteria, in order to provide outstanding education at an affordable price".
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Newsnight sent "Pete's" CV to AUOL, along with a completed application for the Master's in Business (MBA) and £50 application fee.
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"No, no, apparently the APEL [Accreditation of Previous Experiential Learning] board awarded him the full degree immediately based on his qualification and his professional experience, so he doesn't have to do any courses."
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the university's academic staff are highly qualified and experienced". But when we contacted five Western academics on its list, all said they had never worked there and never agreed for their name to be used.
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"It doesn't have authority to award degrees. They are not degrees. They are pieces of paper and I'm guessing they are not able to sell very many degrees into countries where English is the first language."
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The university has claimed to be recognised by three different American institutions, but these institutions are themselves unofficial and unrecognised.
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The university is listed as "bogus" by the agency that values degrees for the Italian government and it has been blacklisted in five US states, including Texas where it is illegal to use any of its qualifications to get a job.