The truth about John Bear and Degreeinfo

[Trevor Nigel]

Quote:The truth about John B. Bear and degreeinfo
By Mr. Degree

It's time more people learned the truth about John B. Bear and his followers.

For many years, John B. Bear has published an opinionated guidebook on distance education. He's also been a voluminous poster to Usenet and to distance education discussion forums. He was an administrator at one, Degreeinfo.com, until recently.

The media treat John Bear, whose real name is John Andrew Klempner, as an expert on distance education. He certainly knows a lot about the subject. But what they don't tell you is Bear's shady past and the fact that he has only one motivation - to knock the competitors of whoever is paying him at that particular time. Lately, he's hitched his wagon to the cause of mainstream accredited schools who want to eliminate legitimate schools that choose not to become accredited - and so can afford to charge lower tuition and offer better value for the consumer.

Bear claims that he's fighting "diploma mills" - "schools" that sell diplomas for payment. This is a smokescreen. Real diploma mills - the "degree in 30 days, no questions asked" places - get an easy ride from Bear and his pals, because, for all that they are a bad thing, they are actually no competition for mainstream schools. No, their attention is directed towards schools that compete with the accredited sector but don't have the crippling costs of maintaining accreditation to worry about.

Bear says it's all about quality. But accreditation doesn't guarantee quality - it doesn't even examine it. In their paper for the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, "Can College Accreditation live up to its Promise?", George Leef and Roxana Burris concluded, "Putting the matter in a nutshell, we conclude that accreditation has not served to ensure quality, has not protected the curriculum from serious degradation, and gives students, parents, and public decision-makers almost no useful information about institutions of higher education."

So what we've got on our hands here is a turf war. On the one hand, there's the mainstream schools who are held back from experimenting by the conservative accreditors, and who run their show for the benefit of their tenured faculty, not their students. On the other, you've got the small independent schools, who deliver an education tailored to student needs and market demand. No wonder the mainstream schools want to play dirty so they can create a monopoly. And it's their money that's directly and indirectly backing Bear and his gang.

And playing dirty is exactly what these guys want to do. They're the guys who call up your employer and local newspaper and start telling them your education's not "legitimate" in their eyes. They tell them that your right to free educational choice among legally-operating schools is just a cover for you to commit fraud. They run smear campaigns on the net, on television and in print that do everything possible to put the words "unaccredited" and "diploma mill" in the same sentence.

Who are these guys? Well, a lot of them want to stay in the shadows and carry on with their morally degenerate, illegal activities of harassment and bullying. We'll tell you more about them later. Some of them, however, are happy to step into the spotlight. John Bear is one of these. But he's been a little selective in what he's prepared to tell you about his past when he's quoted in the media and on his online resume. It's time to set the record straight.

DID YOU KNOW.that John B. Bear has owned and run not one but TWO DIPLOMA MILLS - yes, that's DEGREE-SELLING DIPLOMA MILLS? They were called the "London Institute of Applied Research" and the "Millard Fillmore Institute" and operated in the 1960s and 1970s. Bear sold honorary doctorates, no questions asked, from both entities. Doing that now in the USA or UK would land him a hefty jail term. In August 1974, "Education and Training" commented thus in a section on honorary PhDs, "It has resulted in some persons exploiting this situation by establishing their own degree mills. For example two Americans, John Bear and James H. Campbell, operating from the Isle of Wight, have been selling honorary doctorates of their so-called LONDON INSTITUTE of APPLIED RESEARCH. In nine months their turnover from the sale of phoney doctorates exceeded US $50,000."

DID YOU KNOW.that John B. Bear has part-owned and run TWO UNACCREDITED SCHOOLS now described by his cronies as DIPLOMA MILLS? Those schools are the International Institute for Advanced Studies, MO, later to become Greenwich University, HI, and Fairfax University, LA. Whilst he ran them, he was consulting on diploma mills for the FBI. Why did he do that? Simple - to knock the competition and build himself up in the media as an expert.

DID YOU KNOW.that John B. Bear has part-owned another UNACCREDITED SCHOOL - Columbia Pacific University - that he once described in glowing terms in his guidebook, giving it his highest ranking? Yet now, when he comments in the media about the school and its graduates, he doesn't mention his involvement and criticizes the school as if he had never supported it? That's hypocrisy in our book.

DID YOU KNOW.that John B. Bear, in the book "Degree Mills" which he co-authored with Allen Ezell, makes a great show of entities not having specific authority to confer degrees from the government being bogus? Yet the International Institute for Advanced Studies, which he owned and ran, had no such approval, nor was such approval needed to confer degrees from its state. Nor is it needed in a number of other jurisdictions. They're trying to sell you the line that unless the government owns or controls it, it's bogus. Bull.

DID YOU KNOW.that John B. Bear's cronies at Degreeinfo and elsewhere include the following, some of whom have NO EXPERIENCE OF OR INVOLVEMENT WITH DISTANCE EDUCATION AT ALL? - not as students, faculty or administrators on distance learning programs. Nor do most have any involvement with schools outside the accredited mainstream - for those who do, they're sure keeping quiet about it lest their buddies turn on them. The only real interest of these guys is in brutal "consumer activist" campaigns against schools they don't like and their grads. They will stoop to any depths to achieve their aims - lying and vicious character assassination is their stock-in-trade. And if you challenge them at degreeinfo, expect to be banned without warning and placed on their list of targets for attack.

Let's take a satirical look at them one-by-one:

- "Mr Coffee Enema" - an alternative therapist who advocates COFFEE ENEMAS as a CURE FOR CANCER? This is Chip White, co-owner of the site, and a man with no apparent degree, or involvement in distance education.

- "The Snake Oil Salesman" - another alternative therapist, who offers "distance healing sessions" where he thinks he can heal you without even meeting you? This is Nathan Whiteside, co-owner of the site. Again, he has no apparent involvement in distance education.

- "Mr $40,000 Hooker" - a rabid left-winger who spent $40,000 trying to "save" an Asian prostitute? This is Gregg DesElms, moderator. Again, he has no apparent involvement in distance education. Recently, he posted not-so-veiled death threats against someone he disagrees with at degreeinfo. How did degreeinfo respond? They made him a moderator!

- "The Natural Born Killer" - a woman whose campaign against an unaccredited school owner led to the press branding her department "natural born killers"? This is Marcia Langsjoen of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Again, she has no apparent involvement in distance education.

- "The Fat Homo" - yes, that's how he describes himself - a former gay activist who works for the state of Oregon and uses his position there to pursue personal vendettas, including against a conservative Christian school that maintains traditional teaching on homosexuality? This is Alan Contreras, administrator of the Oregon Office for Degree Authorization and author of the ODA list of unaccredited schools - a list riddled with inaccuracy and bias, based on degreeinfo gossip. He's been sued by schools twice, and each time has lost the case and had to have the statutes amended. Last time, he was ordered to undergo remedial instruction in defamation law. Need we say - he has no apparent involvement in distance education?

- "Where "C" stands for Contradiction" - a man who condemns unaccredited schools, yet has worked at three of them - Greenwich, MIGS and Virginia International University? This is Rich C. Douglas, who has published one (count it!) article in his whole life, yet holds himself out as an expert on distance education. After two years of trying to convince John B. Bear that MIGS was legit, he dropped that idea and Bear got his his Union Ph.D. in 8 months.

- "The Cyberstalker" - this is Bill Huffman, who has no apparent involvement in distance education. He created an entire website dedicated to defaming and cyberstalking someone who had challenged him on Usenet - and after all that couldn't even find out where his unaccredited doctorate was from. Note the "humor" of Huffman putting a graphic of his target's head exploding on his stalker page.

- "Professor Goody-Goody" - this is George D. Gollin, a professor at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, whose interest in this whole issue is confined to promoting the mainstream sector that keeps him in tenure and eliminating its competitors.

- "Death Threat Jeff" - this is Jeff Hampton, who threatened to shoot someone who disagreed with him at degreeinfo by private message - the board owners' response was to ban the guy he threatened and to do nothing to censure Hampton. No distance education experience as far as can be ascertained.

- "Uncle Fester" - this is John Weaver-Hudson, who posts under the alias "uncle janko" - a bitter, hate-filled LUTHERAN PRIEST from Michigan. Has he ever taught or studied via distance education? You guessed it...

- "The Miami Motor Mouth" - Gus Sainz, who owns a medical sales corp and reveals nothing about his education whilst mercilessly attacking that of others. Not enough? Hey, he'll take cheap shots at innocent members of your family and your moral standards too, whilst remaining the mystery man himself.

- "The Bear Clone" - meet George Brown, Aussie owner of his own one-man "academic verification service" designed to attack private education that doesn't submit to the shackles of state control - and the consumer's interests can go to hell. Brown's all sweetness and light on the surface, but behind the scenes, he's backing the others to the hilt. Watch him at work here. Degreeinfo moderator from fall 2005 onwards.

- "The Traitor" - Peter French, Aussie mate of Brown, whose role is to infiltrate any opposition to degreeinfo, gain their confidence and then rat them out to his degreeinfo masters. Holds a doctorate from Sussex College of Technology, a degree mill. Oh, and he spent three years trying to prove his American Coastline University Ph.D., which he now doesn't talk about, is valid.

- "Jack the Ripper" - this is Jack Tracey, who mercilessly attacks the educational choices of others. Has a degree from Harvard Extension earned through night school but no known experience of distance education. Degreeinfo moderator from fall 2005.

And the granddaddy of them all, who started this ball rolling:

- "The Truck Driver" - Steve Levicoff - another gay activist who holds three "quickie" degrees and mouths off aggressively and profanely at anyone who disagrees with him - he'll call you a pedophile on Usenet just for the hell of it. It's Levicoff, helped by his private eye brother Warren, who started the whole business of "outting" people with degrees from schools he didn't like. He's been lying low since a school sued him for calling it a mill, but we know he's still there behind the scenes. No academic job for him - he drives a truck for a living.

These, and others, are the enemies of freedom in education. Under the guise of "consumer protection", they're working to ensure that your choice in education is restricted to high-priced mainstream schools who share their liberal socialist agenda.

We say it is time they realized that they have a fight on their hands.

[Randall Flagg]

It would seem that the public may need more protection from the gang than from other sources.  It appears to me that the sheriff's of DL land are corrupt, incompetent, liars, or deviants.  

"The hog that is filthy tries to make others so."
--American

[kouzoulos]

Hello all,

firstly I'd like to tell you that this forum is the most objective.

Now about the truth J.B, I quoted this message to the degreediscussion. Yeah the PANIC!!In 3 minutes i had 3 answers!! And after??

yes..the truth hurts...they denied me the access to the forum,but why?Because truth hurts and they cannot accept that someone among them in their forum can have a different opinion so,what did they do when I started uncovering them...just blocked me!Nevermind, with this action they confirmed that all that I said there, it was true..


regards
kouzoulos

ps:Truth hurts Mr.Bear and Mr.Gollin ??
ps2:I apologize for my english

[ham]

Quote:Now about the truth J.B, I quoted this message to the degreediscussion. Yeah the PANIC!!In 3 minutes i had 3 answers!! And after??

you know what?
I can say I am a 'prolific' poster here , yet my post-per-day average is barely 0,79 (less than one post per day ).
I can safely say i never went over 1 post-per-day average on any website i have been at since 1997; actually on most sites i used to post on my average is like 0,2.
Now according to the self-righteous scumbags I typically clash with others are the trailer park residents, murderous psychopaths or deviants...
Hmmm...
Why are those self-proclaimed 'experts', pundits and prophets posting fifty times a day on various sites?
Well, maybe because the fairy tales they love to tell about themselves is a lie.
What a bunch of idiots...always ready to jump in to defend their heroes...

[kouzoulos]

ham Wrote:

Quote:Now about the truth J.B, I quoted this message to the degreediscussion. Yeah the PANIC!!In 3 minutes i had 3 answers!! And after??

you know what?
I can say I am a 'prolific' poster here , yet my post-per-day average is barely 0,79 (less than one post per day ).
I can safely say i never went over 1 post-per-day average on any website i have been at since 1997; actually on most sites i used to post on my average is like 0,2.
Now according to the self-righteous scumbags I typically clash with others are the trailer park residents, murderous psychopaths or deviants...
Hmmm...
Why are those self-proclaimed 'experts', pundits and prophets posting fifty times a day on various sites?
Well, maybe because the fairy tales they love to tell about themselves is a lie.
What a bunch of idiots...always ready to jump in to defend their heroes...

"experts":D

[ham]

kouzoulos Wrote:"experts":D

yes, Experts...
John Bear masterminded a handful of 'unaccredited' schools, including procurement of 'phoney doctorates for use in America only'...

George Brown had his own '(highly) problematic school' ICHM (International College of Hotel Management ).

Gus Sainz shows financial misconduct on pair with his self-importance.

Gregg DesElms the massage parlor addict who spent $40.000 on an individual hooker, then claimed he was researching a book and turned crusader against the whole sex industry.

Thomas Chip White (owner of degreeinfo ) who after he castigates 'nazis' and 'degree mill shills' online pro bono, rushes to supervise the filming on one of the 70+ DVDs he has produced, featuring gay 'boys' cramming things up their exhaust, then advertises his 'artwork' in very graphic terms on queer sites. When he's done hanging out with the scantly clad gay 'boys' who greet him on his webpage, he studies medicine. An overachieving college dropout, he's a celebrity in the medical field teaching practitioners about coffee enemas, his second expertise yet always dealing with exhausts.

amateurs they are not...

[kouzoulos]

ham Wrote:

kouzoulos Wrote:"experts":D

yes, Experts...
John Bear masterminded a handful of 'unaccredited' schools, including procurement of 'phoney doctorates for use in America only'...

George Brown had his own '(highly) problematic school' ICHM (International College of Hotel Management ).

Gus Sainz shows financial misconduct on pair with his self-importance.

Gregg DesElms the massage parlor addict who spent $40.000 on an  individual hooker, then claimed he was researching a book and turned crusader against the whole sex industry.

Thomas Chip White (owner of degreeinfo ) who after he castigates 'nazis' and 'degree mill shills' online pro bono, rushes to supervise the filming on one of the 70+ DVDs he has produced, featuring gay 'boys' cramming things up their exhaust, then advertises his 'artwork' in very graphic terms on queer sites. When he's done hanging out with the scantly clad gay 'boys' who greet him on his webpage, he studies medicine. An overachieving college dropout, he's a celebrity in the medical field teaching practitioners about coffee enemas, his second expertise yet always dealing with exhausts.

amateurs they are not...

I told you...I like your forum!Finally I found some persons that J.B(and his friends) is not their "god" in DL Universities..  you know what  I mean

[Albert Hidel]

kouzoulos Wrote:I told you...I like your forum!Finally I found some persons that J.B(and his friends) is not their "god" in DL Universities..  you know what  I mean

Stick with us, pal.  Bear and his crew of losers, perverts and wannabes have never had more knots tied in their lace knickers!

[kouzoulos]

Albert Hidel Wrote:

kouzoulos Wrote:I told you...I like your forum!Finally I found some persons that J.B(and his friends) is not their "god" in DL Universities..  you know what  I mean

Stick with us, pal.  Bear and his crew of losers, perverts and wannabes have never had more knots tied in their lace knickers!

Thank you Albert!Also I'd like to apologize for my English as sometimes (almost always ) I'm making mistakes.I'm from France(not French but live here) so I hope that you will understand!

[ham]

Quote:Finally I found some persons that J.B(and his friends) is not their "god" in DL Universities

well, John Bear published a 'phone book' guide that was not that bad in the era before the internet, or when internet was in its infancy. He also published lists of degree mills under the thin veneer of criticising them, but probably acting as a 'referrer' on behalf of his competitors from the good old days when he had masterminded a few mills of his own.
John Bear made money; the problem isn't his.
The problem i see is with all the hypocrites and the unwashed sipping tea with him while discussing in absolute moral terms what others do and looking up to him as an authority in ethics.
And what about public places inviting him as an 'authority'?

another Ingo Hasselbach
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingo_Hasselbach
A neonazi penniless bum who found his pot of gold denouncing his former mates to the police. Now lives happy writing books about his betrayal -which others opportunely consider 'finding the lord' or whatever -. Another icon of ethical coherence for some.
All things considered, endorsing a controversial cause and then turning his back to it was the best thing that could happen to him, huh?