76 people graduate from unaccredited university known as a
degree supplier
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--> <!-- Author --> By Sandra Davie and Cassandra Chew
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--> THE ceremony in the
Old Parliament House had all the pomp and circumstance associated
with any graduation.
The professors and graduands were in full academic regalia.
Speeches flowed in English and Mandarin. And afterwards, a gala
dinner at a hotel.
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At the ceremony, the university's honorary president, a
Professor Bernard Cadet, delivered an inspiring speech, urging
graduands to transform the world.
'Believe nothing is impossible. West Coast University (WCU) will
be proud of you in the future,' he told the 76 graduands from
Singapore, Indonesia and China, before handing them their
doctorates, master's and bachelor's degrees.
But this was a ceremony for an unaccredited university based in
Panama, not Los Angeles, as its school in Singapore had
claimed.
The Asia-Australia School of Management (AASM), a Case-certified
school in Middle Road, offers West Coast University programmes here
with a related company, Huanyu Training Expert.
At least two American states have outlawed degrees from WCU,
describing it as a 'degree supplier' that offers 'fraudulent or
substandard degrees'.
The Texas State Higher Education Coordinating Board warns on its
website that WCU 'is used by multiple unaccredited entities. The
extent to which they are related is unknown, but more than one
operator is suspected.'
In some parts of the United States, it is a criminal offence to
use degrees from unaccredited institutions.
'Dr' John Huang, one of the owners of AASM and Huanyu, insisted
that the university is based in Los Angeles and faxed The Straits
Times documents showing West Coast University International
registered as a business in California.
But he confirmed that it was not the California-based West Coast
University reputed for nursing and health science-related degrees.
He admitted that WCU was unaccredited, but said his students had
been given the facts.
His doctorate is from Ashwood University, the same degree mill
that granted this reporter's pet dog a doctorate for US$599 (S$886)
just two months ago.
The guest of honour at Monday's ceremony was MP for Joo Chiat
Chan Soo Sen, who delivered a speech in Mandarin and English.
Contacted afterwards, he said he had been invited by a
grassroots leader and accepted as he wanted to encourage the habit
of life-long learning.
Told that WCU was unaccredited, he said he had not been given
any information about it. 'If my presence there had given the
university credibility, that was not my intention,' he said.
