ARCHIVE FOR APRIL 2008

Yale University was hit by a $50 million lawsuit from a top South Korean university for reportedly erroneously confirming that an art history professor earned a Ph.D. there. 

This is an unexpected twist in the ongoing fake college degree scandal and the ensuing police investigations that have recently plagued South Korea’s education system. 

Two previous blogs, South Korea Battles Fallout from Fake Diploma Scandals and  Military Officers Involved in South Korea Diploma Mill Scandal give an overall view of what has been happening.

But following is a compilation of specifics that relate to the Yale lawsuit:

• Shin Jeong-ah, 36, falsified the college degrees on her job application and was hired as an art professor by highly-regarded Dongguk University after they reportedly confirmed with Yale’s grad school associate dean that Jeong-ah’s Ph.D. was legitimate.  
• Jeong-ah’s teaching position at Dongguk, along with a heavily padded resume, contributed to her coveted job appointment as co-director of the 2008 Gwangju Biennale, an internationally renowned event in the contemporary art world. This appointment gave her widespread recognition and prestige throughout South Korea.  
• Jeong-ah’s appointment to this position was enhanced by her affair with the married Byeon Yang-kyoon, 58, who was the Senior Secretary for Policy Planning  as well as the Budget Minister for then President Roh Moo-hyun.
• Later, when allegations arose that Jeong-ah’s degrees were bogus, Dongguk contacted Yale again and received a diferent reply stating that Jeong-ah did not receive a Ph.D. from Yale. 
• Yale then reportedly denied making the earlier confirmation error. 
• Shin Jeong-ah fled South Korea amidst the revelations of her false credentials, then returned to face criminal charges.
• Yale’s denial reportedly contributed to a series of unfortunate circumstances that left Dongguk University with a tarnished reputation, a loss of revenue, a drop in student applications and job losses among its employees. 
• Yale acknowledged and apologized for the earlier confirmation error.
• Byeon Yang-kyoon resigned from his high-level government position for abusing his power to help her receive the Gwangju Biennale appointment. He received a one-year prison sentence, which was reportedly suspended, and must perform 160 hours of community service.  
• Shin Jeong-ah was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for falsifying her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kansas and her Ph.D. from Yale, and for embezzling funds from an art museum.
• Dongguk University sued Yale University for $50 million for erroneously confirming Jeong-a’s doctoral degree and then denying it.

This unfortunate situation in South Korea is not unique. Its notoriety is due to South Korea’s commitment to excellence in education and the government’s determination to get to core of the problem and fix it.

Fake degrees rest in dry ink on innumerable resumes and job applications throughout the world, including the United States. Diploma mills, businesses that sell fake degrees, make profits in the hundreds of millions each year, yet remain in business due to the ignorance or greed of their customers.

Yale University made a mistake. Dongguk University made a mistake. But Shin Jeong-ah made a choice.

fake degree, fake college degree, diploma mill, bogus degree, South Korea scandal, Yale, Dongguk, Shin Jeong-ah, Byeon Yang-kyoon, Gwangju Biennale

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The University of Massachusetts has signed a history-making agreement with China’s Continuing Education Association (CCEA) and CerEdu Corporation to provide online degrees and face-to-face programs to as many as 5,000 students a year in China for five years.

If the agreement is approved by China’s Ministry of Education, UMass would be the first foreign university permitted to offer distance learning and online degree programs in China.  After five years, the success of this joint venture may permit additional top universities to be welcomed into China.

Also, the success of UMassOnline and its partners may change the face of international student exchange. Foreign students often travel outside of their countries to attend the best colleges and universities in order to obtain a world-class education. But if esteemed universities across the globe set up shop in those countries, there would be less need for foreign students to leave home.

Both CCEA and CerEdu Corporation are affiliated with prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing; and UMass had forged an academic and research partnership with Tsinghua University in 2006. This relationship between UMass and China has been further strengthened by the desire of both to expand the horizons of at least a small percentage of the 1.3 billion Chinese citizens.

Perhaps it is notable that the 2008 Summer Olympics are being held in Beijing, just as the Ministry of Education is comtemplating its decision regarding this matter.

And of course, hopefully the bridge of goodwill and friendship modeled by UMass and its Chinese partners will prevail and generate priceless positive fallout for years to come.

China, distance learning, e-learning, online degree program, online degrees, UMassOnline, Beijing, Tsinghua University, Summer Olympics 2008

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