Pete, a 4-year-old Lurcher rescue dog, or better known as Peter Smith by American University of London (AUOL), received his MBA in late October 2013. The degree was “earned” – or better yet handed out to the canine, two week after enrolling in the online program and paying $7,300 (about £4,500). I think Pete sniffed out FRAUD!
BBC Newsnight performed an investigative report on AUOL – with Pete’s help – and concluded that AUOL’s online program is not real, nor is it an accredited higher education program.
AOUL’s website claims that the school is a leader in long distance learning, and its students have earned degrees in business, informational technology, law, English and other disciplines. The “university” claims to have more than 100,000 students worldwide.
Pete submitted his online application to AUOL with the help of some humans and it was filled with fake credentials. AUOL required an applicant’s photo, which Pete purposely omitted, but this did not stop Pete from enrolling or earning his degree.
Four days later AUOL contacted Pete via email stating that his application for a degree was successful. Based on Pete’s previous experience and once the $7,300 enrollment fee was received, the dog would be enrolled in AUOL as a registered MBA graduate.
BBC Newsnight was amazed with this response and they decided to contact the university via phone. They wanted to make sure Pete would be getting his degree even though he did not have to submit any course work. Below is what a university representative said:
“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.”
The world would fall apart if everyone got awarded a degree based on fake credentials and after paying a fee!
Now other London university officials are asking the government to better regulate online schools.
We at Life with Dogs wonder if Pete’s degree will be revoked after the AUOL’s fraud has been made public. It is our opinion that Pete’s MBA gets swapped for a Law degree or a Masters in Criminal Justice. After all, it seems this rescue dog has a future in the Justice Department.
As of the end of OCtober, Pete was still waiting to be adopted, and after cracking down this fraudulent higher education case, the canine should not have any problem getting a forever family. Who wouldn’t want a scholar for a family pet?
If you are interested in learning more about Pete and possibly adopting him, contact Battersea Dogs’ Home in the U.K. Pete is no longer listed on their site, so he might be living with a forever family by now and possibly putting his degree to work.
Read the entire story on how Pete helped with BBC Newsnight’s investigative report.
