Hi Smitty,
For awhile
Belford University claimed accreditation by an UNRECOGNIZED AGENCY; right now,
Belford University on their website, they do state that they are NOT accredited by any agency recognized by the US Dept of Education; that is TRUE.
That apostille is another issue altogether ..
The Apostille, Accreditation, and Degree Mills
Degree mills use many terms in their efforts to confuse consumers. They want people, like you, to believe that these terms mean the same thing as "accredited" or "legal."
They do not.
One of the terms degree mills love to use is "apostille." Another is "notarized." Neither of these terms mean the same thing as "accredited" and neither term has anything to do with certifying that the college itself that awarded said documents/diploma is legal or real in any country.
An apostille is a certification or notarization, usually by a government agency, that the document you want to present to someone in another foreign country -- say a potential employer -- is a true and accurate copy of the original document you are showing them in your home country. An agency officer in one country looks at a document and compares it to a copy of that document. If the two documents are the same he attaches a seal or apostille. It is roughly the equivalent process of a notarized document in the USA.
Say you have a PHD from a college in a foreign country like Pakistan and you want to apply for a job in another country, like Canada. You would not send them (or anyone) your original degree / diploma. You would make a copy of your diploma and transcripts, take them to have them compared and an apostille placed on them by an officer at the Consulate in your country. A consular agent might verify (apostile) that the copy you are about to send is an accurate copy of the original diploma or some other document.
An apostille or notarized signature does NOT certify or attest to the fact that any document or the institution that granted it -- in this case Belford -- is real. The apostille or notary simply certifies that the copy, which is being apostilled, is an accurate copy of the original document they have seen and looked at.
The apostille is another scam that diploma mills use to try and get MORE money from their graduates.
Keep your wallet closed.
An apostille will not make your degree legal, and has nothing at all to do with accreditation.
All the Best
Vicky Phillips
smitty_sca wrote:
I got a degree thru these people years back and believed it was accredited. I am now being contacted by them to "legalize" my diploma. It was illegal? Anyways, they are claiming they are accredited through the US Dept of State and I need to get my diploma legalized through the Dept of State and it will be recognized as accredited by any university in us, canada or globally. The fee to have this done is reduced until the end of the month. Is this possible?
