Dubious PhD Faculty Members

Regular readers of my posts will know that I'm fairly critical with regards to the standards and quality of academics and lecturers in many of our local private colleges. I've received complaints, many as comments in my earlier blog posts with regards to the lecturer's language abilities, experience as well as competence. Because of that, I've always urged the relevant authorities to require private colleges to published detailed resumes of faculty members to allow for more detailed scrutiny of the quality of teaching at the college.

Well, here's an additional important reason. It's something which I've known and hinted for a while now, but for one reason or other, I've not had time to conduct a thorough research on it, to make it a bigger expose here. But given a slow news week on education, I thought, I might as well publish all the evidence I have here, and possibly let the bloggers and readers out help out with additional research. ;)

I have discovered that a significant number of faculty members at some of our more prominent colleges employs PhD holders with qualifications secured at dubious or even bogus institutions such as the now infamous Irish International University, blogged here.

KDU Management Development Centre (KMDC), which operates as a professional development centre under KDU College Sdn Bhd in Petaling Jaya certainly employs some of these luminaries. In KMDC faculty profile pages, if you go through some of the instructors qualifications, you'd find that many of the facilitators doctorates are obtained from dubious sources. For example:

[Update 28 Nov 06: Please note that KMDC has removed some of the dubious profiles listed below from the website. I have saved copies of it to avoid defamation charges.]

1. Dr. James Chong PhD (Ire, 2002)
"Dr. James Chong has a PhD from Irish International University, Ireland..."

2. Dr. Ragunathan PhD (2002), MBA (1999)
"Dr. Ragunathan has a PhD in Business Administration and MBA from Newport University, United States... Dr. Ragunathan lectures on Research Methodology for the MBA and MSc programs."

For Dr James Chong, the university doesn't exist in Ireland, if it even "exists" at all! So where did you attend your PhD programme, the headquarters of IIU in Pakistan? As for Newport University where Dr Ragunathan obtained his PhD and MBA, it is definitely not recognised by the Office of Degree Authorisation in Oregon, United States, which clearly lists colleges which are either unaccredited or diploma mills.

More interestingly, I found a Dr Jacky Chin whose credentials are in my opinion, impossibly impeccable.

Dr. Jacky Chin Yew Sin DBA (Aust, 1999), PhD (Can), MBA (G. Mgt) (Scotland, 1997) MBA (Int. Bus.) (Aust), MSc (Can), BA (Hons) Acct (UK, 2000), BA (Hons) Bus Admin (UK, 2001), BEng (Hons) (Malaysia, 2000), BJuris (Malaysia, 2001)

Dr. Jacky Chin holds numerous academic and professional qualifications and has been awarded the Outstanding Young Malaysian Award (2000) in the Category of Academic Leadership and Accomplishment. He has written countless publications. Dr. Chin consults extensively and holds professorships in many International universities and learning institutions. He is currently undertaking 3 doctorate programmes in various leading universities.

And more interestingly, if you dig a little more on the over-achiever, you'd find that

...Malaysian academic, Prof. Dr Chin Yew Sin, has his name listed in the Record Book of World’s Initiators for his immense achievements in the academic field. Dr Chin holds 12 world records, some of which are: The first person in the world to have attended eight graduation ceremonies to obtain five degrees and three post-graduate diplomas and certificates from the US, UK, Australia, Scotland and Malaysia in a year; first person in the world to have four bachelor’s degrees and graduated in the same year; first person in the world to complete a Bachelor’s of Arts (Hons) degree in Business Administration in four months, a Masters in Business Administration in nine months and a Doctorate in Business Administration in 15 months; and first person in the world to have 72 qualifications, including 11 degrees, post-graduate diplomas and certificates, two diplomas, 15 certificates, seven professional certifications and 37 professional memberships.

Frankly, I would think Sir Isaac Newton would have difficulty competing with Dr Jacky Chin.

[Update: A little bird who spoke to the Centre's Director who gave "some excuse that Jacky Chin was only a 'consultant' for one project."]
Now with at least 3-4 out of KMDC's list of 7 faculty members in possession of doctorates originating from dubious sources, what does it reflect upon the institution itself? I have yet include faculty members whose PhDs and DBAs originates from a little known college in Australia, Southern Cross University, whose Graduate College of Management specialises in "distance education programmes".

Now, KMDC certainly isn't the only college which employs such faculty members. Prominent Chinese educationist, Dr Yap Sin Tian of Southern College, also secured his PhD from Kensington University in Hawaii/California in 1990, which has since been closed by court order. He has also obtained another Doctorate in Philosophy of Education from, ah, Southern Cross University in 1999.

Another director of the college, Dr Chong Swee Huat, apparently secured his doctorate from a St Clements University, with origins in Turks & Caicos Islands and various African sites.

And this simple discovery is just from 2 colleges which published a little detail on their faculty members. The little details allowed me to do a little investigative research. For most of the other private colleges, large or small, I have no access to names of faculty members which clearly limits my ability to uncover more "scandalous" information. I would not be surprised even, if some of our public universities may have unknowingly recruited some of these candidates with dubious certifications.

For the benefit of the fee paying students in the market, it is critical that the Ministry of Higher Education put down the necessary rules and regulations which requires the private colleges to publish the credentials of their key faculty members. With these information, at least it will be possible for students and concerned parties to be able to have a better idea of the type and quality of lecturers who they are likely to be taught in the college.

Should any readers out there managed to retrieve any other list of faculty members in other colleges, particularly those with apparent doctorates or MBAs, please feel free to email the list to me. I'll see what else I can find.

OK, it's been a long day, gotta get some sleep ;). You may also read more on my various posts on bogus universities here.