The Isles International University/Université (IIU), formerly known as Irish International University and European Business School, is an unaccredited university operating currently in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

.Eyal Ben Cohen and Rachel Winch,
Diploma and Accreditation Mills: New Trends in Credential Abuse
". Verifile Limited and Accredibase. March 2011. Page 20. In April 2018, ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' described the organisation as a "bogus university" that "targets overseas students with the promise of earning an Irish university qualification online that holds 'international recognition'". It was described as "An international education scam" by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in an investigation in 2008. Founded in 1996, the IIU has no campus of its own in Ireland but works with unspecified partner institutions abroad. When talking about the IIU to a BBC reporter, its "honorary chancellor," Jeff Wooller, said in 2007 after he was terminated that: "The whole thing's dodgy."Nigel Morris, According to its website the IIU is still in operation although, in response to the report shown on the BBC, it has removed some material in 2008.Damian Wild,
Jeff Wooller's response
, Accountancy Matters, a blog from ''Accountancy Age'' January 2008. Archived by the Wayback Machine on 31 July 2008. The IIU is run by an "executive president," who has been described by Malaysian news media as "a Malaysian businessman" and by Verifile and Accredibase as a "Malaysian professor".Teh Eng Hock, et al.,
Got money, got degree
, ''The Star'' (Malaysia), 23 August 2009. Accessed 24 July 2011. IIU, according to Wooller is not set up by him.

History

The

Oregon Office of Degree Authorization The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization (ODA) is a unit of the Office of Student Access and Completion, with responsibilities related to maintaining high standards in private higher education institutions in Oregon. ODA administers laws and pro ...

says of the Irish International University that it is located in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and that:

The Irish government has requested that Malaysia close this entity on grounds that it is neither Irish nor a university. It has obtained a business license in a Swiss canton, but is not a Swiss university.Unauthorized Schools and Invalid Degrees
", Oregon Student Assistance Commission, Office of Degree Authorization. Accessed 28 March 2013.

Irish International University (or Irish International University of Europa) was renamed Isles International University. In 2011, iiuedu.ie, the top page of the Irish International University (with an Irish

top-level domain A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domain name, domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the DNS root zone, root zone of the nam ...

) said at its foot "Isles Internationale Universite ic and had a link labeled "Enter Website" that pointed to the website of Isles International University (iiuedu.ac, with an Ascension Island top-level domain), which said at its foot "Isles Internationale Universite ic(European Union) Limited"; in early 2012, it no longer redirected elsewhere. The Office of Degree Authorization of Oregon says of the Isles International University that it is located in

St Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...

and Malaysia.

In the news

It was reported in the press on 7 January 2008 that businesswoman Mary Chapman, chief executive of the

Chartered Management Institute The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. It was founded as the British Institute of Management (BIM) in 1947 or 1948, merged with the Institution of Industrial Managers (I ...

(CMI), had been hoodwinked into attending and handing out certificates at a degree ceremony. Chapman agreed to be guest of honour at the ceremony held at the

Divinity School A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. Pictures of her in attendance, which were posted on the university's website, have now been removed. The ceremony was also attended by an undercover reporter and actor from the BBC. The CMI "severed all links" to the IIU and that the University of Oxford banned the IIU from using its premises again. A Malaysian, described by the ''Sunday Star'' as a "prominent public figure" and "leading academic", who had received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from Irish International University in 2001 was surprised to be told (in 2009) that the university was considered to be a scam. He told a newspaper reporter that he had attended a graduation ceremony at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and that the school seemed "very credible". A BBC London News investigation by reporter

Angela Saini Angela Saini (born 1980) is a British science journalist, broadcaster and the author of books, of which the fourth, ''The Patriarchs: The Origins of Inequality'', was published in 2023 and was a finalist for that year's George Orwell Prize for ...

discovered that at its advertised Dublin campus address there was only a mailbox. The investigation also found that the IIU was accredited by "Quality Assurance Commission UK Limited", owned by the IIU's executive president and nothing more than a mailbox and a small website. In 2009, it was listed as a

diploma mill A diploma mill or degree mill is a business that sells illegitimate diplomas or academic degrees, respectively. The term ''diploma mill'' is also used pejoratively to describe any educational institution with low standards for admission and gradua ...

by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

Isles Internationale Universite in Ireland

Isles Internationale Universite in Malaysia (IIUM), also called Isles International University in Malaysia, describes itself as "a non profit making international organisation dedicated to cross-cultural experience with a global perspective in leadership & enterpreneurialship" ic The IIUM website mentions the Accreditation Syndicate for Education and Training (ASET), whose sole address in Malaysia is identical to that of IIUM.

European Business School Cambridge

The European Business School Cambridge, or European Business School (Cambridge), is an offshoot of IIU.Isabel Shapiro, "Fake 'Oxbridge educations' for sale over the internet," ''Varsity'', 18 January 2008.
PDF
Accessed 24 July 2011.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.iiu-edu.eu/
Uk LTD registered by Uk Legalization Limited
Unaccredited institutions of higher learning Educational institutions established in 1996 Confidence tricks 1996 establishments in Ireland