My experience in applying for a

Key Items

Degree Requirements

Proper Disclosure

E-Mail Responses

Approval Process

Bogus Approvals?

Payment Policy

Address

Degree and Photos

Refunds

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Degree Requirements
Belford's website states: "Students seeking admission in our bachelor's degree program are required to have at least 4 years of work or life experience relevant to their desired major or the minimum passing score of our online equivalency test. If you want to get your online university degree on the basis of prior life experience, the eligibility requirements for a Bachelor's degree may be satisfied in any of the following ways :

Prior job experience in any field
Previous educational achievements
Employer-sponsored training and attendance of workshops
Participation in organizations, both professional and non-professional
Personal goals, lifestyle, hobbies, and travel
Participation in volunteer activities and community service
Independent reading, viewing, listening, or writing"

Proper Disclosure
I found NO DISCLOSURE on this website.

E-Mail Responses
They responded in one day, saying in part, “The life experiences of individuals are analyzed by our faculty. Based on their analysis, individuals are either awarded the degree right away or requested to furnish some more details regarding their experience.”

Additional Miscellaneous Information
Belford's founding year is not available, though they claim to have 72,000 alumni. They have the following accreditations: International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities (IAAOU) They have no verifiable (broadly recognized) 3rd party memberships. Their reviewers are not certified by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) or the National Association of Online Academic Assessors (NAOAA) or any other organization.

Approval Process
On 9/25 I applied for a degree. I listed as experience what I listed for all the other 6 colleges: "I work real hard for long time at Dairy Queen." Unlike all the other colleges, they automatically and immediately approved me. I didn't get a message saying they'd review my resume. They just approved me on the spot, which clearly indicates it doesn't matter what my qualifications are or aren't. They approved me instantly and sent me directly to their payment page after submitting my info. Here is their message: "Your Order Reference number is 8615091. Don't forget to mention this order reference number at the back side of your check to avoid any discrepancies. Your check must be made payable to 'Education Services Provider'. Please note that we will not be able to process your order until your check is cleared from bank. Your order will be processed within 2-3 days of receiving your money order/check. We are sending you an email that contains all the instructions about sending your check/money order."

Bogus Approvals
Did the college reject my factitious and negligible 7-word description of my life experiences? No. Belford did not reject my bogus application. They did not even review it. The application just took me to a payment form. I could have written that I was Czar Nicholas II of Russia and died in 1918. I would still have been able to get my degree from Belford.

Payment Policy
They accept credit cards online or money orders.
They advertise a finance plan of $99 down and two payments of $175. But, it is not a real finance plan. You don’t get your degree until you’ve paid in full. This is a layaway plan. Not a true finance plan.

Address
This is the address they gave me when I asked where to send the money order:
Education Services Provider
8721 Santa Monica Blvd #1079
West Hollywood, CA 90069-4507

Note: The diploma package was sent from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Degree and Photos

Click here to see all photos

Refunds
Belford DOES NOT OFFER REFUNDS. Their website states (sic) "WE PROVIDE NO REFUND ONCE YOUR DEGREE PACKAGE IS SHIPPED AT THE SPECIFIED ADDRESS." I received the package on 11/21 and immediately emailed them for a refund. The package was shipped from Dubai, UAE. Having heard nothing back from them, I emailed them again on 11/29. On 11/30, I received this reply: "Dear Madison, Please note that we do not offer refunds for check payments."

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