Misplaced Pages

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Madrid, June 25, 2008

Wikimedia Foundation Inc. Attn.: Non-Editorial staff and in-house counsel P.O. Box 78350 San Francisco, CA 94107-8350 USA

Via Certified Mail and Fax: +1-415-882-0495 and email: info@wikimedia.org

Re:Corrections and Updates of sources and information on the Misplaced Pages Website for the entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/Bircham_International_University

Dear Madam or Sir,

This further to our previous communications, the last of March 10, 2008 (enclose copy) and the response received by WIKIPEDIA EDITOR Mr. Guy Chapman via email, the only formal response we have received from your organization.

1. There is a direct link from the International Organization for Continuing Education & Training (IACET) to Bircham International University (hereinafter “BIU”) as Authorized Providers of Continuing Education Units (CEUs):

See http://www.iacet.org click on the IACET Authorized Provider Directory and enter BIU.

IACET IS A REFERENCE RECOGNIZED BY WIKIPEDIA AS A SPECIFIC ORGANIZATION WHICH ACCREDITS CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS AND PROGRAMS.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/continuing_education_unit

2.  There is a direct link showing qualification and membership since 2004 from ANCED (the “Asociación de Centros de Enseñanza a Distancia de España” or the Association of Long Distance e-Learning Centers in Spain) certified per ISO 9001:2000 (the International Organization for Standardization) the world’s largest developer and publisher of International Standards) to BIU.

In addition, PriceWaterhouseCoopers has AUDITED ALL MEMBER CENTERS of ANCED (a “high quality reference” per your editorial policy) for quality, including human, material, and technical resources, as well as student satisfaction, with optimal results from all members including BIU. See ANCED website. The ANCED guarantees full compliance with the EU directives for long distance learning centers and in particular the compliance with the Spanish implementation of such directives (i.e. the Real Decreto-ley 2641/1980, de 7 de noviembre, sobre regulación de la modalidad de enseñanza a distancia impartida por centros privados)

See http://www.anced.es/certificados/ANCED-BIU.jpg

3.  The Spanish IRS certifies that BIU is a provider of continuing education in good standing since 2000.

See https://www5.aeat.es/es13/s/TLECTLCECCEN?ACCESO=AG&CEL=646F716F0AA768A5

This reference and live link is as valid as any other US State Department corporations entry that certifies that BIU is “in good standing” and representing that such party is duly organized and validly existing under the laws its country of incorporation and up to date with filing and annual fees.

4. WIKIPEDIA footnote 4 to APICS or the Academy for the Promotion of International Culture and Scientific Exchange website (Accademia per la Promozione Internazionale della Cultura e della Scienza) has been inactivated wherefore it should be deleted.

See http://www.apics.com/news.htm

5. WIKIPEDIA footnote 20 to the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization which simply lists BIU as a Foreign Degree Supplier, was rectified by this Office, and does NOT support the statement in the WIKIPEDIA entry that “the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization alerted the public that this institution had “no connection to legitimate Oxford University in Great Britain”.

6. WIKIPEDIA footnote 15, an article from 2003 by City Link was also rectified by this publication and yet WIKIPEDIA has failed to remove the link.

7. WIKIPEDIA may or should add reference to the IARC (the International Accreditation & Recognition Council) as a membership in good standing. BIU had to go through a fairly stringent review and quality process in order to be accepted.

See http://www.iarcedu.com/directory.aspx

There are additional live links that that BIU is pursuing to have published and sourced via Internet so as to conform to WIKIPEDIA’S policy of neutrality, verifiability, and sourcing mainly through Internet, including certifications from the Spanish Ministry of Health and the Madrid Chamber of Commerce which will be communicated in due course.

Spain is in the process of implanting an international scheme of educational accreditation regulation and degree-granting authority similar to that already existing in other countries and, of which, of course we shall notify WIKIPEDIA as soon as implanted.

See www.planavanza.es/Noticias/Calidad+de+la+Formación+Virtual.htm

The argument for not changing the absolute outrageous write up seems to stem from the fact that BIU has not undertaken to get accredited in the US. A process which the BIU has determined is too expensive and not cost efficient.

In today’s world, and considering WIKIPEDIA’S global aspirations, it is unacceptable that you continue to ignore actual international, recognized, and verified sources such as ISO and PriceWaterhouseCoopers in your entry regarding BIU. The fact that some of the links are to foreign (Spanish) language certification society’s is a poor excuse for WIKIPEDIA not living up to its NPOW policy.

The fact that the person appointed to oversee this particular entry may not even be Spanish speaking or qualified to determine the value of the entry is even more damaging. The reliance solely on one source, the John Bear’s guide, a publication which is not even a live link and outdated, undoes the threshold for inclusion in WIKIPEDIA in that it is neither verifiable or truth in any context as readers cannot check the material. We believe that refusal to include current, updated and verifiable official sources simply does not conform to the principle of protection envsioned by the Communication Decency Act.

BIU requests that WIKIPEDIA include the links stated above, including IACET and ANCED with their references to ISO and the PriceWaterHouse audit and revise cited sources, update the entry, and respond to this communication with copy to Ms. Raïssa Rouse, Esq. copied herein.