Prof. Dr. Dr. Manuel René Theisen - Fakultät für Betriebswirtschaft - LMU München. Academic Corruption: Germany Rocked By Allegations of Ph.D. Bribes - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International. Germany is a country that has traditionally been obsessed with titles -- especially those of the academic variety.
Any person with a doctorate is entitled to be addressed as Herr Doktor or Frau Doktor -- and generally speaking, that is what people do. But are all of those titles earned in a legitimate fashion? Most certainly are, but this weekend the public prosecutor in Cologne went public with its countrywide investigation into mass fraud. According to the prosecutor, more than 100 professors from across Germany are suspected of bestowing doctoral titles in exchange for bribes. The scam involved an academic consulting firm in the Cologne suburb of Bergisch Gladbach that allegedly paid bribes to professors in order to help its clients obtain Ph.D.s more quickly. But the story actually goes back decades. "We went through tons of material after the raid," Günther Feld, Cologne's senior public prosecutor, told reporters on Sunday. 'Just Totally Nuts' Keep track of the news.
Handel mit Doktortiteln: Drei Jahre Haft für bestechlichen Jura-Professor - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - UniSPIEGEL. Ein bestechlicher Jura-Professor der Universität Hannover muss ins Gefängnis.
Das Hildesheimer Landgericht verurteilte den 53-Jährigen am Mittwoch zu drei Jahren Haft und folgte damit dem Antrag der Verteidigung - die Staatsanwaltschaft hatte drei Jahre und sechs Monate gefordert. Bestochener Jura-Professor: Drei Jahre Gefängnis Der Professor habe sich "wegen Bestechlichkeit in besonders schwerem Fall" strafbar gemacht, sagte Richter Peter Reschka.
Jagd auf Doktormacher: "Nur eitle Tröpfe bezahlen Berater" Promotionsberatung durchsucht: Weitere Doktormacher in ganz Deutschland? - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - UniSPIEGEL. Windige Promotionsberater: Doktorfabrik geht pleite - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - UniSPIEGEL. "Error 404 - not found", heißt es im Netz, wenn man die Web-Seite des "Instituts für Wissenschaftsberatung" in Bergisch Gladbach aufruft.
Wegen "aufgelaufener Zahlungsrückstände" habe der Internet-Anbieter seine Dienste eingestellt, erläutert der amtlich eingesetzte Insolvenzverwalter. Er ist für die zahlungsunfähige Firma rundum verantwortlich und hat den "Geschäftsbetrieb eingestellt". Promotionsberater muss ins Gefängnis. Die Dienstleistung ist ebenso fragwürdig wie sein Erklärungsversuch; vor Gericht kam er damit nicht durch: Wegen gewerblicher Bestechung in 61 Fällen erhält der promovierte Philosoph Martin D. eine harte Strafe.
Das Landgericht Hildesheim verurteilte ihn am Montag zu dreieinhalb Jahren Haft ohne Bewährung; ein halbes Jahr davon gilt wegen der langen Dauer des Verfahrens als abgegolten. Germany's Ph.D. Scandal: Were Degrees Bought? Getting a Ph.D. is the pinnacle of academic achievement, but appears that some aspiring students in Germany may have bribed their way to the top.
On Aug. 22, German prosecutors revealed that they are investigating around 100 academics at some of the country's top universities on the suspicion that they granted doctorates to dozens of unqualified students after taking bribes from a consultancy firm. The scandal has shaken Germany's higher education system, revered abroad as one of the best in Europe. The investigation follows a raid on an academic consultancy called the Institute for Scientific Counselling in the western town of Bergisch Gladbach in March 2008.
At the time, the authorities uncovered a mine of information pointing to illegal activity and confiscated thousands of files, including contracts between the firm and lecturers, and evidence of bank transfers. NewScientist: German academics investigated over bribery claims. Nora Schultz, Berlin Germany's academic community is being shaken by doubts cast on the integrity of around one hundred professors.
The professors, working across all academic disciplines at many major German universities, are suspected to have accepted thousands of euros in bribes from the now-insolvent Institute for Scientific Consulting ("Institut für Wissenschaftsberatung") in Bergisch-Gladbach, near Cologne. The scandal is the latest in a series of investigations into the Institute's business practices. Public prosecutors searched its offices back in 2005 and again in March 2008, after malpractice accusations first emerged. In July 2008, the managing director of the Institute was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and a €75000 fine for having paid a law professor in Hanover up to €4000 to accept PhD candidates, some of whom did not fulfill the prerequisites for studying towards a PhD.
Even so, there are grave concerns within the academic community. Nexis®: VK: Herr Dr. staat goed op je kaartje; 29aug2009. Price of a PhD in Germany: €10,000 – €30,000 « The k2p blog. Between 500 and 700 PhD degrees awarded in Germany every year are illegitimate.
The days when Ph.D. degrees were mainly awarded to scientists and scholars in Germany are long gone. The title is in high demand among managers, lawyers and politicians – many with little time for the required research writes Deutsche Welle. The zu Googleberg affaire has focused the spotlight on Germany’s new PhD consultantcy industry. New cases of corrupt practices are being found regularly. One former law professor from Hanover, for example, is currently serving three years in prison after he was found guilty of issuing doctoral titles in exchange for bribes and sexual favors in 2009. Time Magazine reported in 2009: …. Leibnitz Universität Hannover …. The Googleberg affaire might accelerate the decline of the reputation of German PhD’s.
Like this: Like Loading... Tags: Corrupt PHD, Education, German PhD fraud, Guttenberg fraud, Purchase PhD, zu Googleberg. Guttenberg buys his way out of prosecution for €20,000 « The k2p blog. Paying your favourite charity is apparently sufficient to get German prosecutors to drop prosecution – at least when the offender is zu Guttenberg and the offense is plagiarism.
I had not expected that Germany would still be granting droits de feodalité dominante Does appear to be “one law for the rich and famous”… Deutsche Welle: Bavarian aristocrat and former German defense minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has paid 20,000 euros to avoid prosecution on charges of plagiarism. Like this: Like Loading... Deutscher Hochschulverband.