Please help me to answer about the status of WIT university...

Please refer to THIS STICKY
Also Washington International University

It seems that the university mentioned in your original e-mail is considered as a degree mill.

In fact, a Canadian parliament member claimed that he/she received a PhD from WIU and this degree's credibility was questioned in the 1996 general elections in Canada.

Yep. Obviously, you'll want to avoid unaccredited schools.

You need to watch what accreditations schools have. Any school can get accreditations. Accreditations like WOEAC Online Degrees Education Accrediting Commission, and Board of Online Universities Accreditation (BOUA) mean nothing but are accreditations. The right accreditation matters most schools want to be Reginally accredited. I live in PA and the university I work for is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

WIU is not a mill, i.e. you cannot order a diploma from them and have it mailed within a week or two.

You are required to do some study and provide reports on the prescribed books that you studied. They have some advisors who will rate your work and may ask you to re-submit if it is not up to standard.

Though this may not be as good as sitting in a classroom full of students (and not being able to party as traditional young students do... ), it is a viable 'distance learning' alternative for working professionals. Diplomas can usually be obtained within one year and are certified.

If you live in the US, the fact that WIU is not accredited may affect your decision to study through them. But then, Harvard and Oxford is not accredited either...

WIU is unaccredited, and they make you do some busy work, but it is not a recognized school, so if you are doing university-level work, then you should look to a school that will grant you a recognized degree when you are finished.

There are 2 levels of unaccredited degrees. The first kind, you need a valid credit card and 3 days of waiting. The next level is sometimes referred to as "sophisticated diploma mills", since they will try to get your buy-in as to its legitimacy by awarding "life experience" credit and assigning some perfunctory work.

As far as accreditation, err yes Harvard is obviously accredited.

CHEA Database of Institutions Accredited By Recognized U.S. Accrediting Organizations

This is regional accreditation that they never paid for. My comment was not derogatory - the entire 'accreditation' process in the US is a money-making racket and schools such as Harvard does not need to pay these 'bodies' to be 'accredited' with them as the name is good enough. All of these 'accreditation' organizations are just in it for the money and offer very little value.

If you want to be stupid enough to buy a diploma from a mill, that is your prerogative. I am not trying to defend WIU either, but I did some study with them and it took me longer than the 1 year and a lot of hard work to finish my dissertation. Maybe it will not be good enough for Harvard (I did not try them) but for a working professional with shallow pockets it seemed like a viable alternative. I'm proud of my achievement with WIU.

My 2c.

A HUGE red flag with this so-called "university". Here's a letter from the school that a candidate sent along with his resume:

"Mr. XXXXX, earned his Master of Business Administration in International Business during the academic year XXXX.

"He was very enthusiastic and punctual with his studies.

"Washington International University's academic staff was impressed with Mr. XXXXX's studies and the recommend Mr. XXXXX as a capable, responsible individual with fine knowledge in his field.

"Sincerely yours,

(Mrs.) Elizabeth M. Deal
Student Affairs Director"

This should answer any questions about legitimacy, which is zero. And note the letter's signature. Putting Mrs. in parentheses is a non-U.S. style. Reminds me of those spam emails from Nigeria.

Also, while they have a web site with the washint.edu domain, the email for the "Academic Office" listed on the letter is [email protected] Clearly, this is a fly by night outfit. Under no circumstances should you spend your money here.

A HUGE red flag with this so-called "university". Here's a letter from the school that a candidate sent along with his resume:

"Mr. XXXXX, earned his Master of Business Administration in International Business during the academic year XXXX.

"He was very enthusiastic and punctual with his studies.

"Washington International University's academic staff was impressed with Mr. XXXXX's studies and the recommend Mr. XXXXX as a capable, responsible individual with fine knowledge in his field.

"Sincerely yours,

(Mrs.) Elizabeth M. Deal
Student Affairs Director"

This should answer any questions about legitimacy, which is zero. And note the letter's signature. Putting Mrs. in parentheses is a non-U.S. style. Reminds me of those spam emails from Nigeria.

Also, while they have a web site with the washint.edu domain, the email for the "Academic Office" listed on the letter is [email protected] Clearly, this is a fly by night outfit. Under no circumstances should you spend your money here.