This website has had its way with the University of South Carolina Upstate in recent months. Among other things we’ve exposed professors using government resources for personal gain, the school’s totally pointless athletics programs, the expansion of those pointless programs, sex scandals involving those who administer those pointless programs and of course … this guy.
We fervently believe that this institution – like all of our state’s government-run institutions of higher learning – should be set free to pursue its destiny in the private sector.
But as long as it continues to draw tax dollars, we will continue to ride it like Zorro.
USC-Upstate’s latest pooch screw? The awarding of thousands of invalid diplomas.
(Click to enlarge)
“In the bottom right corner you will see the signature of Marsha Dowell,” one of our sources explains. “She retired in June 2012. She was replaced by Charles Harrington. Around 2,000 students have graduated since her retirement and have received these technically invalid diploma.”
Why didn’t the school catch this mistake? It did … it just didn’t do anything about it.
“The school printed too many with the wrong signatures, and decided to save money by using them anyway,” our source says.
Actually, that’s almost commendable when you stop and think about … well, assuming a nickel of the “savings” achieved by the school went back to taxpayers (it didn’t).
Obviously the real problem with these diplomas has nothing to do with the illegitimate signature at the bottom right corner – and everything to do with the “USC Upstate” splashed across the top.
15 comments
“we will continue to ride it like Zorro”
lol…funny line.
A good percentage of employers never check the legitimacy of diploma’s that well to start.
I know several people running around with degrees on their resume that are completely fictitious. I’m always amazed they’ve never been caught. I’m also amazed they’ve admitted it to me, but that’s a different story.
Sad. All these stories. And it used to be such a good school.
First, let me digress…ALL schools’ athletics programs are totally pointless.
Sports are at least as morally corrupt as politics, probably more. It starts in Little League, if not T Ball.
These school football and basketball programs, particularly, are just gladiator training for professional sports, subsidized with taxpayer monies in varying degrees through everything from financial aid to professor salaries. There is not any college or university, public or private, that does not benefit from one state or federal program of some kind.
If the NBA and NFL aren’t going to set up camps to train these people directly out of high school then, they need to give every college in the country a cut of their profits for what they provide to them, like I said, at varying public expense.
To the point…Who cares about a stupid ass diploma? The ONLY thing that matters when you go job hunting is an official stamped transcript. Where did you go to school not to know that?
And, I have never seen this site whine about SC Tuition Grants that go to students attending SC private schools – i.e., tax payer vouchers for higher ed – while it’s complaining about government schools…if the private school takes the public money, it’s a government school.
Are you saying universities don’t have a responsibility to the graduates to print their diplomas correctly?
No, I’m just saying it has no more bearing on the legitimacy of their degree than any other typo that might appear on the diploma/certificate of completion.
That school fuks up everything it does.
Get some facys straight. USC-U historically has the highest first time pass rate of their nursing class in the state, (yes, higher than USC, Clemson, and MUSC.), the second lowest cost per student, the second lowest administrative cost per student, gets the second lowest level of state support per student, and serves the highest percentage of in-stte student from among our regional universities. Their financial and qualitative record is superb among state schools. And I’d be proud to have Marsha Dowell’s signiture (former leader of the school of nursing) on my diploma. The new Chancelor, Tom Moore is doing a great job. Look at the same numbers for SC State or the holy city’s sacrid cow, The Citital and find a real target to pick on.
Get those facys straight!!! in-stte sudents (s?), signiture, sacrid, Citital !! Inciteful must be an Upstate perfesser!!! hahahahhahaha hahaha
You mean The Citadel…
Yeah, a satellite campus of a party school is more prestigious and fund worthy than a historical, world re known senior military college.
NCLEX Results
The Department of Nursing at Lander University of South Carolina is doing an outstanding job in educating future nurses. The success of its nursing students is illustrated by an NCLEX-RN pass rate averaging 96.5% over the past six years. There are over 100 nursing students currently enrolled in both the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and RN to BSN programs.
NCLEX results indicate that the USC Upstate nursing program ranks well below the programs (USC, Clemson, MUSC) that you disparage in your comment (see my list of results further down this page). USC Upstate has focused on online nursing programs which are not producing the outcomes (passing nursing exam) necessary for employment. I hope Inciteful is not a official at USC Upstate and making these slanderous and incorrect statements.
They should fix the problem and send all the graduates a new correct diploma.
Don’t make up facts because they are too easily verified. USC Upstate is near the BOTTOM on the pass rate of the nursing exam.
Registered Nursing Programs NCLEX-RN Passing Rate
Bob Jones University School of Nursing – Greenville – 100%
1700 Wade Hampton Blvd. Greenville, SC 29614
Central Carolina Technical College – Sumter – 86.54%
506 North Guignard Drive, Sumter, South Carolina 29150
Charleston Southern University School of Nursing – 81.25%
9200 University Blvd. Charleston, SC 29423
Clemson University School of Nursing – 84.69%
510 Edwards Hall, Clemson, South Carolina 29634
Florence-Darlington Technical College – 81.82%
2715 West Lucas St. Florence, SC 29501
Greenville Technical College – 90.72%
506 South Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, SC 29606
Horry-Georgetown Technical College – Conway – 81.32%
2050 Highway 501 East, Conway, South Carolina 29528
Lander University School of Nursing – Greenwood – 92.59%
320 Stanley Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29649
Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing – Charleston – 95.65%
99 J. Lucas Street, Charleston, SC 29425
Midlands Technical College – 94.17%
Columbia, South Carolina 29202
Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College – 100%
3250 St. Matthews Rd. Orangeburg, SC 29118
Piedmont Technical College – 78.33%
620 North Emerald Road, Greenwood, South Carolina 29648
South Carolina State University – Orangeburg – 46.67%
300 College St., N.E. Orangeburg, SC 29117
Technical College of the Lowcountry – 95.00%
921 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, South Carolina 29901
Tri-County Technical College – 86.11%
7900 Highway 76, Pendleton, South Carolina 29670
Trident Technical College – Charleston – 95.17%
7000 Rivers Avenue, Charleston, SC 29423
University of South Carolina School of Nursing BSN Program – Aiken – 88.24%
471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC 29801
University of South Carolina College of Nursing – Columbia – 94.81%
1601 Greene Street, Columbia, SC 29208
University of South Carolina Mary Black School of Nursing BSN Program – Upstate – 78.95%
800 University Way, Spartanburg, SC 29303
York Technical College & University of South Carolina at Lancaster – 88.24%
452 South Anderson Road, Rock Hill, SC 29730
I thought there was something fishy about your numbers, so I went looking for them. You quoted a report from 2008. The numbers themsleves are from 2000 to 2005.
I think if one checks they will find a number of officials appointed by our legislature with these diplomas.