IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 23 February 2010 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090021093 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests that his bachelor’s degree transcript be removed from his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). 2. The applicant states that the institution that issued the degree is not an accredited university and it needs to be removed from his file. 3. The applicant provides a self-authored statement, dated 19 October 2009; a transcript from Saint Regis University; and internet information from Wikipedia regarding Saint Regis University, in support of his application. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant is currently serving on active duty in the rank of sergeant first class, E-7. 2. The applicant’s transcript from Saint Regis University shows he was awarded a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business on 5 June 2002. This transcript was filed in the applicant's performance section of his OMPF. 3. The applicant provided a self-authored statement in support of his claim. He stated he believed that the documents he obtained were from an accredited institution. He completed all the requirements to obtain the degree, submitted the degree to be added to his OMPF, and the degree was accepted by his Military Personnel Department at Fort Jackson, SC as an accredited institution. He just found out that the university was not an accredited university and he was completely deceived. He found out that the university illegally operated under another university, which makes his degree not valid, and was under investigation. He also stated that he did not get promoted or advanced with this degree in his OMPF and would like his records to reflect no degree for civilian education. 4. The applicant also provided information from the Wikipedia website regarding Saint Regis University. It indicated, in part, that Saint Regis University was a “now-defunct” diploma mill operation that was one of about 120 connected institutions operated by an American fraud ring from about 1999 until 2005, when it was shut down by U.S. government authorities. 5. Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Military Personnel Information Management/ Records) prescribes the policies governing the OMPF, the Military Personnel Records Jacket, the Career Management Individual File, and Army Personnel Qualification Records. Paragraph 2-4 of this regulation states, in part, that once a document is placed in the OMPF it becomes a permanent part of that file and will not be removed from that file or moved to another part of the file unless directed by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR). 6. Table 2-1 (Composition of the OMPF) of Army Regulation 600-8-104 provides that all transcripts of credit from civilian colleges, universities, trade schools, or business schools are filed on the OMPF for enlisted personnel. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant’s contention that the institution that issued his degree is not an accredited university and the degree transcript needs to be removed from his file is acknowledged. There is sufficient evidence on which to grant the relief requested. 2. The applicant was awarded a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business on 5 June 2002. He was issued a transcript and it was filed in his OPMF. 3. The applicant’s self-authored statement and information from the Wikipedia website are accepted as sufficient evidence to confirm that Saint Regis University is not an accredited university. 4. Therefore, it would be appropriate to remove the transcript from Saint Regis University for a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business, dated 5 June 2002, from the applicant's OMPF. BOARD VOTE: ___X___ ___X____ ___X____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by removing the transcript from Saint Regis University issued on 5 June 2002 from his OMPF. _________X_________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090021093 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090021093 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1