By Mort Amsel (Reporter)
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Two separate database reports from the National Student Clearinghouse last year that contradicted President Obama’s claim he attended Columbia University for two years added to the intrigue generated by Obama’s unwillingness to discuss his time at the Ivy League institution, his block on the release of educational records, and the many political science students and faculty there in the early 1980s who say they don’t remember him.

 

Swirling amid the black hole of information are a host of theories about Obama’s whereabouts – particularly during the 1981-1982 school year – including speculation he was working for the CIA in Pakistan.

 

Now, the clearinghouse, with permission from Columbia, has decided to make an exception to its media policy and address WND’s inquiry into the discrepancy. Why do clearinghouse records indicate Obama was at the school only during the 1982-83 school year while Obama and Columbia’s spokesman have insisted he began attending the New York City school in the fall of 1981?

 

Janine Greenwood, vice president and general counsel for the clearinghouse, told WND there was a “computer error” in their system that has been corrected. She said she confirmed with Columbia that Obama was at the university for two academic years, not one.

 

Greenwood said she “tried to untangle this” discrepancy one year ago after two “DegreeVerify certificates” from the Herndon, Va.-based clearinghouse –obtained through a fee-based request – indicated Obama attended Columbia College at Columbia University only in the 1982-1983 academic year, from Sept. 1, 1982 until May 31, 1983, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree May 17, 1983.

 

“All I know is [the record] was right originally, and somewhere along the line it went off the rails, and then it was right again,” she said.

 

“We basically had two records running simultaneously, and it just depended on how you input the name and the other information as to which records you got,” she explained to WND in an interview Friday.

 

Greenwood confirmed a disclaimer on the clearinghouse website stating the organization relies on the accuracy of the information supplied by each educational institution and cannot edit, modify or delete any student degree or enrollment data.

 

Founded in 1993, the clearinghouse describes itself as “the nation’s trusted source for education verification and student educational outcomes research.” Participating colleges and universities provide the clearinghouse with enrollment and degree information on their students and authorize it to respond on their behalf for degree confirmation in conformity with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.

 

The two separate reports indicating Obama attended Columbia for only one year were generated in March 2011. One, obtained by lawyer Orly Taitz, was used in a court filing contesting Obama’s eligibility. The other found its way to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Cold Case Posse investigating Obama’s eligibility for the presidential ballot in Arizona.

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