Albert Trask, the senior Education administrator who took flak last fall for touting a dubious PhD, has erased the word “Dr.” from his signature.

The shift occurred in November, the same month he and deputy minister Valerie Royle stood behind his academic credentials and staunchly defended them to teachers and the public.

The apparent backtrack does not appear to be owing to an epiphany of humility from Trask, an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada.

Rather: “In November, the assistant deputy minister came to a personal decision that this issue had become a distraction and was taking away from what the Yukon education system should be focussing on, which is students and their achievement and success,” Education spokesman Ronuk Modha said in response to Star queries Wednesday.

“As a result, he withdrew the honorific title from his signature line as he carries out his duties on behalf of the department.”

“Dr.” has now been replaced with “Noah” on departmental correspondence.

Tanis Giczi, the acting president of the Yukon Teachers’ Association (YTA), confirmed the switch.

She said the top civil servant has signed off as “Noah Albert Trask” on emails and documents between the YTA and the department since early December — when she stepped into the role — and likely before.

On Nov. 4, Royle broke weeks of departmental silence around concerns that Trask — who also heads the teacher qualification and certification boards — obtained his PhD from a “diploma mill.”

Responding to news broken by the Star last October, the deputy minister said Trask’s credentials were granted by an “accredited theological institution.”

Royle noted Newburgh Theological Seminary and College of the Bible — Trask’s alma mater — has accreditation courtesy of the Transworld International Accrediting Commission.

The release does not disclose that Transworld itself remains unrecognized as an accrediting agency in the U.S. by both the Council on Higher Education Accreditation and the federal Department of Education, and therefore not peer-accepted as a valid degree source.

Meanwhile, Newburgh is also unrecognized by those two authorities as well as the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, an organization Royle herself cited to prove the validity of Trask’s other degrees, which are not in question.

Newburgh — an “online learning institution” with offices in a nondescript Indiana suburb — and Transworld — based on the outskirts of Los Angeles — are listed on numerous websites as among scores of “degree mills” and “fake accreditation agencies,” respectively.

The ADM does not need a PhD to fulfill his role, as Royle noted, but had signed his name with the honorific “Dr.” in official correspondence since his arrival on the job in 2013.

Trask, in a statement to departmental employees in November, affirmed his faith in the integrity of the PhD and the school it came from — “One of America’s Best Seminary Bible Colleges!” according to its website.

He continues to chair the teacher certification and qualification boards, responsible for verifying teachers’ credentials.

The man tasked with keeping educators honest, upholding pedagogical standards for the territory and ensuring the authenticity of university degrees has obtained a questionable one himself, according to the YTA.

“Is he who he says he is?” asked association president Katherine Mackwood last year.

“If the credentials aren’t recognized, he’s misrepresenting himself having a designation as a doctor.

“That’s misleading,” she told the Star.

The controversy caused a flurry in the legislature last sitting, with the NDP turning up the heat on the government.

“Does the minister approve that an Education ADM use the title ‘Doctor’ without having a PhD from a recognized institution?” asked Education critic Jim Tredger on Nov. 3.

Education Minister Elaine Taylor said she was “astounded” that Tredger seemed to think she is responsible for “personnel-related issues.”

She added that she has “100-per-cent confidence in the Public Service Commissioner.”

However, Nigel Allan, a communications manager with the Public Service Commission, noted his department had no role in hiring Trask nor checking his credentials.

“It’s up to that department (Education) to make sure that that qualification is authentic ... that that’s the real deal,” he told the Star last October.