Down by the Diploma Mills Stream
By Kendra Mayfield
Welcome to Harrington University (also known as the University of San Moritz, University of Palmers Green and University of Devonshire, among others), where anyone can purchase a bachelor's or master's degree -- no tests or coursework required -- for the bargain price of several thousand dollars.
The "university," owned by an American resident in Romania, uses mail-drop addresses in the United Kingdom, printing services in Jerusalem and banking options in Cyprus. The operation has sold 70,000 diplomas in the United States alone, raking in over $100 million, according to diploma mill expert John Bear.
"No country seems willing or able to do anything," said Bear, founder of Degree.net.
While Harrington may be the world's largest diploma mill, it's just one of hundreds of operations on the Web offering degrees that are seemingly legitimate, but often worthless on paper.
The onslaught of spam, online advertising and overnight electronic payment services has made it even more difficult to distinguish between legitimate distance-learning institutions and diploma mills.
"The problem has worsened, owing to the ease of advertising via the Internet and the ability of diploma mills to operate from offshore and still get payment from U.S. users," said Alan Contreras, administrator of Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization.
"Where it used to be some obviously fraudulent operators offering academic degrees in exchange for money and minimal amount of paperwork, it has morphed into a more sophisticated model, where the degree mill offers tutoring and all the trappings of an academic program, but in fact it is still an avenue to getting a degree quickly," said Michael Lambert, executive director of the Distance Education and Training Council.
Not all unaccredited colleges are necessarily degree mills. In the United States, an accrediting agency must be recognized by either the Department of Education or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation.
"Unfortunately, the degree mill operators have seized on the use of the word 'accreditation,' and there are several dozen unrecognized and probably worthless accrediting agencies being used to provide legitimacy," Lambert said. "So there is an accreditation mill problem as well now."
In the United States, individual states must decide whether or not to permit diploma mills to operate within their borders.
States have made some headway in regulating diploma mills over the past few years.
"Although the level of enforcement varies from state to state, I think that there has been great progress made across the board," Lambert said. "States like Louisiana, Hawaii and South Dakota -- all once known as degree-mill havens -- have adopted laws that now require recognized accreditation for any institution in their state wishing to offer a degree."
Oregon and New Jersey disallow use of degrees from institutions that are not accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or approved by the state's authorization agency.
While Oregon's policy is among the strictest in the nation, other states, like Wyoming and Montana, permit unaccredited universities as long as they have a physical presence in the state.
The constitutional protection afforded by the Interstate Commerce Clause makes it difficult for states to regulate virtual schools. When a state passes legislation requiring accreditation, some diploma mills simply change zip codes.
"Even when a school uses an address in a state, and even when they are sued, and even when the state wins, which they always do, there is absolutely no enforcement," Bear said.
Recently, several colleges demanded that fakedegrees.com remove their names from its website. Despite these cease-and-desist requests, the company still allows anyone to purchase "authentic looking" diplomas from hundreds of other institutions.
It's also seemingly impossible for countries to shut down diploma mills outside of their jurisdiction borders.
Diploma mills often market worthless "U.S. degrees" to people in the developing world, especially Southeast Asia. Counterfeit degrees are rampant on the streets in China.
"Only by prohibiting use of their degrees as credentials can public safety and the value of degrees be adequately protected," Contreras said. "Do we really want people working in bridge design, airport security and other sensitive occupations getting jobs with degrees they bought over the Internet for $500?"
But while the Internet has allowed diploma mills to thrive, it has also made it easier for individuals to check the legitimacy of institutions, Lambert said.
Applicants should watch for "red flags" to spot diploma mills, such as degrees sold for a single fee (rather than credit), available in weeks (instead of years) and offered for massive amounts of experiential learning.
"All unaccredited institutions in the U.S. should be considered substandard unless an appropriate external agency ... has determined that the school has adequate academic standards," Contreras said. "Many states have very limited ability to make such determinations, so even a state-approved school should be examined with great care.
The number of fake schools significantly diminished as a result of the FBI's diploma-mill task force "DipScam" in the 1980s. Although DipScam is no longer active, the FBI and postal inspectors continue to work to keep fake schools from operating.
The FTC could also play a greater role in cracking down on diploma mills by exercising its powers to regulate the word "accreditation," Bear said.
"The FTC could stop that in an instant," Bear said.
http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54596,00.html
By Kendra Mayfield
Welcome to Harrington University (also known as the University of San Moritz, University of Palmers Green and University of Devonshire, among others), where anyone can purchase a bachelor's or master's degree -- no tests or coursework required -- for the bargain price of several thousand dollars.
The "university," owned by an American resident in Romania, uses mail-drop addresses in the United Kingdom, printing services in Jerusalem and banking options in Cyprus. The operation has sold 70,000 diplomas in the United States alone, raking in over $100 million, according to diploma mill expert John Bear.
"No country seems willing or able to do anything," said Bear, founder of Degree.net.
While Harrington may be the world's largest diploma mill, it's just one of hundreds of operations on the Web offering degrees that are seemingly legitimate, but often worthless on paper.
The onslaught of spam, online advertising and overnight electronic payment services has made it even more difficult to distinguish between legitimate distance-learning institutions and diploma mills.
"The problem has worsened, owing to the ease of advertising via the Internet and the ability of diploma mills to operate from offshore and still get payment from U.S. users," said Alan Contreras, administrator of Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization.
"Where it used to be some obviously fraudulent operators offering academic degrees in exchange for money and minimal amount of paperwork, it has morphed into a more sophisticated model, where the degree mill offers tutoring and all the trappings of an academic program, but in fact it is still an avenue to getting a degree quickly," said Michael Lambert, executive director of the Distance Education and Training Council.
Not all unaccredited colleges are necessarily degree mills. In the United States, an accrediting agency must be recognized by either the Department of Education or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation.
"Unfortunately, the degree mill operators have seized on the use of the word 'accreditation,' and there are several dozen unrecognized and probably worthless accrediting agencies being used to provide legitimacy," Lambert said. "So there is an accreditation mill problem as well now."
In the United States, individual states must decide whether or not to permit diploma mills to operate within their borders.
States have made some headway in regulating diploma mills over the past few years.
"Although the level of enforcement varies from state to state, I think that there has been great progress made across the board," Lambert said. "States like Louisiana, Hawaii and South Dakota -- all once known as degree-mill havens -- have adopted laws that now require recognized accreditation for any institution in their state wishing to offer a degree."
Oregon and New Jersey disallow use of degrees from institutions that are not accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or approved by the state's authorization agency.
While Oregon's policy is among the strictest in the nation, other states, like Wyoming and Montana, permit unaccredited universities as long as they have a physical presence in the state.
The constitutional protection afforded by the Interstate Commerce Clause makes it difficult for states to regulate virtual schools. When a state passes legislation requiring accreditation, some diploma mills simply change zip codes.
"Even when a school uses an address in a state, and even when they are sued, and even when the state wins, which they always do, there is absolutely no enforcement," Bear said.
Recently, several colleges demanded that fakedegrees.com remove their names from its website. Despite these cease-and-desist requests, the company still allows anyone to purchase "authentic looking" diplomas from hundreds of other institutions.
It's also seemingly impossible for countries to shut down diploma mills outside of their jurisdiction borders.
Diploma mills often market worthless "U.S. degrees" to people in the developing world, especially Southeast Asia. Counterfeit degrees are rampant on the streets in China.
"Only by prohibiting use of their degrees as credentials can public safety and the value of degrees be adequately protected," Contreras said. "Do we really want people working in bridge design, airport security and other sensitive occupations getting jobs with degrees they bought over the Internet for $500?"
But while the Internet has allowed diploma mills to thrive, it has also made it easier for individuals to check the legitimacy of institutions, Lambert said.
Applicants should watch for "red flags" to spot diploma mills, such as degrees sold for a single fee (rather than credit), available in weeks (instead of years) and offered for massive amounts of experiential learning.
"All unaccredited institutions in the U.S. should be considered substandard unless an appropriate external agency ... has determined that the school has adequate academic standards," Contreras said. "Many states have very limited ability to make such determinations, so even a state-approved school should be examined with great care.
The number of fake schools significantly diminished as a result of the FBI's diploma-mill task force "DipScam" in the 1980s. Although DipScam is no longer active, the FBI and postal inspectors continue to work to keep fake schools from operating.
The FTC could also play a greater role in cracking down on diploma mills by exercising its powers to regulate the word "accreditation," Bear said.
"The FTC could stop that in an instant," Bear said.
http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54596,00.html
