Posts Tagged ‘diploma mill’

By Vicky Phillips, Chief Education Analyst | February 02, 2009

Diploma mills, also known as degree mills, are bogus universities that sell college diplomas—the piece of paper itself—rather than the educational experience. Diploma mills literally crank out paper diplomas to anyone who pays the requested “tuition.”
Don’t be fooled by online degree mills.

Many maintain impressive-looking websites. All of them advertise heavily online.
To protect yourself, you need to look behind the curtain. In other words, flip past the flashy graphics on the fancy website for the name of the school’s accreditation agency. Then, take the time to verify that the agency is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the U.S. Department of Education. If you remain suspicious, consult GetEducated.com’s Diploma Mill Police for a free accreditation report on your chosen institution.

Top 10 Signs You Are Dealing With an Online College Degree Mill


(1) Your chosen university is not accredited.
Degree mills love to use official sounding terms to impress potential students. These terms often sound good, yet mean little in terms of educational quality. Be wary of these terms and phrases: “authenticated,” “verifiable,” “licensed,” “internationally approved,”” “notarized,” “recognized by the Pope” and “accredited by UNESCO.”


(2) Your chosen university is accredited … but NOT by an agency recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the U.S. Department of Education.

The majority of Internet degree mills are “accredited.” The problem is that they are accredited by bogus agencies that they themselves have created.

These bogus accrediting agencies—also known as accreditation mills—often have prestigious sounding names. They often claim to be “worldwide” or “international” agencies and therefore superior to any single agency operating in the United States. Contact CHEA for a list of the names of valid college accreditors in the USA.

(3) Admission criteria consist entirely of possession of a valid Visa or MasterCard.

Previous academic record, grade point average and test scores are deemed irrelevant. Telemarketers and spam emails promise “you cannot be turned down” for a degree.

(4) You are offered a college degree based on a “review” of your faxed resume.

Credit for career experience is a valid option at many universities that deal with adult learners. But the process of evaluating career experience for college credit is complex. No valid distance learning university in the U.S. will award a graduate degree (master’s or doctorate) based solely on a review of career experience.

(5) You are promised a diploma within 30 days of application regardless of your status upon entry.

Degree mills are in the business of selling paper. Ergo, they’ll get that piece of paper to you as quickly as possible.

(6) You are promised a degree in exchange for a lump sum—typically $2,000 for an undergraduate degree and $3,000 for a graduate degree.

Universities do not commonly charge flat fees. They typically charge per credit or per course tuition and fees.

(7) Your prospective online university has multiple complaints on file.

For trustworthy factual accreditation reports, visit GetEducated’s Diploma Mill Police.

(8) Your online “admission counselor” assures you that international online universities can’t be accredited in the United States by CHEA-recognized agencies.

This is a lie.

(9)  The school’s website either lists no faculty or lists faculty who have attended schools accredited by bogus agencies.

(10) The university offers online degrees almost exclusively to U.S. citizens but is conveniently located in a foreign country, quite often a tiny nation that lacks any system of academic accreditation.

Alternatively, there has been a rise in the number of scams where the “university” claims to be located in the U.S., yet specializes in “evaluating” and “awarding” degrees based on an “international assessment process” specially designed to help immigrants wishing to enter the U.S.

Con artists and fraudsters are ready and willing to take your money.

Whether it’s a new Internet scam or an old standby newly repackaged, the Connecticut Better Business Bureau and the state Department of Consumer Protection advise consumers to beware. Read the fine print, check credentials and remember what your mother told you: If it sounds too good to be true, it may be a scam.

Got A Minute? Get A Degree!

With a scarcity of jobs, many people are trying to improve their skills or educational credentials. But several state residents have been duped out of hundreds of dollars by online schools that aren’t accredited by the U.S. Department of Education.

In an effort to obtain a high-school diploma, an East Haven woman was relieved of several hundred dollars by an online diploma mill, said Howard Schwartz, a spokesman for the Connecticut chapter of the BBB. When the woman applied for a job, she was told the diploma wasn’t acceptable, Schwartz said.

“She was embarrassed. But she was also angry and asking, ‘How can this type of thing happen? How can a school like this legally operate?’” Schwartz said.

She has since obtained her high-school diploma from an accredited school, he said.

While many online educational programs and schools are legitimate, the Better Business Bureau reports that four online firms that offer high-school and college-level diplomas have been the target of 117 consumer complaints in 40 states, including Connecticut:

• Belfordhighschool.com and Belforduniversity.org. Consumers report that they paid from $674 to $1,400 for everything from high-school diplomas to doctorate degrees. But when they presented their degrees to military recruiters and college-admission boards, their credentials were rejected. The websites claim students can earn their chosen degree by completing an online test or relating “life experiences.”

• Jeffersonhighschoolonline.com and vencerhighschoolonline.com. Consumers complained that the schools’ diplomas were not accepted by legitimate sources. Students reported paying more than $200 for their diplomas.

Beware of degree programs that require very little work or that issue diplomas based on “life experience,” and prices that are based on the completed degree rather than per credit hour, said Paulette Scarpetti, president of the Connecticut BBB.

For a list of accredited post-secondary schools compiled by the U.S. Department of Education, go to ope.ed.gov/accreditation.

Quick And Easy!

Unless the phrase “quick and easy” relates to a recipe for buttered toast, beware! These types of schemes can involve everything from earning vocational credentials online to working at home with the promise of a hefty paycheck. Several state residents have fallen victim to the come-on, Scarpetti said.

“Make $1,000 a week addressing envelopes at home!” This old scam has been updated to include making money sending e-mail or messages on Twitter, Scarpetti said.

Typically, complainants report receiving unsolicited e-mails that read: “Twitter Workers Needed ASAP … As Seen on USA Today, CNN and ABC,” or “Tweet at Home and earn hundreds of dollars a day.”

In one case, a victim reported that an e-mail had a link to website www.EasyTweetProfits.com, “which offers a free seven-day trial for an instructional CD-ROM for $1.95 to cover shipping,” Scarpetti said.

There’s just one hitch: The “trial period” begins the day the CD is ordered, and if you don’t cancel within seven days, the company bills your credit card $47 a month, she said. Similar websites and blogs, including www.make-money-on-twitter.com, offer similar “trials” that are accompanied by unwanted, revolving charges to your credit card.

Beware of job offers that advertise big returns for very little effort, the Better Business Bureau advises.

In this economy, marked by leagues of job-seekers, employment scams are rampant. The Connecticut BBB and other chapters around the country say consumers have been duped by online classified ads involving job-placement firms that guarantee clients a job — once they pay an upfront fee, sometimes hundreds of dollars. Unfortunately, they take the money and run.

Legitimate employment agencies and headhunters “do not charge upfront fees to help find a job but are instead paid by companies … or by the job hunter once employment is secured,” the BBB notes.

In another twist, thieves place online ads posing as real businesses. In this scam, job-seekers are directed to a legitimate-looking website and are asked to upload their résumés Once submitted, the job-seeker is told he has been hired and must provide his social security number or bank account information to complete the “hiring process.” By the time you realize what’s transpired, your identity has been stolen.

Pay close attention to unsolicited e-mail from supposed employers, Scarpetti advises. Even if the company’s name appears familiar, do not click on any links within the correspondence until you’ve thoroughly vetted the company and verified the e-mail originated from a legitimate source.

Chimney Sweeps Who Sweep Your Wallet

Winter is just around the corner, and there’s nothing like a warm, cozy fire. You know it, and con artists know it. Scams around the state involving chimney sweeping and repairs are rampant this time of year, said Jerry Farrell Jr., the state’s consumer protection commissioner.

Here’s how to avoid getting “cleaned out,” Farrell said:

• A professional chimney sweep should clean your fireplace and chimney and check for defects for less than $200.

• Don’t hire a chimney sweep who shows up at your door uninvited.

• Be suspicious if a chimney sweep offers you an extremely low price. He may be trolling for repair work. While chimney sweeping is not considered home improvement, repairs — including liner or mortar replacement or repairing a chimney cap — are covered under the state’s Home Improvement Law. Anyone doing the work must be registered as a home-improvement contractor.

Ask to see his registration certificate, the Department of Consumer Protection advises.

• Before approving repairs, contact a local building official, and find out of the project requires a building permit, Farrell said.

Avoid unsolicited contractors, added Schwartz. “Choose them yourself.”

Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant

By JANICE PODSADA

Eight Washington State Patrol troopers who used diplomas from fake schools to get pay raises will be suspended, but not fired. Friday’s announcement prompted one local legislator to complain that the troopers are getting a slap on the wrist, but another said the agency’s own oversight is at fault.

Sgt. Chris Sweet, who is assigned to the Kelso detachment, is among the eight troopers who will be disciplined.

The State Patrol reversed itself Friday and decided to modify an agency recommendation from August that the troopers be fired.

State Patrol spokesman Jeff DeVere said additional investigation revealed there was no clear intent by the troopers to deceive the agency into higher pay because they did not know the schools were unaccredited. But, he said, the troopers certainly showed poor judgment in submitting the diplomas.

“It was very clear in the decision-makers’ minds that there was no intent (to defraud), but there was poor judgment. That is why the contemplated termination was changed to suspension,” DeVere said Friday.

The troopers have been on paid administrative leave since October of last year and will return to work next week. The troopers have paid the state back the raises they received as a result of submitting bogus degrees, and their pay while on leave did not include those raises, DeVere said.

“These guys have not been working for a year. We have to ensure their training is up-to-date, that they are still qualified to drive and carry weapons,” DeVere said.

He was not certain when the suspensions, which range from three to 10 days without pay, will be served.

Sweet, commander of the Kelso detachment, is a 17-year veteran of the state patrol who was honored in 1998 as Trooper of the Year. In 2006, the Kelso unit was named Detachment of the Year. He received a five-day suspension, DeVere reported. Sweet could not immediately be reached for comment Friday through a message left with the local WSP detachment.

The state patrol investigation began after federal agents shut down a diploma mill in Spokane. In February, the Thurston County prosecutor decided not to file criminal charges.

The prosecutor said that even though the officers admitted to collecting extra pay as a result of their phony degrees, investigators found no intent to defraud the government.

Troopers can boost their pay 2 percent by earning a two-year degree or 4 percent with a four-year degree, and DeVere said the troopers believed they were pursuing legitimate college degrees.

Still, the investigation may raise questions about whether the troopers should have known the degrees were illegitimate.

DeVere said the degrees required no coursework or typical academic effort. Rather, applicants reported life experiences and prior on-the-job training. The schools evaluated the resume and told applicants what degree they qualified for and how much a diploma would cost, DeVere said.

Sweet, DeVere said, obtained a degree from Almeda University, which advertises itself as offering a “life experience degree program.” It’s Web page asserts that “life experience is the greatest teacher.”

Given the ease of the process, DeVere was asked, shouldn’t the troopers have known the diplomas were bogus?

“We certainly did everything we could to determine what the facts were,” he answered. “We spent a tremendous amount of time to do just that. It was determined that the diplomas turned in were not valid. We also spent a lot of time determining whether we had intent (to defraud) on the employees part, or poor judgment.

“Intent could lead to integrity issues, and integrity issues, in our mind, you can’t fix them. Mistakes, or poor judgement — we can rehabilitate for those in most circumstances. These diplomas made it through our agency review process. They (the troopers) were paid. The department has partial responsibility for this. We have since fixed our review process to make sure this does not occur again. “Employees still have responsibilities. They should review this kind of thing. If it is too good to be true, they need to look at it more closely.”

State Rep. Dean Takko, D-Longview, said “I have a hard time believing that, among eight people, no one knew that (the degrees) weren’t kosher.”

Though he didn’t think the troopers should lose their careers over the incident, he said the several days suspension amounts “to a slap on the wrist.”

State Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, said a key question in the case is whether the WSP does an adequate job determining whether degrees are legitimate.

“Was it the troopers trying to defraud the state, or poor policy procedures on behalf the agency?” Orcutt asked “ If the blame is on the agency, should the officer be suspended at all?”

If their supervisors approved the raises after reviewing the degrees, Orcutt said, “it’s kind of hard to hold them (the troopers) accountable.”

In addition to Sweet, the other troopers who will be suspended are Trooper Dennis Tardiff of Seattle, Trooper Spike Unruh, Trooper Dan Mann of Spokane, and Sgt. Robert Brusseau, Sgt. Jason Linn, Trooper Gabriel Olson and Trooper Brian Ensley, both of Vancouver. In addition to the eight, two other troopers who were accused have resigned.

By Andre Stepankowsky

A recent Sacramento County grand jury report takes fire officials to task for lax oversight that allowed some area firefighters to boost their pay by claiming college degrees from so-called “diploma mills.” The report, titled “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire,” stems from a 2007 investigation by The Bee’s Andrew McIntosh. McIntosh found that in 2005 and early 2006, 16 capital city firefighters applied for and got education wage incentive raises using degrees they had purchased from online diploma mills. It cost the city about $50,000.

Degree Verification from InfoCheckUSA.net would have caught this!