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Diploma Mills TIPS FOR DETECTING Diploma Mills A guide for HR Professionals A Publication of Tips For Detecting Diploma Mills To put it simply, Diploma Mills are mostly online entities that offer substandard or bogus degrees in exchange for payment and not much else. These degrees are obtained with no work involved – NO studies, NO exams and NO interaction. How is it possible for the applicants to be competent at their jobs? A Brief History • 1880 – Dr. John Buchanan commits suicide to avoid imprisonment for illegally manufacturing fake medical diplomas. • 1900 – Chicago, IL – Officials at the Metropolitan Medical College were arrested for selling bogus medical/ law licensing. These documents were selling for $200 - $300 dollars. They were only charged with mail fraud. • 1971 – Florida – Two colleges were exploited for selling doctoral degrees in various fields of medicine, biology and nuclear engineering. Both Colleges were reviewed by the state Senate Committee on Commerce. • 1998 – Brooklyn, NY – A high school principal created a website to offer fake grades, no-work classes and modified regents exam results. • 2003 – North Carolina – Manslaughter Malpractice Laurence Perry kills and 8 year old with a lethal dose of insulin. Perry was a diploma mill ‘doctor.’ • 2005 – The U.S. Department of Education launched a database to include the names, addresses and enrollment of all schools with recognized accreditation. WWW.DATAFACTS.COM What is the Difference Between an Accredited Institution and a Diploma Mill? The best bet is for the applicant to have earned a degree from an accredited institution. This is the most widely accepted option by other institutions and employers. There are six regional accreditation agencies are recognized by the Department of Education: New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Accredits schools in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement(NCA) Accredits schools in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Navajo Nation, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges (MSA) Accredits schools in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Central America, Europe, and the Middle East. Southern Association of Schools and Colleges (SACS) Accredits schools in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Latin America. Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Accredits schools in California, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Palau, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Marshall Islands, and other Australasian locations. Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NWCCU) Accredits schools in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Note – Some online schools are accredited by the Distance Education Training Council. The DETC is also recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. DETC accreditation is considered valid by many employers. However, many regionally accredited schools will not accept course credits from DETC accredited schools and some employers may be leery of these degrees. WWW.DATAFACTS.COM Warning Signs that a college is a Diploma Mill There is no phone number on the college website The name of the college is foreign Aggressive Sales Tactics - Legitimate institutions, including distance learning programs, won’t advertise through spam or pop-ups. They won’t use high-pressure telemarketing calls, either. A flat fee is charged – Legitimate colleges charge by the credit, course, or semester — not a flat fee for an entire degree. They offer Accelerated programs – If they advertise that you can earn a degree in a few days, weeks or months, it is likely a diploma mill. Tips to see if a particular institution is legitimate: 1. Call the registrar’s office of a local college or University and ask if it would transfer credits from the school you are thinking about attending. 2. Contact your state attorney general’s office to make sure the schook is operating legally. WWW.DATAFACTS.COM The Cost of a Fake Degree Degrees that are awarded through diploma mills are not legitimate and can end up costing more than just money. The applicant risks not getting hired in the first place, getting fired and possible prosecution. How Your Background Screening Company Can Help Education is a top area where applicants falsify information. Some applicants will go so far as saying they graduated from a particular institution when, in fact they never attended a class. More commonly found, is that the applicant actually attended the school and may have been very close to graduating, but for whatever reason did not have enough credits for the degree. Your Background Screener should use licensed private investigators to contact the school’s registrar’s office to obtain verification. We recommend verifying at least the highest degree completed. The last name of the applicant at the time they attended school is needed to obtain the verification. Other information verified may be: • School attended • Dates of attendance • Field of study • Degree earned - if any • Date of graduation or last attendance Limitations of this information: Your Background Screener may have difficulty obtaining the information if the school is closed for breaks or summer vacation. Sometimes there may be a delay if an authorized release or fee is needed. Some schools outsource their data to third parties. We will contact them on your behalf and an additional fee may be involved. Employers need to be aware of “diploma mills” that grant worthless degrees. Data Facts has a process to verify if a school has been accredited and then will proceed to look for diploma mills. If a school cannot verify data, the consumer should be given an opportunity to explain before assuming they have lied since there can be an explanation for discrepancy. WWW.DATAFACTS.COM.
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