Detecting Diploma Mills
Online schools, also known as distance learning programs, can be a great way to get a college education because of their flexibility. However, students can learn an expensive lesson if they sign up with the wrong online school. Some online “schools”, known as diploma mills, provide a degree but not an education.
What is a diploma mill?
A diploma mill is an online or distance education school that makes money by giving out college degrees while requiring very little or nothing of the student academically. Some diploma mills do provide academic courses but have very low standards for their students and provide minimal educational value. Other diploma mills literally sell degrees for a fee with no academic requirements whatsoever. Some even sell academic honors, such as summa cum laude, to their students.
What differentiates a diploma mill from a legitimate school?
In the US a major difference will be that a diploma mill school will not be accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the US Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation while almost all legitimate schools will be. Since accreditation means that the school has been evaluated by a recognized accreditation agency and has met the agency’s quality standards, employers and other schools can be assured that the student has received a quality education.
Students with a degree from a school without accreditation might not be considered for jobs or graduate school and might not be allowed to transfer credits to another school. Additionally, a school cannot offer federal or state financial aid if it is not accredited. Learn more about accreditation by reading BrainTrack’s article: “College Accreditation: What It Is And Why It Is Important”.
How else can diploma mills be identified?
By validating a school’s accreditation, a person can be sure the school is not a diploma mill. It cannot be assumed that a school is legitimately accredited because they have an official-sounding accreditation agency listed on their website. The U.S. Department of Education’s database and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation database, which list all legitimately accredited schools, should be checked. BrainTrack's article “Evaluating A School's Accreditation: It's Worth The Effort” provides more information on this topic.
Tips for Detecting Diploma Mills
- Accreditation is not recognized - US schools claiming accreditation from agencies that are not recognized by the US Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education should be viewed with a high level of suspicion for being a diploma mill.
- If it seems to good to be true… - Schools promising a degree in a very short time frame are probably diploma mills.
- Famous sounding names... - A school with a name that is similar to an actual, well-known institution can be a clue that the school is a diploma mill.
- Flat fees - A school charging a flat fee for a degree rather than charging by the credit or course is another indication of a diploma mill.
- Life experiences - Diploma mills frequently advertise that they can provide a degree based on “life experiences”.
- Spam or pop-up ads - Diploma mills often advertise themselves and their programs via spam emailings and/or pop-up ads.
- Don’t assume “.edu” means the school is legitimate – Although only accredited schools are able to obtain a “.edu” website now, there are still some diploma mill websites that obtained one before this limitation went into effect.
- Be skeptical - Don't believe everything on a questionable school's website as diploma mills will try to sound as legitimate as possible.
Resources
Federal Trade Commission: Diploma Mills: Degrees of Deception
Distance Training and Education Council - National agency website that includes a list of online schools that they have accredited.
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