XplanaZine

Entering a saturated job market overflowing with Ivy leaguers and PhDs can undoubtedly be intimidating to anyone. These days it’s next to impossible to land a decent job without a college degree. And let’s face it: with less than a Master’s Degree you may as well envision yourself flipping burgers until retirement. But while you were toiling for that precious diploma that costs thousands of dollars, countless sleepless nights and possibly your sanity, someone else earned their degree with nothing more than a few hundred dollars and a finger cramp.

While the average candidate for a Bachelor’s degree spends four years of hard work earning a degree, fake online universities, or diploma mills, are issuing diplomas to anyone willing to pay a fee. Within ten to fifteen business days virtually anyone can be the proud graduate of a university, complete with a diploma verifying that (insert your name here) graduated from this prestigious university on (insert the date - yes, you can choose the date of your graduation). In the age of technology, we have become accustomed to instant gratification. Thanks to the internet, anyone can point and click their way to a PhD.

The temptation of lucrative job prospects with little effort keeps diploma mills in business. However, diploma mills are by no means a new concept. In existence for several decades, these phony institutions have been handing out diplomas like take - out menus. During the early 1980s the FBI even went so far as to launch a “DipScam” task force with the intention of eradicating, or at least intimidating, these fraudulent businesses. However, enthusiasm for deterring diploma mills has since waned and they continue to thrive.

“Universities” such as Belford, Rochville, Ashwood, and Stanton (which all showcase suspiciously similar websites) offer their students degrees based on “life experience.” In order to qualify for any degree you must submit an application and meet the necessary requirements. At Belford University, these requirements consist of four years of: prior job experience in any field; personal goals, lifestyle, hobbies, traveling; and independent viewing, listening, or writing. Basically, if you’ve ever ventured outside of your house, written your name, watched television, and breathed than you are an eligible candidate for a degree.

But are these phony degrees fooling anyone?

It’s hard to say. How many employers actually research the validity of perspective employees’ resumes? Too few. And for those employers who happen to go the extra mile, diploma mills have fabricated a bevy of backup evidence. Diploma packages include a realistic degree, transcripts, and education verification letters to erase any lingering suspicion. Contact information beyond email or an occasional fax number on a website is rare. There are no addresses or names. Rochville University went as far as including a ‘Message From the President;’ however, the message is a brief note concluding in an illegible signature. Below which, there is no name or title.

One of the slyest moves on the part of these diploma mills is their claim of accreditation. Most established universities are accredited by the Department of Education. Diploma mills claim accreditation, but through alternate agencies such as the Board of Online Universities Accreditation (BOUA) and Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA). Meanwhile, these “accreditation agencies” do not seem to exist beyond the realm of these specific online universities.

Shrouded in lies and dishonesty, diploma mills have an extremely negative impact on society. The existence of diploma mills poses a danger to distance learning, casting a shadow of doubt on credible online degree courses. In addition, there have been a variety of scandals and news stories concerning doctors practicing with phony medical degrees. Some phony degree recipients are actually inflicting harm on others, most notably in the field of plastic surgery.

With today’s cutthroat job market, no one can deny the temptation that lies in obtaining a hassle - free degree. The notion of flaunting the title of ‘Doctor’ without the annoyance of laboring over a dissertation has its appeals as well. But diploma mills give an unfair advantage over those who genuinely earned their degrees, and they need to be monitored before higher learning loses its distinction.