It took just a few minutes to produce the ‘diploma’ (pictured above) on a computer. Of course, it’s quite worthless but unsuspecting students pay large sums of money for equally worthless bits of paper. They are the victims of fraudulent business operations masquerading as universities and, in cyberspace, nothing could be easier. These operations are known as diploma mills or degree mills (any difference is one of interpretation) and their stock-in-trade is the fake degree.

Not all their customers are victims. Some are accomplices because they know the true value of their purchases and buy them to aid their own deceptions. You know the types. One needs a degree to secure promotion but is averse to the effort required to gain a real one. Another may be the ‘big chief’ in the Church of Instant Salvation, and "Rev. Dr." before his name would impress his flock. In either case, no-one’s likely to check ‘qualifications’. If you don’t believe me, check the numbers of politicians, and TV evangelists, with fake degrees.

Let’s return to the diploma mills and look deeper into their operating methods. First, they need a convincing-sounding name and "Honest Joe’s Distance Learning Scam" doesn’t quite fit the bill. Much better to call it the "University of Somewhere", the "Institute of Nowhere", or "Anywhere Bible College". To further confuse the punter, these operations often have names remarkably similar to those of legitimate institutions. This can be particularly confusing as UK and US practices differ in the way colleges are named. In the UK, the University of London and London University are one and the same institution. In the US, however, Yale University would not be the same as the University of Yale so a criminal might well adopt the latter name to mislead victims.

The next requirements are a contact address and, maybe, a phone number. The actual address won’t do as it’s probably a backroom and unlikely to impress visiting students. The usual alternative is a post office box number, sometimes supported by a telephone answering service. Some scams are registered in offshore locations, to avoid taxation, and to exploit the lack of restrictions that is often the norm in these ’havens’.

Depending on the country concerned, genuine colleges and academic programs are usually accredited by government, or government-recognized, agencies. So, to further confuse potential victims, many diploma mills are themselves accredited, but not by any government-approved body. Instead, the bogus institutions are frequently ‘accredited’ by equally bogus agencies, sometimes run by the same people as the 'colleges' they claim to accredit. These agencies also need to seem convincing and adjectives such as "American", "European", "International" or "World" often appear in their names. Some 'colleges' falsely claim regional accreditation (the US gold standard), while others simply claim that accreditation is a plot to limit competition to established colleges.

We now have a bogus university, seeking to acquire victims, so the next step is to advertise. The press, internet newgroups, and the World Wide Web are obvious places but some more ambitious diploma mills offer glossy brochures to support the pretence. Among the more ‘successful’ diploma mills, the press is first choice because some members, including "The Economist", "USA Today", and airline magazines, knowingly accept diploma mill advertisements. These appear alongside those of some very prestigious colleges, thus adding to the confusion. Next best choice is the web, on account of its lack of content control. Anything goes, so that photo of the ‘college’ campus could be anything but. The same goes for photos in diploma mill brochures/catalogues/prospecti. In some actual cases, photos, purporting to be of diploma mill ‘campuses’ have been identified as being of a legitimate college, a public building, a church, and an hotel. Newsgroup advertisements are less popular with diploma mill operators because they are likely to be exposed by publicly-minded educators who frequent such groups. Nevertheless, they still appear and are inevitably followed by an exchange of abusive comments.

Having attracted the interest of potential victims, the final step is to snare them. To give some semblance of credibility, the diploma mill may request the submission of a dissertation or thesis (accompanied, of course, by a cheque*). Its idea of a thesis, however, is not a 60,000-word description of original research. More likely, it’s a 2-page essay, or an equally brief statement relating to one's "life experience". Another ploy is to offer reduced fees to students registering for several programs simultaneously (for example, for bachelor’s and master’s degrees), something real universities never do.

Most of this sounds terribly illegal so how do diploma mills get away with it? Firstly, illegality and immorality are different values and many diploma mill operations are, technically, legal. In the UK, for instance, it is illegal for institutes or individuals to offer UK degrees unless they are authorized by the Secretary of State for Education. However, there is no law to stop them offering non-UK degrees. In the US, education is controlled at state level and different states have different laws. New York’s are very strict. Louisiana’s are quite the opposite. Many mills are registered as religious organizations and, as such, are exempt from regulations that apply to other educational institutions. In some states, where fake bible colleges are commonplace, the authorities are loathe to act for fear of alienating the ‘religious right’. Even when some of the more notorious operations have been shut down by the authorities, they have often resurfaced under different names or in different states. Some convicted criminals have even continued to run their operations while in jail, and one who escaped the authorities runs his from a luxury boat outside of US territorial waters.

Not all suspect ‘colleges’ are backroom operations. Some may offer limited instruction and produce learning materials. However, if they don’t have the staff or facilities to provide effective tuition, they, too, can be considered scams if their claims are exaggerated.

So much for the scams. Click on the Next Page link for tips on how to avoid them.

* US English = "check"

This page is copyright © 2000 by Ronald M. Isaacs. The text may be copied, in whole or part, for non-profit use, provided that the source is credited.