Diploma Mill History Questions..

I have a few questions regarding Diploma Mills in general (and to get everyone's thinking gears in motion):

1.) What was the first Diploma Mill (that made an impact in DL education)?

2.) Is there, or has there been a "Teflon" Dilpoma Mill?

3.) When did the term "Diploma Mill" come about?

4.) Has any famous or High Official been able to use a Degree from a Diploma Mill and Get away with it ? (I only hear about the ones that get caught)

5.) Has anyone ever been able to further their education at an RA university with a Degree from a Diploma Mill?

6.) Which Diploma Mill had the greatest impact in regards to DL?


Thanks

 

Here's something about the first diploma mills that I'm aware of (copied from an earlier post):

 

At Oxford University in the eighteenth century you could only matriculate if you were from an aristocratic background.

In order to graduate in Divinity you had to pass a single examination after three years of residence on which there was one question:

Q: What is the Hebrew name for *the place of the skull*?
A: Golgotha

The question was the same year in, year out.

The regulations for DD at Oxford formerly required the applicant to produce a thesis. There was no provision regarding the originality of the same.

At one college, the *College thesis* was pulled out from its cupboard and resubmitted every time a member wished to graduate DD. None failed.

In more recent times, the admission requirements to Cambridge were significantly relaxed for Princes Charles and Edward, who would not have entered the university had the normal academic requirements been applied for them. Both graduated.

The University of Paris sold degrees in mediaeval times to those *unwilling to submit themselves to examination*.

QUOTE
4.) Has any famous or High Official been able to use a Degree from a Diploma Mill and Get away with it ? (I only hear about the ones that get caught)
UNQUOTE

On a somewhat different tack, see Michael Crick's biography of Lord (Jeffrey) Archer, and particularly his Fellowship of the International Federation of Physical Culture, his A levels, his time at UCLA and his time at Oxford. This book tells you more than many others about how British society works.

 

A few reflections. Wish Rich Douglas was still around; he remembers far more than I do.

1.) What was the first Diploma Mill (that made an impact in DL education)?

California Pacifica University. It was what got me into looking at mills in 1974 when buyers of the first edition of what is now Bears' Guide wrote asking why I hadn't included this place. First to get major national attention (60 Minutes, 1978). Oh, and its founder, later imprisoned, was also involved in the early days of what is now an utterly respectable California-approved school.

2.) Is there, or has there been a "Teflon" Dilpoma Mill?

How about Sussex College of Technology. Pretty much ignored by British authorities for 25 years although it is now, 3 or 4 years after the founder's death, under investigation by Inland Revenue.

4.) Has any famous or High Official been able to use a Degree from a Diploma Mill and Get away with it ? (I only hear about the ones that get caught)

Time bombs ticking everywhere I'm sure. When I did my search of the then 10-million resumes on Monster.com for ABC three years ago, we found thousands and thousands of time bombs, in addition to the six they chose to report on. Head of medical services for a major health organization. Head of Ethics Commission for a big city police department. Fire chief of one of the ten largest US cities.

But far more time bombs, I suspect, are the people who either buy counterfeit diplomas or simply lie about having an RA degree, such as the superintendent of California's 2nd largest school system, the Notre Dame football coach, not to mention the founder of Monster.com, etc.

 

California Pacific University

 

Raymond Chan wrote:
In conclusion, what is your professional opinion about the University? Please tell me more about California Pacific U's DBA program.

Note the *a* carefully. California Pacifica (long closed) and California Pacific are *not* the same school.

Dr Bear wrote:
How about Sussex College of Technology. Pretty much ignored by British authorities for 25 years although it is now, 3 or 4 years after the founder's death, under investigation by Inland Revenue.

Whatever the outcome of that investigation, it won't make any judgement on the academic integrity of the late Bruce Copen's institution. As far as UK law goes, it remained in compliance throughout its existence, and is now registered in the USA by Barry Craft, so is not a UK institution. If it trades in the UK, however, it must abide by the requirements of the Companies Act for overseas businesses, presumably hence the Inland Revenue interest.

Metropolitan Collegiate Institute diplomas are apparently still being sold by a *lost diploma replacement service* (do a Google search). They claimed foundation in 1899 or so, which may or may not be true.

 

Metropolitan Collegiate

A great deal of information was provided by the FBI and other agencies, US and British, on Metropolitan Collegiate in the trial a couple of years ago of Gregory Caplinger, who bought the first of his 7 or 8 fake medical degrees from them for $100. (The Caplinger situation is covered in detail at www.quackwatch.com.)

IIRC, they arose in the late 1960s using a mailbox service and ceased operation in the mid 1980s. In addition to the fake school, they also operated a fake hospital, Sussex General Hospital, from a mailbox service in Kensington, London, and sold residencies and other staff positions. Caplinger claimed to be head of their Oncology department.

 

California Pacific

California Pacifica was always a total fraud.

California Pacific has long been a California-approved, but unaccredited school.

When I got into this field nearly 30 years ago, I believed that unaccredited degrees from California-authorized (later California-approved) schools made sense for those of people who had satisfied themselves that the degree would meet their current and predictable future needs.

I still believe that, but I also believe the number of such people is much smaller, and is pretty much limited to people who (a) want doctorates, (b) live in California, and (c) have satisfied themselves per the previous paragraph (which now must take into account the laws in jurisdictions that are regulating the use of degrees, not just the schools that issue them).

 

At the company I work at, I've heard 4 or 5 stories about bogus degree applicants. All were of this type of acdemic fraud. Claiming a degree from a GAAP school that they didn't really have. Next chance I get, I'll ask the director of HR for some approximate figures.

 

Re: California Pacific

I like their fraud alert .