New To The Diploma Mill term!!

Hey Everybody,

I'm new to the board and hope the following question isn't taken the wrong way (because I'm not planning on enrolling in any of these universities). I have a great deal of interest in the topics discussed on this board.

I have been reading the discussion about "Oregon labeling Degree Mills". I'm just curious, what exactly makes a university a degree mill? Does lack of proper accredidation make a university a degree mill? (By proper accredidation, I mean regional or DETC). California Coast University, for example, isn't accredited (that I know of), but I had a friend who had taken courses through the college for personal reasons (he wasn't looking for a graduate program and was earning the degree for personal satisfaction), but the coursework certainly looked authentic.

Also, I looked at some of the universities listed and some of these either have no link providing information on accredidation, rely heavily on the "life experience" term (with resume), or use some kind of accredidation out of Liberia. Another university I noticed (through a magazine) was something like Clayton Health, but I really couldn't find anything about links to their accreditor, which made the degree seem phony to me. And the life experience thing??? I could simply make a resume and claim I had spent the last five years working as a engineer and would receive a degree?? Unless of course they verified my resume. BUT WHERE IS THE PERSONAL SATISFACTION IN THAT?? And doesn't it still mean something to work toward trying to earn a degree and being able to look back on your quest as a positive experience that you completed authentically?

This post isn't meant to offend, but those were just points I had been pondering and questions I had.

Cade

 

I am sure you will here much from the board on this question, but I recommend you pick up John Bear's 15th edition. It is not only a great resource on the degree mill debate, but also a great resource of a huge list of schools, with accreditation and degree listed.

Good luck!

 

I think you've pointed out the difference between the product of a "degree mill" and a legitmate educational institution.

I define a degree mill as

"Anyone or any thing that offers to provide, usually for an exhorbitant fee, a degree or credential that I could produce on my computers and printers at far far less cost, and with very very little effort."

 

The vast majority of unaccredited schools are degree mills. CCU is one of the very few unaccredited schools that provides close to a standard degree. The number of unaccredited schools (as opposed to degree mills) is getting smaller as more states pass laws making the use of unaccredited degrees illegal and as more of the unaccredited schools become accredited.

 

Just because a school is not accredited does not make it a diploma mill. Keep in mind that all new schools must start out as unaccredited before accreditation can be achieved. Also, there are some academically respected schools that choose not to seek accreditation for various reasons. Bob Jones University is one such university that does not have accreditation for religious reasons.

A degree mill is essentially a school that will sell you a degree for a fee with little or no work involved. Some of these schools advertise that you can get degrees based on your life experience by paying an evaluation fee. Some of the more well known degree mills are Kennedy-Western University and St. Regis University (not to be confused with the accredited Regis University), and others.

Cy

 

California Coast University is pursuing DETC accreditation. The National Test Pilot School, which hitherto has been perhaps the most prestigious unaccredited college, is pursuing Regional Accreditation.

Liberian accreditation is worthless. The Liberian educational system disintegrated under Charles Taylor, and some unscrupulous people are exploiting that. There are many bogus accreditors out there.

The only legitimate way to award credit for "life experience" is by portfolio assessment, or exams.

Many people know very little about accreditation, but nearly everyone has heard the term "diploma mill". An employer who realizes that a "degree" is from a diploma mill realizes that the "degree" is worthless.

Using a degree from a diploma mill is fraudulent, even if you filled out the "life experience" form truthfully. There are many reasons not to commit fraud. I suppose the "person satisfaction" thing you mention is among them.