A Question of Degrees, Alan Contreras, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 26, 2004 (requires paid subscription). Here is a selection from the article that, I think, holds its central theme. It is an interesting piece. G
It's degree creep and obsessive credentialism, the antidote to which is already being applied by the rampant buying of "milled", life-experience degrees. These degrees, awarded on the recommendation of Prof. Visa, while academically worthless, are perhaps as useful in many cases as low-standard earned degrees, churned out of many low-quality RA "mills". Just teach basic English or math in one of those RA "mills" to verify my point. I do wonder how many life-experience degrees (as opposed to earned degrees) are really out there in the work force ? One in five ? Of course, no low-standard or fake degrees can undercut a real education, but they do undercut legitimate degrees as a prima facie credential of competence, perhaps a good thing in the end. Employers will have to be more searching and careful in their interviewing processes and professional bodies will have to do more public testing and licensing.
I heard an estimate that ONE THIRD of all the degrees out there are fake. I have no idea, now, where the estimate came from, but given the extreme profitability of a mill and the comparative lack of sophistication of the business world in this area, I can believe it.
