Seattle Newspaper Posts St. Regis (et al) "degree" holder list

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by AuditGuy, Jul 31, 2008.

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  1. AuditGuy

    AuditGuy Member

    Not sure how they got the list. Searchable database and everything...
    DOJ was blocking this, they are certain to be unhappy. IMO, Get your copy before it gets pulled.

    http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=15942

    Agencies looking for diploma buyers among employees
    Jim Camden
    Staff writer
    July 31, 2008

    "Washington state agencies are reviewing the list of customers of a Spokane-based diploma mill, trying to determine whether any are state employees who used fraudulent degrees to get a job, promotion or raise."
     
  2. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Lots of familiar schools in the database, but also lots I've never heard of (New Manhattan University?).
     
  3. eric.brown

    eric.brown New Member

    Interesting.....I just found a city councilman in my city with a degree from Concordia.
     
  4. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member


    There are a variety of news articles popping up and discussing "local" (their locality) people on the list. Interestingly, there are quite a few "victims" in the victim/villain continuum. They seem to be people that responded to the advertising, but found out the degrees/schools were fake and didn't make public degree claims. One guy said he applied for a doctoral program, but received the diploma instead. He knew it was a fake and didn't use the "degree." Some even went so far as to report it to the police and/or FBI.
     
  5. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Yeah! Out 'em!
     
  6. eric.brown

    eric.brown New Member

    This particular councilman publicly claims his degree (a BBA) and used it to obtain a job as a teacher within the local school district. I guess using the Concordia name is a smart thing to do since there is multiple locations of the real Concordia in Texas.
     
  7. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Exactly how do we determine who is a "victim" and who is a "villain" in this paradigm?
     
  8. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    It's in the eye of the beholder. To me, some users of, say, Kennedy-Western can fall into the "victim" category. Or any sub-standard school that offers some instruction can do this. Or the guy who applied to what turns out to be a diploma mill, thinking he's applying to enter a program but gets the degree sent to him instead--that person is a "victim." Until he uses it, of course.

    I think people who pay money and get degrees for that task are villains, even if they claim they "deserve" the degree because of their life experience.

    Everyone else is in between. Somewhere.
     
  9. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    If a person uses a phony degree to get a job or a pay-grade that he/she wouldn't otherwise qualify for, that's definite villainy. But if somebody acquires a substandard degree or even a completely phony purchased diploma, but never tries to pass it off as the real thing, then I don't see an ethical problem.
     
  10. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator


    I have a Columbia State University degree in the closet. It is a reminder that there are no shortcuts!
     
  11. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    They got you? :eek:
     
  12. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I sprinted through portions of the list (10K names, who has time to read 'em all?) I was a bit surprised at the large number of people who bought high school diplomas. I guess I'm naive in that respect. I never really appreciated that this comprised such a large segment of the degree mill business.
     
  13. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I was thinking the same thing. Are those people too lazy or too stupid to take the GED exam?
     
  14. AuditGuy

    AuditGuy Member

    For the same money, couldn't you purchase a bachelor's degree and negate the possibility that anyone would even look at your high school?
     
  15. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    It's a good question and it probably would work. The only thing I'm thinking about though is that you can get a HS diploma and still be pretty dumb. However, if you "earn" a BA/BS then an employer might actually (and reasonably) expect you to know something about something. That scenario might not play out too well for someone who is hesitant to even take a GED exam.
     
  16. MichaelR

    MichaelR Member

    I personally haven't looked at the list myself, but i wonder how many of them are foreign nationals that didn't finish high school in their home country and thought this might be a cheap way out, or did finish high school in their home countries but know nothing about credential evalautions??
     
  17. okydd

    okydd New Member


    Wow! I can't believe you just wrote that nonsense.
     
  18. eric.brown

    eric.brown New Member

    How are the comments made my MichaelR nonsense?
     
  19. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    So MichaelR has proposed a theory that okydd finds less than credible. MichaelR seems interested in giving someone the benefit of the doubt. okydd may find more support if he were to explain his opposition to MichaelR's theory instead of simply throwing it on the trash heap.
     
  20. okydd

    okydd New Member

    If I am the only person who found the comment/theory make by MichaelR to be upsetting then maybe I am out of line.
    There are far more easier and plausible explanations for the people who are using fake degrees , than without any research or evidence trying to give “the benefit of the doubt” to new immigrants who must be either to gullible or too unethical to care. This is a “benefit” that new immigrants do not need.
    I have no idea the background of the people who are on the list but apparently there are people at homeland security, the military, senior educators, government, etc on this list. Some of these people could be new immigrants but is easier to draw the conclusion they are not new immigrants.
    A member of this forum recognized his councilman, this councilman could be a new immigrant but there is higher probability he is not a new immigrant. We had discussion about police officers, police chiefs, teachers, using fake degrees; chances are there people are not new immigrants. Recently in the news were American football coaches with fake degrees, likely not new immigrants.
    More people who migrated legally are fairly well educated. There are many researches to support this. The immigration system is biased towards recruiting the highly educated. If you are illegal you can’t work anyway so what the purpose of buying a fake degree.
    Anyway, I guess I am too touchy listening to people like Lou Dobbs ranting and raging about new immigrants. It horrifies me to think one morning I may wakeup and see a headline associating new immigrants with fake degrees even if someone one was only trying to give the benefits of the doubt to new immigrants without and basis to support it.
     

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