Government employees with diploma mill degrees

Hello all users and lurkers. I am a journalist who writes about federal information technology. This subject has taken my publication into the arena of bogus degrees held by government IT employees. I would be very interested to read your views about this topic, especially about the Laura Callahan matter (first reported in my newspaper, Government Computer News); the hearings in the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on this topic; and the upcoming hearings in the House Government Reform Committee on diploma mill degrees. In particular, I would be interested to hear about any questionable schools that offer degrees in homeland security studies. Any views you all might have about the role of the media in all this--postive or negative--are most welcome. We attach our names to what we write so we have to face the music. As Mark Twain wrote, only kings, editors and people with tapeworm are allowed to use the first person plural pronoun. Best, Wilson

 

A good starting point would be Virginia International University. I read a lot about all sorts of questionable things going on there.

 

Osis,

Are you another one of those afflicted with that bizarre Dr. Douglas obsession?

 

No, I am not obsessed with bizarre Dr. Douglas. I'm sure someone who is will be along shortly to join you.

 

Hi Wilson,

Welcome to DegreeInfo. I enjoy our little community here, although we do get a fair number of degree mill apologists. It adds spice and highlight to what might otherwise be a more mundane existance though.

I'm personally interested in the topic of degree mills and the problems of academic fraud. Since I make significant contributions (at least significant to me) to the federal budget I'm extra bothered by civil servants abusing the system with substandard academic credentials. I did watch the Senate hearings that you spoke of.

My fear is that nothing will be done about it. The study by the GAO seemed to indicate that the only thing unusual about Laura Callahan was that she was exposed. If the problem is that common then I'm afraid that it's going to be very difficult to really clean house without new legislation.

The problem is that the academic frauds will lie that they really did the work. They'll threaten wrongful termination lawsuits. Even worse, the people in charge won't want to do anything because they probably know how to work the system best and so are possibly even more likely to hold a bogus degree themselves.

I'm very concerned that nothing will come of it. The civil service is a very large employer in this country. If they could set a good example by stamping out academic fraud it would send up red flares of warning to many people in the business sector. We need to improve the integrity of our higher education system by stamping out what I consider to be a parasite on society.

 

Bill,

you are exactly on point. The only change I have seen is the language on vacancy announcements requiring educational claims to be from accredited schools. There will be some shifting of personnel within my agency but nobody has lost a job that I know of despite unaccredited degrees. I think the one thing that did come of the review was that many folks now are looking for these type of degrees being used or displayed and I am sure many civil servants have lost face or worse in the eyes of their coworkers.

And if you could, please feel free to make additional "significant contributions" my way, checks are fine

 

Welcome,
If you do a search on this forum you will find several discussions regarding public servants who have falsified their qualifications. I have also been a witness to such scandals.
regards

 

Re: Re: Government employees with diploma mill degrees

Off-topic, of course, since this is a DL board and VIU is not a DL school.

The anonymous poster provides a link to a site containing a pretty serious set of lies about me. This type of ad hominem attack is not supposed to be tolerated by this board. I have notified the moderator.

(For the record, I taught as an adjunct at VIU for a few years, but was not employed there, nor did I have anything to do with its administration. I haven't taught there in almost a year.)

 

Search the threads. Send some PM's and e-mails. Post some specific questions. There is a lot of information available, and many people willing to share it.

 

If I can reduce my federal taxes by the amount I send you then I'll send you the whole thing. I'll check in TurboTax and see if I can work it out.

 

Re: Re: Re: Government employees with diploma mill degrees

(deleted by moderator)

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Government employees with diploma mill degrees

The first two links are to a VIU newsletter from more than a year ago. The last one must have come from the poster's wallet. A relative, perhaps.

 

Bill: I think your fear that countermeasures will be absent or ineffective is well founded. Because I am an active reporter in this field it is not really my place to editorialize. But I would make some observations: 1.) The Education Department's promised "positive list" of bona fide schools is said by some to create a loophole for so-called "foreign" schools, like St Regis, that have "accreditation" from countries like Liberia or India. This is an opinion voiced by Alan Contreras of Oregon and others. 2.) The history of federal action against diploma mills, which stretches back for more than 80 years, is spotty at best and ineffective at worst. Rep. Davis and Sen. Collins have denounced diploma mills and said they are a fraud on the taxpayers and on federal employees who worked hard for their degrees--not to mention private employers and their employees. But crafting a legislative response could be tricky. Neither Davis nor Collins have actually written legislative language yet, as far as I can tell. The administration does not appear to favor the legislative response route yet. Not to mention, obviously, that the administration has its hands full with a war on and many other pressing concerns. A cynic would say that the fake degree issue is a recurrent media spectacle that is an irritant in the body politic but lacks the status of a crisis. If an issue is not a crisis, it tends to get elbowed out of the way by other issues pressing for attention in the public arena. Best, Wilson P.S.: If opponents of diploma mills were really serious about it, they would hire a lobbyist. I don't see that yet.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Government employees with diploma mill degrees

My, aren't we bold. Wait until the guy is kicked off and then make a snappy reply.

I think the picture fell out of your mamma's purse while she was walking down Sunset Blvd. at 3:00 a.m. looking for business.

 

Now, now, let's be respectful to one another. This is an academic forum, not a personal insult forum. (I hope)

 

The problem is that there's no money on the side against diploma mills.

It is rare when a school takes a diploma mill to court for dragging their good name through the mud. We can't even get USA Today to stop accepting advertisements from diploma mills.

 

To answer some of your questions:

Online Homeland Security Schools:
Here is a brief list:

-Amercian Military University (DETC)

- Kaplan College - Terrorism and Homeland Security Certificate
(I know they are accredited, but not if it is national or regional)

-Amercian College of Forensics Examiners offers a Certifcation in Homeland Security

-International College of Homeland Security

Role of the media:
The media often lump bad and good distance learning programs together. If you are going to write about diploma mills, then ask members on this forum about some of the good quality programs which are available.

The media and others need to define their terms. The GAO recently labeled California Coast University as a diploma mill. You can face a lawsuit if you write opinion and not facts. CCU is a stated approved school.

Another example is that Bob Jones University is unaccredited, but it is not a diploma mill. Their degrees serve a religious community and they fell that they don't need accredtitation.

My two cents:

The DOE's plan to list all the accrediated schools won't work. The DOE should list what standards that the governent will accept for employment. Then, everybody in the government needs to use the same standards in their hiring practices.

From my observations, most vacancies have a statement about how a degree must be accredited. I don't think that the qualifiers who initially review resumes in the RESUMIX program understand accreditation. I also know that most selecting officials in the DOD have no clue about accreditation. A simple "cut and paste" of a governenment degree standard in each vacancy announcment would help matters.

I just had to explain to someone that Exelsior is not a diploma mill, and it was the old State University of New York program and this guy was an alumnus.

I hope this helps.

 

According to the International College of Homeland Security's
FAQ page, online programs will no longer be offered. Students
will have to attend one of its campuses.


DM

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Government employees with diploma mill degrees

I see someone turned over a rock....