Bachelors from Mill, Masters from RA

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by marcuscarey, Jan 13, 2005.

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  1. marcuscarey

    marcuscarey New Member

    I read a story a while ago about a Coast Guard officer that paid for his degree and used it to gain his commission using a Diploma Mill Bachelors. He later went on to Navy Post Graduate School I believe and earned a Masters.

    How do you all view this situation? Is his Masters legit?
     
  2. vinodgopal

    vinodgopal New Member

    in a related note, what if the Masters is granted to a candidate over age criteria where he is above 21 qualifying to appear for the Masters degree program with no formal bachelor's degree. He does it in a government approved four star institute?

    Vin
     
  3. plcscott

    plcscott New Member

    Lucky!
     
  4. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    I heard a story a while back about a cow that jumped over the moon. No offense intended, but these kinds of "stories" mean nothing. No citations, no school names, no facts, no supporting info...
    How do I view this situation? I dismiss it as bunk. Everything I've learned suggests that the military is very careful about these sorts of things.
    Jack
     
  5. marcuscarey

    marcuscarey New Member

    I'm Ex-Navy so I know a little about the military. This is a true story I'll post the entire article if I can Google it.
     
  6. stock

    stock New Member

    Since the masters is from a RA school, it sure is legit !!. However how can he get admission in a RA school masters when the bachelors is from a degree mill is hard to believe ...
     
  7. marcuscarey

    marcuscarey New Member

    http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0504/051204d1.htm

    This is an article about the "military paying for degrees from a degree mills". That blows the theory that the military is careful about these sort of things.

    Unfortunately, I can't find the story I mentioned in my original post. When I first heard of degree mills about 6 years ago I found the article. Believe what you like.

    I'm quite sure that this isn't the only case of this happening. Sometimes people get by based on human error perhaps in a registars office in this type of case.

    If you were an officer with a commission no one would doubt that your undergrad degree was legit.

    I was on a ship were a sailor assumed the identity of his 19 year old son and came to the ship as a seaman recruit (E1). Everyone thought it was weird, "a 50 year old looking E1!" After some unusual behavior my command found out that he had come in under fraudulent enlistment. He was booted out.

    The military and education systems aren't infallible.
     
  8. RXI

    RXI New Member

    As Jack said, no school name, no facts, no supporting information.
    Next question: What is a Mill? I happen to know of two different situations where an unaccredited degree gets one into a RA Masters program. Unaccredited schools that some might call a mill but others might not. I also know a fellow who has a Masters and no Bachelors at all. Nothing to do with the Armed Forces however, just similar situations.

    RXI
     
  9. w_parker

    w_parker New Member

    It has happened in every sector, but the government, especially the military has cracked down on soldiers purchasing degrees from degree mils. I am active duty military (16 yrs now) and the Army has paid for my undergrad degree and is paying for my MBA, they would not pay for classes until they received a degree plan from the school and verified the school was accredited. So while there is always those that try to get around the system, I believe the Army has done a good job monitoring and ensuring that funds are not used towards degree mil credentials.

    William Parker
     
  10. Guest

    Guest Guest

    If the guy was admitted to an RA degree program, completed the required course of study, was awarded the degree, then yes, the masters is legit.
     
  11. marcuscarey

    marcuscarey New Member

    Thanks for a straight answer. That is all I wanted to know.
     
  12. marcuscarey

    marcuscarey New Member

  13. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    Wouldn't he have gone through a physical exam when he enlisted? and then make it through boot camp? And they didn't catch him till later? Impressive..
     
  14. Guest

    Guest Guest

    There are some RA schools that will allow one to study for a master's w/o having an earned bachelor's.
     
  15. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    I believe your report. I also believe that the story you've described ran in some newspaper somewhere. I believe that the military may have made a mistake and didn't check closely enough. I also believe that either the grad school didn't check, or, as Jimmy said, perhaps a Bachelors degree was required for admission to the Masters degree program. My main objection was the implication that a degree mill degree was knowingly accepted as satisfying the criteria for the commision and the grad school admission. You didn't say this explicitly but it seemed to be implied by your original posting.
    Jack
     
  16. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    How did this individual become a Coast Guard officer without an accredited degree?

    My understanding is that one becomes a CG officer in one of four ways: Graduation from the USCG Academy (RA), graduation from OCS (requires an accredited degree), by direct commission (requires that one be an attorney, physician or whatever), or by rising from the enlisted ranks. This last allow enlisted personnel who have satisfactory rank and years of service, plus at least 30 college credits, to apply to OCS. Apparently degrees aren't required.

    http://www.gocoastguard.com/faq.html

    Naval Postgraduate School says:

    For admission to either a degree or a non-degree program, whether on-campus or by distance learning, the minimum qualification is an accredited baccalaureate degree with appropriate preparation for the proposed program. The school will require submission of official transcripts covering all college work completed to date.

    But they also say:

    Selection for the Navy fully funded graduate education program is based on outstanding professional performance, promotion potential and a strong academic background. Officers interested in this program should contact their assignment officer to determine professional qualification status; upon determination of academic qualification (by NAVPGSCOL), individuals are eligible for assignment. Officers who are professionally qualified, but lack academic qualifications, should contact the Director of Admissions for information on ways to improve their academic background.

    http://www.nps.navy.mil/ofcinst/admissn.htm

    I'm not sure what that last sentence means in actual practice. It's conceivable that a promising officer with some university credits but without an appropriate degree might be advised on how to earn a bachelors degree. Or perhaps they might be allowed to take additional coursework in their proposed major subject until NPS is satisfied, then allowed in without a bachelors.

    Whatever, it's kind of inconceivable to me that a degree mill degree would suffice.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 14, 2005
  17. marcuscarey

    marcuscarey New Member

    The original purpose was to get an answer to the question was, "Is his M.S. degree legit?"

    I'm sorry that this wasn't clear in the original post. Forget the military stuff. I wanted to know if the Masters degree stood on its own.

    Next time I'll try to be more specific because it seems like most replied trying to validate the story. The story doesn't matter. I'm not arguing about the story. Believe what you want. It's my mistake for not wording the post clearly. I feel this has wasted some of your valuable time trying to argue the story and that wasn't the point.

    Sorry and hope you all now understand. Thanks for the responses! I'll take away the fact that the Masters is legit.

    I'm not sure if I mentioned it earlier, I served in the U.S. Navy for 8 years in the Cryptology field. I am well aware of the military requirements, culture and regulations. In no way tried to discredit the military or service institutions. The military has help me tremendously in my life and was an education in its own.

    Take care all!
     

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