I really enjoyed the post about Trinity and the sham it is, especially the gif of the degree (which by the way you can download). In five minutes with a shareware paint program, I made my wife a joke diploma (doctor of world geogrpahy) because she does not know the pacific from the indian ocean. Then I thought, if you wanted a fake degree, why even bother to send in the money...just list it on your resume. That begs the question, is it unethical to list a degree not earned from an unethical "univeristy". To me, it would be no worse to list it than to pay the money and list it. jnate
This is actually one of the things that I find humorous about degree mills. Since you generally can't call and find out if someone bought a degree there, there's no way to verify that anyone really paid for the worthless diploma or just printed it out themselves. Of course verifying a degree can mean something different at a degree mill. I called one degree mill once and I asked them if I could verify a degree and they responded "How long ago did you send in your money?"
It depends totally on one's ethic, as this becomes a question for the realm of philosophy. If, absolute truth is embraced, then yes it would be unethical to: 1. Obtain a degree mill degree and use it professionally, because it is a substandard credential. Actually, a worthless piece of paper. 2. List a credential on one's resume or CV which was never earned (obtained), because this would constitute lying, deception, fraud, etc. If, however, one embraces cultural relativism, then no, nothing is wrong because: 1. It is a matter of situation ethics. One person's Trinity C&U Ph.D. is just as valid as a Harvard Ph.D., at least in this person's mind. His/her situation allowed it. 2. Relativism postulates that if lying, deception, fraud, etc., is necessary to reach one's objective, then for that person, it is alright. So, listing a credential one does not have on a resume or CV is an excellent idea, as it may be a means to the end. Since I hold to the former, it would be unethical to both use a degree mill degree and list a degree one does not have. Of course, everyone will not agree with me on this one, especially the thousands who are using degree mill degrees. Russell
