Dr. Bear: This note might be more appropriate for a personal e-mail, but I wanted to post it here for everyone to read. I hope this doesn’t sound patronizing, but I want to thank you for your contribution to society. It is no exaggeration to say that there are people alive today because of your tireless efforts to expose diploma mills and substandard nontraditional education methods. From fake civil engineers to phony physicians, your work has helped to improve the quality of life in the United States and indeed, the world. I am very encouraged that there seems to be an increased national resolve among our legislators and law enforcement officers to shut down sham “universities.” You have laid the groundwork for these efforts, and serve as a consultant to others working on behalf of the citizenry. Diploma mill operations represent big bucks to those who would exploit the unsuspecting and serve the unethical. I am sure you have received more than a few formidable legal threats (and maybe worse) from the moneyed fraudsters who run these bogus operations. Thanks for having the guts to hang in there over the years. But you have been also quick to note the legitimate value of quality nontraditional education routes as well. Your specific guides have been especially helpful to me. In 18 months I will retire after 30 years with the federal government. I will be entering a regionally accredited university to pursue a second bachelor’s degree. Thanks to your guides, I was able to complete 30 semester hours of accredited correspondence work from the University of North Carolina, University of Tennessee, University of Wisconsin, and Texas Tech. The college to which I will apply has told me they will accept all these credits in transfer, thus saving me at least a year of coursework in completing required core course credits. But more important than any diploma is the knowledge that I have received quality instruction. All of these courses have helped me to grow, and have reintroduced me to the pure joy of learning. Thanks again, and I wish all the best for you and your wife. Bill in NC
Thank you for this, Bill. No wonder my ears were burning at the 10-day retreat I just came back from. The research I've been doing for the book on degree mills now in progress suggests that big time government concern is cyclical. It was a big page-one deal in the 1920s. Again in the early 40s. Again when the Secretary of HEW (Flemming) and the American Council on Education made it a priority in the 60s. Again with Congressman Pepper's national hearings and with DipScam in the 80s. And again, it seems, in the 00's (if that's what this decade is called). Will it stick this time? Or has a 20-year cycle peaked again? Let's gather in 2020 and talk about it some more! John Bear
