thesis ideas related to diploma mills

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by xgoddessx, Nov 11, 2005.

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  1. xgoddessx

    xgoddessx New Member

    My name is Helen and I am an Instructional Technology and Telecommunications graduate student at Western Illinois University. I am beginning to explore ideas for a master's thesis. I am currently reading "Degree Mills: The Billion-dollar Industry That Has Sold Over A Million Fake Diplomas" and am greatly interested in/dismayed by the proliferation of diploma mills in recent years.

    I was wondering if anyone here is familiar with any academic research that concerns itself with online degree mills?

    Thanks for your time,
    Cheers,
    Helen
     
  2. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    You may want to contact George Brown, one of the very fine Moderators of this forum. Also, Rich Douglas and Steve Levicoff might be able to offer some advice in this area. Last, but certainly not least, you could contact Dr. John Bear who is also a frequent contributor here.
    Good luck.
    Jack
     
  3. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Dear Helen

    Our book cites and discusses the only three doctoral dissertations we could find that specifically address degree mills: Reid's 45 years ago, Douglas, and the one whose name I can't remember at LaGrange (a very small experimental study on advertising content).

    Unfortunately there is no easy way to learn either about work in progress (such as George Brown's), or relevant Master's theses (like George's, and very likely others).

    I have lamented for years that no one has, to the best of my knowledge, updated the seminal Sosdian and Sharp study published by National Institute of Education in 1978 (I think it was), on the acceptance of, and student satisfaction with, distance degrees.

    If you do learn about academic work on the topic either published or in progress, I hope you will share the information here.

    Best wishes in your work.

    John Bear
     
  4. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Hello Helen,

    It is exciting that you are considering this topic for your thesis. You could make a great contribution. I am preparing journal articles and reviews on this topic and would be glad to consult with you. I will be meeting with Allen Ezell (hopefully next week) on some enhancements to the Degree Mills book.

    Contact Dr. Bruce Harris in your department. He is a close friend of mine and we have presented together at AECT on this topic. He can put you in touch with me. The other folks mentioned by Jack (along with George Gollin at University of Illinois) are sources of great expertise.
     
  5. George Brown

    George Brown Active Member

    Hi Helen,

    Great to hear you are seeking to do some research in the area. Here's some references for you, just to whet your appetite. There is indeed a paucity of research in the area, but its growing.

    Waite, Frederick C. (1946). "The First Medical Diploma Mill in the United States." Bulletin of the History of Medicine(20 (1946)): 495.

    Simonson, Michael (2004). DIPLOMA MILLS AND DISTANCE EDUCATION. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, Information Age Publishing. 5: 157.

    Saltman, Paul (2004). What Is--and What Is Not--a Diploma Mill. Chronicle of Higher Education, Chronicle of Higher Education. 50: B4-B14.

    Reid, Robert (1963). Degree Mills in the United States. Education, general. New York, Columbia University.

    Reid, Robert H. (1959). American degree mills, a study of their operations and of existing and potential ways to control them. Washington, American Council on Education.

    Ezell, Allen (2002). "Diploma Mills - past, present, and future." College and University 77(3): 39.

    Bartlett, Thomas and Smallwood, Scott (2004). Inside the Multimillion-Dollar World of Diploma Mills. Chronicle of Higher Education, Chronicle of Higher Education. 50: A8.

    Zemke, Ron (1981). "The Promise and Peril of 'External Degrees' for HRD Pros." Training 18(12): 24.

    Snyder, P (1974). "A classification of diploma mills in the United States." College Student Journal 8(1): 92-95.

    Geber, Beverly (1999). "Diploma mills in the cyberage." Training 36(6): 48.

    Colins, E.A. (1928). "Exposition of an Early Diploma Mill." Missouri Historical Review(22:4 (1928:July)): 446.

    Burlage, John and Flink, John (2001). Diploma deception. Air Force Times, Times News Group, Inc. 62: 24.

    Calote, Robin Joyce (2001). Diploma Mills: What's the Attraction? School of Education and Organisational Leadership, Department of Educational Leadership. La Verne, University of LaVerne: 124.

    Douglas, Richard (2003). The Accreditation of Degree-Granting Institutions and Its Role in the Utility of College Degrees in the Workplace, Union Institute and University.

    You can also check out my research at http://www.higheredconsulting.com.au/research.html Happy to send you anything you may see of interest.

    Cheers,

    George
     
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Robin Calote, Univeristy of LaVerne. (I guess she couldn't get into Shirley. Neither could Carmine Ragusa.)
     
  7. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    I'm tempted to start a poll to see how many people understand this joke.
    Good one Rich.
    :D
    Jack
     
  8. Ryan IV

    Ryan IV New Member

    The Big Ragoo and his twinkle toes! :D
     
  9. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Interesting that George's bibliography includes an article by Paul Saltman, founder and president of Kennedy-Western University.
     
  10. plcscott

    plcscott New Member

    I would be interested to see this article if anyone could post it.
     
  11. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Helen,

    I have copies of the original Sosdian & Sharp report by the NIE and a journal article published from the study a year later. I would be happy to share both with you. George's list of references is excellent. I can also get you copies of the various diploma mill articles from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

    P.S. I received a message that you tried to PM me and it wasn't successful. If it does not work when you try again, then send me an e-mail.
     
  12. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Here's another thesis, or research idea. Or at least a wonderfully worthy project.

    Last March, I reported here on the pilgrimage that George Gollin, Allen Ezell and I made to the Columbia University library in NY to examine the three banker boxes full of diploma mill materials, deposited there by Robert Reid a half century ago, following his dissertation work on diploma mills. What a treasure trove of stuff is there, meticulously preserved . . . and, as best we could determine, untouched for many decades.

    What a treasure trove. Wouldn't it be great, we all thought at the time, for someone to microfilm, digitize, organize, summarize, and somehow make available.
     
  13. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Copies of Sosdian/Sharp are also available in most college libraries. Search the ERIC collection for document number ED 154728.
     
  14. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I have received a request from the initiator of this thread for a copy of my dissertation. I will be forwarding it when she provides an e-mail address.
     
  15. xgoddessx

    xgoddessx New Member

    Here is the article:

    ***************************************

    From the issue dated July 16, 2004

    What Is -- and What Is Not -- a Diploma Mill

    To the Editor:

    I read with great interest all of the articles regarding diploma mills in The Chronicle's June 25 issue, but I am disturbed by defining nonaccredited universities as mills. Since my institution, Kennedy-Western University, is specifically mentioned in the series, I want to respond. ...

    In "What's a Diploma Mill?," your reporters acknowledge at the outset that the Council for Higher Education Accreditation says "there is no single, agreed-upon definition" of a diploma mill. Yet in the past year there has been a growing effort to define nonaccredited universities as diploma mills merely because they operate online. This is intellectually dishonest and a grave disservice to consumers and students. ...

    The definition put forth by Alan Contreras on his Web site generally makes sense. The problem is that Mr. Contreras has made no effort to determine whether his criteria apply to Kennedy-Western. If he had, my institution would not be on his list of mills. ...

    Would a diploma mill invest the significant sums of money that Kennedy-Western has to provide degree programs of academic integrity comparable to those of traditional universities? A diploma mill wouldn't choose to be licensed in a state that requires a $100,000 annual performance bond. ... Kennedy-Western has made these investments and many others.

    All of our professors have degrees from accredited universities. Three-quarters of them have doctorates, the balance master's degrees. ...

    Many of our professors also teach at major traditional universities. ... Many of our professors' profiles are listed on our Web site for all to see. None have any ownership stake in Kennedy-Western. ...

    At best, it is flippant for The Chronicle to suggest that professors "moonlight" at Kennedy-Western. Other accredited institutions have no full-time professors either. However, our professors actively participate in the development of the curriculum and the selection of textbooks, and -- unlike at some other accredited online universities -- our professors actually teach all of their courses. ...

    Unlike the diploma mills you mention, Kennedy-Western University has never sought accreditation from the World Association of Universities and Colleges, which obviously maintains criteria that don't reflect our academic rigor, faculty standards, and systems of learning management and delivery. ...

    Unlike many diploma mills, our offices aren't hidden in some out-of-the-way location, or in someone's living room, or a former motel. We don't hide our operations in a foreign country. ...

    The Chronicle alleges that owners of diploma mills often "operate within at least a small cluster of colleagues" ("A Small World") and points to me as having been involved with one university prior to founding Kennedy-Western. I strongly object to the clear, false implication that I migrated from one to the other for reasons related to ethical or legal problems. ... My career path is aboveboard and a matter of easily discoverable public record, and I resent being mentioned with others who have served or are serving time in prison for illegal activities.

    Online education isn't suitable to all students, but a Kennedy-Western degree program is especially suitable to midcareer professionals needing a flexible, asynchronous, academically rigorous program. Our nonaccredited status affords us the opportunity to provide such an education, which is in great demand. ... Kennedy-Western University is not and never has been a diploma mill.

    In sum, online education has a legitimate and growing place in the spectrum of higher-education opportunities. With a modicum of effort, it is easy to sift the genuine universities from diploma mills, to see our academic rigor. All it requires is a modicum of journalistic rigor.

    Paul Saltman
    Founder
    Kennedy-Western University
    Cheyenne, Wyo.

    ***************************************

    And my sincerest thanks to EVERYONE who has been so kind and helpful to me. I greatly appreciate the time you have taken to respond to me.

    Cheers,
    Helen
     
  16. Guest

    Guest Guest

    That's an objective article on diploma mills? It's merely a KWU pep rally.

     
  17. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Mr. Saltman's statements about the activities of K-W faculty are quite different than what I was told by two K-W faculty at a conference three months ago.
     

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