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Don’t be fooled by ‘degree mills’

Many degree and diploma mills maintain impressive Web sites and advertise heavily online. Take the time to verify accreditation by an agency that is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation. Use these clues to help identify so-called “degree mills.”

• Your chosen university is not accredited.

• Your chosen university is accredited but not by an agency recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation, www.chea.org. Internet degree mills are “accredited” by bogus agencies that they themselves have created. These bogus accrediting agencies often have prestigious-sounding names.

• Admission criteria consist entirely of possession of a valid Visa or MasterCard credit card. Previous academic record, grade point average and test scores are deemed irrelevant.

• You are offered a college degree based on a “review” of your faxed résumé. No valid distance-learning university in the U.S. will award a graduate degree (master’s or doctorate) based solely on a review of career experience. Accredited undergraduate programs typically limit credit for experience to a maximum of 10 courses or 30 semester credits, one year of a four-year degree.

• You are promised a diploma within 30 days of application regardless of your status upon entry.

• You are promised a degree in exchange for a lump sum, typically $2,000 for an undergraduate degree or $3,000 for a graduate degree. Universities do not commonly charge flat fees. They charge per credit or per-course tuition and fees.

• Your prospective online university has multiple complaints on file with the Better Business Bureau. Visit the bureau online at www.bbb.org.

• Your online admission counselor assures you that online universities can’t be accredited by CHEA-recognized agencies. This is a lie.

• The school’s Web site either lists no faculty or lists faculty who have attended schools accredited by bogus agencies.

• The university offers online degrees almost exclusively to U.S. citizens but is in a foreign country.

— The Arizona Republic

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