A diploma mill, often called a degree mill, is a business organization that confers academic diplomas and degrees which require little or no academic study. Diploma mills are not recognized by any official educational accrediting bodies.
In the United States, accrediting bodies meet the standards set forth by either the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). These educational accrediting organizations then review and award legitimate accreditation to school who apply to meet their standards.
On the other hand, a diploma mill operates without the supervision of a state or professional agency and grants diplomas which are worthless at best due to the lack of school standards, or fraudulent at worst.
Some diploma mills claim accreditation from agencies who are not USDE or CHEA certified to monitor accreditation. Often, the mills themselves create the bogus accrediting agency who then "accredits" the officially unaccredited schools.
Accreditation through dummy accrediting organization lends an air of legitimacy to diploma mills in the eyes of the uninformed.
Some will even claim accreditation through prestigious international organizations like UNESCO, which does not possess the authority to accredit or recognize institutions of higher learning in the United States or anywhere else in the world.
Caveat: Lack of accreditation does not necessarily mean an educational institution is a degree mill. New schools which are applying for educational accreditation can be legitimate. Real accreditation is a tough and lengthy process.
Diploma mills exhibit a number of characteristics which differentiates them from properly accredited institutions of higher learning. Legitimate schools may have some of these characteristics, so you have to remember to look at the big picture.
Diploma mills lack accreditation from USDE or CHEA recognized accrediting organizations. Promotional materials and websites may claim the school is "licensed" or "state authorized" or "state approved". All that means is that the business has incorporated in a particular state. It has nothing to do with accreditation. Same as the UNESCO ruse.
Does the college have a campus? Just because there is a pretty picture on the website does not mean an actual school exists. Is the address a P.O. Box? Or does the website fail to list an address altogether? Red flags.
At diploma mills, degrees can usually be obtained in a short amount of time - under a month - or even in a few days from the time of enrollment. While legitimate online colleges and universities can award degrees in less time than a residential school (due to year round classes), an unrealistically short program time is a sure bet the degree is fraudulent.
While legitimate online universities may award some credit for well-documented "life experience", only a bogus institution will award a degree based solely on that life experience.
Check the credentials of the faculty members. If their doctorate degrees were awarded from the same institution where you are applying instead of well-known universities with a long tradition of conferring graduate degrees, you may have a diploma mill.
Another sure sign of a degree mill is charging tuition and fees on a per-degree basis. Real colleges charge on a per-semester, per-quarter, per-course, or per-credit basis.
Even online colleges and universities have facilities like a residential campus. Diploma mills often lack all facilities and personnel necessary to run an educational institution.
If the school is situated in the United States, does it have an .edu top level domain name. This is not absolute, as some diploma mills obtained their .edu extensions before regulations tightened. Many bogus schools will register for domains in other countries even though they serve mostly U.S. students, has no native staff, and offers esoteric programs like astrology and natural healing.
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Ransom Stone offers free advice and counseling regarding online colleges, universities, and degree programs from his blog at http://www.virtualjoefriday.com .
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