Diploma mills - what are they and why are they a problem?

Executive summary
Diploma mills are entities that claim to be universities or colleges, but in reality are organizations that award "degrees" for a payment and very little or (usually) no academic work. Diploma mills often operate illegally and their existence devalues the work done at real online schools. During the past decade legislators, usually in the U.S.A., have taken action to stop diploma mills from operating. However, because this action has also been politically driven by accredited schools, it has had the additional anti-competitive effect of driving out legitimate schools that have chosen not to seek accreditation. This paper helps explain the difference between diploma mills and legitimate unaccredited schools, and also helps the consumer to understand the issue of schools that are legitimate but of low quality. It explains that accreditation is not a proxy for quality, and that the argument to the contrary is politically driven.

Point #1 - Definitions of the term "diploma mill" vary

Dictionaries define the term "diploma mill" in different ways, and a number of mainstream dictionaries do not include the term at all. Here are some dictionary definitions:


The less popular term "degree mill" is also used more-or-less synonymously with "diploma mill" although some have tried to create a distinction between the two terms.

Point #2 - The differences reveal the meaning of the term
Notice that all of these definitions do agree that a diploma mill is an institution that has few or no standards for the granting of degrees. This is not in dispute.

Notice secondly that of these definitions, one only makes specific reference to the school's accreditation status (American Heritage). Although Merriam-Webster makes reference to the term "unregulated" and Webster's refers to "supervision of a state or professional agency", this would not include state-approved private schools such as those in the California, Hawaii or Alabama systems, which are not accredited, but are certainly regulated by statute and by specific state agencies. This would also apply in some foreign situations.

Notice thirdly that three out of five of these definitions (in the case of Merriam-Webster, it's a stretch, but the use of "usually" is key) could in theory be applied to a school that holds regional or national accreditation but maintains low standards for the granting of degrees. Indeed, the second definition from Random House could apply only to an accredited school, since there were no unaccredited schools in the U.S. as of 2006 that were large enough to be encompassed by that definition and that maintained a campus-based model of education.

Notice lastly that none of these definitions can be applied to an institution, whether accredited or self-regulating, which maintains high standards for the award of degrees.

Why bring accreditation into it?
Because accreditation does not ensure quality in education, some of these definitions above are at best highly politicized. In the words of the American Council for Trustees and Alumni's report on the subject,


We have spent time on the semantics above because the term "diploma mill" has in recent years become the epithet of choice for the accreditation cartel to attack self-regulating schools. The cartel has made a conscious attempt to remodel the definition of the term so that it can be applied to any institution that is in commercial competition with its members while maintaining a private, unaccredited status - the "all unaccredited schools are diploma mills" argument. And the most vigorous proponents of this demonizing process have been those for-profit schools that are within the cartel, but most in danger of being categorized according to some of the definitions above. We'll leave you to guess which schools they are...

In fact, dictionaries simply reflect the current usage of a term measured by prominence in written sources. Because the accreditation cartel has ready access to the media, its use of its chosen terms is seen to be predominant and is then reflected in dictionary definitions of those terms, which in their turn provide further ammunition for the cartel.

Real diploma mills are certainly a problem. Below we will discuss why this is and how that problem manifests itself. But to understand the nature of the problem, we must firstly accept that this issue - as with so many concerning private education - has been politicized. The forces that have undertaken that process have not just been concerned with consumer protection, but with securing a market monopoly for the accreditation cartel. The changing use of the term "diploma mill" has become merely another aspect of their campaign.

So what is a diploma mill really?
Real diploma mills are a substantial industry that hurt all legitimate schools, but most particularly legitimate private schools, because they devalue their product and assist individuals in committing fraud. Diploma mills are institutions without substance that essentially sell degrees based on little or (more usually) no academic work, and offer no meaningful educational process.

The main reason for the existence of diploma mills is that many people want simply to buy a degree without demonstrating the necessary competencies to earn it. The second reason for their existence is that many employers now require a degree almost as a buzzword, without really requiring or caring about the competencies that degree is supposed to be certifying. As we have said elsewhere, if an employer cannot themselves verify the competencies that a degree represents, they have no business in requiring that degree in the first place.

Although some customers buy a diploma mill degree for use as a novelty or purely for personal enjoyment, many diploma mill consumers intend to use the product to commit fraud in employment applications or to obtain promotion, thereby creating problems for those who may unwittingly employ unqualified or underqualified individuals. Fake sheepskins usually result in someone being fleeced.

Diploma mills have flourished since at least the nineteenth-century, and the term has been in use since the 1920s. From the 1980s onward, and increasing with the advent of the internet, there has been a substantial growth in diploma mills, which are easily created and cloned. This has been in response to increasing "diplomaism" in the United States, and therefore increased demand for the diploma mill product.

Many of today's diploma mills operate illegally, being run by owners in the United States without being licensed or registered to operate there, and operating in contravention of Federal consumer protection law. However, in the past, many have operated fully within the law. Changes in the law in the United States and elsewhere have sought to address the diploma mill problem, but have usually inadvertently or deliberately also ended up wrongly targeting legitimate unaccredited schools, a by-product welcomed by the accreditation cartel since it reinforces its monopoly. All such laws are based on subjective judgements, since what to one person is considered a diploma mill is to another an alternative university.

Identifying a diploma mill
There are some general "rules of thumb" to spot a diploma mill, but none of these rules is absolute. One that very nearly is, though, is the claiming of unrecognized accreditation. Diploma mills usually set up their own meaningless "accreditation associations" which, of course, grant the mill "accreditation" and help its customers claim that they have an "accredited degree". You can find a database of recognized accrediting agencies from CHEA here, and a list of unrecognized accreditors from the State of California here. Alternatively, the mill may claim membership in a legitimate organization as "accreditation" even though it is nothing of the kind.

However, there are also a few legitimate unrecognized accreditation agencies, most of which are religious in nature. As well as these, there are some unrecognized accrediting agencies which, while not being out-and-out illegitimate, maintain very low standards and do not monitor their schools effectively, making their accreditation fairly meaningless for the consumer.

Most diploma mills are fairly blatant about what they provide, operating flashy websites with much use of graphics, animation and pictures of school buildings which bear no resemblance to the actual location of the mill, which is more likely to be "in" someone's spare bedroom. Distinct from legitimate virtual universities operating online, diploma mills would have you believe, falsely, that they are brick-and-mortar traditional schools.

Almost all mills abuse the legitimate practice of awarding college credit for prior experiential learning. Legitimate schools, both accredited and not accredited, which award degrees based in whole or in part upon such credit, require and verify proper evidence of prior learning (such as a portfolio), in a rigorous process that requires time and effort from the candidate, and in which success is not guaranteed. By contrast, diploma mills will award degrees based on an unverified resumé, which may well be elaborated or entirely fictional, and do so within a quick turnaround time which in some cases can be as little as two weeks from start to finish. There are dogs and cats which hold diploma mill "degrees". There is no faculty, and in most cases a website long on sales talk and short on detail, all set up to take your credit card. A number of mills go so far as to openly advertise "fake degrees".

A diploma mill will often offer the opportunity for the customer to determine their grade point average and academic honors on paying a fee.

Some diploma mills offer a slightly more elaborate process than others, complete with student testimonials and detailed lists of supposed "course requirements" (usually copied from the websites of legitimate schools). Others maintain sites full of mis-spellings and carelessly thrown-together snippets of information, giving the impression of haste and amateurishness. In general, it is also good advice to beware of any school that asks you to telephone them (or offers to call you) as a requirement of the admissions process (often a feature of diploma mill solicitations sent via spam email). This is a cover for hard-sell telephone marketing, with many such operations running call centers. Decisions relating to your education should be made after serious reflection, not amid sales hustle.

The "University Degree Program", which sends out spam email promising "prestigious unaccredited degrees" operates in this manner, and is probably the largest diploma mill in the world today. A cautionary, illuminating and very funny tale of how the UDP operates is offered by Gene Weingarten's article for the Washington Post, "This is Gene. He's a Little Worried About His Diploma."

A related scam is the "lost diploma replacement service", which prints diplomas and transcripts relying on the consumer's assertion that he or she actually earned the original diploma. This is a major source of fake diplomas from legitimate schools as well as equally fake diplomas from non-existent schools. Some such entities even run a "telephone verification service" to enable their customers to fool employers.

Very low tuition is also a mark of a diploma mill. Where the price is suspiciously low, there is unlikely to be much in the way of educational process. A few legitimate religious, charitable or non-profit schools charge very low tuition, and a small handful are even free of charge, but the under-$1,000 bracket is mostly full of diploma mills aiming to sell their product in volume.

It may be legal to buy a diploma mill degree as a novelty in your jurisdiction (for legal advice, you should consult a lawyer), but it will almost certainly be illegal or at the least extremely unwise to use it in any other context. Presenting a diploma mill degree to an employer as an earned degree is fraud, and every year people who take that risk are found out, with the resulting loss of their jobs and their reputations. With legitimate distance learning degree programs widely available from both reputable accredited and unaccredited schools, there is no need to take the risk in the first place.
 
Diploma mills and low quality schools
Having established what a diploma mill is, we now need to turn to the related issue of low quality (or "sub-standard") schools. Unfortunately, there are many private sector schools which, while they do require educational achievement for a degree, operate with low standards. These schools offer an educational product that may be of use to some, but that stands at the bottom end of the quality continuum. Typically, these are the schools that belong to one of several prominent unrecognized accrediting agencies that have little meaningful process. They may give few details of faculty and their marketing materials may be poorly written and presented. Misleading statements concerning accreditation, credit transfer and school status are common.

It is possible to do good-quality work at some low-quality schools, and indeed there is no reason why the standards set and met by individuals there should not in isolated cases be as high as at a good school. Many graduates and employers are satisfied with their experiences at such schools and find that their degrees meet their needs. The school may not be particularly good, or run particularly well, but it generally does what it claims to do, and usually offers a significant cost saving compared with better schools.

It is important to note that a low-quality school is not a diploma mill, and in particular that the low-quality school will usually be operating within the law and may well be licensed by the state. The dividing line between the categories that marks out a diploma mill is whether degrees are available for nothing more than a payment, or with little or no meaningful academic work required. At low-quality schools, academic work is required, that work is assessed, and the degree takes time to earn, even when the assessment of prior learning is involved.

However, the school and its degrees may still not be considered credible. In particular, untrue and misleading statements about the school's accreditation and the acceptance of its degrees raise serious ethical problems. Good unaccredited schools do not hide the fact that they are not accredited by an external agency and will explain their position regarding quality assurance processes to the reader, as is the case with EAU. In addition, CER has produced a number of papers in which we discuss many issues concerning this area in depth and examine the political hinterland behind what is often misleadingly presented to the consumer as unquestioned fact.

Some low-quality schools began well, but have since seen a fall in standards, in some cases seriously harming previously solid reputations. Changes in ownership, the drive for profits and adverse operating conditions can all take their toll on institutional integrity. It is important to note that these are not problems isolated to the self-regulating sector. In addition, some schools which were of low quality have improved over the years, and some schools which are now accredited were previously roundly criticized for their practices and standards.

Some religious schools in the United States have low standards, and may offer degrees for a financial donation without requiring educational attainment. Because of the separation of church and state, such degrees in religious fields are usually legal, and the decision on their legitimacy will depend on the receiving authorities.

The role of accreditation in the process of discernment
ACTA tells us that


A number of large and popular accredited schools in the United States offer what many see as a poor-quality educational experience to their students, prompting many complaints, negative press articles and even whole websites set up by students to highlight the problems. It is entirely incorrect to suggest that regional accreditation offers quality assurance capabilities. Claims made that it somehow does so are politicized and provably false. Indeed, as ACTA explains,


Foreign accreditation is also a problem. Not all foreign governments apply the same standards for accreditation, and some are notably lax in certain aspects. Once accreditation ceases to be seen as a proxy for quality, the situation is seen for what it really is.

Conclusion
In deciding whether an institution is of acceptable quality for your needs, a number of factors need to be taken into account, such as program content, faculty, pedagogy, cost, reputation and philosophy. Too many consumers are wrongly persuaded that "if it's accredited, it must be good". Unfortunately, the smokescreen provided by accreditation hides low quality institutions and practices from more obvious scrutiny. A more responsible assessment rests on the work done to earn a degree and the credibility of the faculty awarding it.