What are “diploma mills”?
A diploma mill or degree mill is an organization that awards academic diplomas with substandard or no academic study at all. These diplomas are not recognized by accrediting bodies. All that is required to get a diploma from a diploma mill is a valid credit card. There are no real standards and studying is not necessary.
With so many schools out there, legitimate or otherwise, how can employers make sure they are not being duped by unethical employees? The best way for an employer to get verification is to hire a professional employment background screening agency to research the educational background of an applicant or employee. These agencies have the experience, resources and skills to distinguish between legitimate and bogus schools.
Why employees buy into diploma mills
Some employees who purchase diplomas are under the impression that they are getting legitimate degrees. They are sold on the marketing ploys diploma mills use, such as, accepting “life experience” for credit toward a diploma. While it is true that some legitimate colleges offer “life experience” for credit, it is usually under very strict guidelines.
On the other hand, there are some employees who purchase fake diplomas to fool current or prospective employers. These employees see it as an easy way to get ahead with as little effort as possible. After all, $1000 for a bogus bachelor’s degree is much cheaper than a legitimate community college degree.
How fake diplomas may be a liability for employers
Imagine hiring an employee who turns out to have a fake medical or accounting degree. The consequences can be devastating to innocent clients and to an organization. Keep in mind that the employer is liable for any damage that an employee may cause while on the job. This is especially true if the employee was hired without verification of his or her qualifications.
Accredited, unaccredited and diploma mills
How can an employer tell the difference? Sometimes it is very obvious. Real school: Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. Fake school: Stanford University, anywhere else. Sometimes it is not so obvious, which is why diploma mills are a billion dollar business. It is highly unlikely that these diploma mills will disappear any time soon.
In order to attract customers, many of these diploma mills use the exact name or a similar name of a well- known college. The people who run these mills know they will eventually be closed down, but in the meantime they will have made millions of dollars. Even if they are closed down today, they will open up another “school” tomorrow. This is partly due to the ease of advertising on the internet and the demand for fake diplomas.
How an employer can protect against applicants with fake diplomas?
One of the best ways to combat this increasingly persistent problem is to make sure every employee goes through an employment background screen, including an educational background search. A professional employment background firm will be able to distinguish accredited schools from unaccredited diploma mills.
The reality is that most Human Resource departments are too busy to investigate every school on an applicant’s resume or application. Many of these diploma mills are very sophisticated to the point of having a “registrar” that can verify the validity of their diplomas. It is usually best to leave this type of verification to an experienced employment background screen firm, especially one that is familiar with diploma mills.
