Online schools have become popular resources for those
continuing their education, but either want or need to work from home.
Distance learning effectively fills the void for those who cannot or
prefer not to attend traditional campus classes.
While there are many excellent benefits to distance
learning, unfortunately some schools have emerged on the web for the
sole purpose of handing out degrees in exchange for money with no or
little academic work required. These are referred to as "diploma mills."
Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines a diploma mill as:
"An institution of higher education operating without supervision of a state or professional agency and granting diplomas which are either fraudulent or because of the lack of proper standards worthless." 1
Diploma
mills
How Enrollees Are Done a Disservice
These so-called schools offer prospective students an easy
education which is most often simply comprised of accepted students
paying some fees and maybe submitting a paper for entry. Assignments are
minimal, if any are given at all. There may or may not be a quiz
(usually an easy one) involved. Many of these "schools" offer
extraordinary levels of college credit for "life experience."
Subsequently, after meeting the mill's "requirements", those enrolled in
these fraudulent organizations do not really learn anything.
Essentially, people are buying these degrees whether they realize it or
not.
While the easy route may seem appealing to some, in reality
enrollees are simply paying for a piece of paper which they may be able
to skate by with for a short while, but most businesses and professional
organizations are becoming aware of known diploma mills and, as a
result, credentials are checked.
In the end, graduates of the diploma mills often end up
paying a lot more than they'd bargained for when they find their fake
credentials aren't worth a whole lot in the educational or job markets.
Saving a few bucks for a degree in the long run probably turns out to be
a waste of both time and money.
How Diploma Mills Can Impact Other Colleges
Students are not the only ones who lose out due to the
actions of diploma mills. Legitimate colleges, universities and
technical schools could lose enrollment when hopeful students are lured
to the clever marketing promoted by diploma mill operations. In some
specific degree (subject area) markets, this is an issue as colleges
compete for student enrollment and lose out to the "easy way out" at a
cheaper costs offered by degree churners.
In addition, students pursuing legitimate degrees lose out
if classes can get cancelled due to low enrollment numbers. As an effort
to cut the cost of overhead, colleges often need to cancel classes that
don't at least cover costs to run the class. When would-be students
decide to sign up at a diploma mill, these are enrollments that could
have helped fill classes at legitimate and accredited institutions.
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