Not the Degree you thought it was.

jrzgrl

One of our funding sources requires us to verify degrees by simply making a copy of the original and writing "original seen" on that copy. We go one step further and actually call the school to verify it and, as we are finding out, there are "Universities" online that will issue degrees within 14 days for a fee. So far we have found Suffield University and Trinity College to be two of these places you can go for a really good-looking degree. Does anyone else have any that I can add to my list?

JM in ATL

I will have to look at the one I got for my dog and let you know. Yup, that's right, I said my dog.

I have a friend who is a news producer for CBS in ATL and they were doing a story on how easy it was to get a degree over the internet. So, they wanted to see if they could get one for a dog. The dog just happened to be my Charlie.

I will have to find the degree and look at it and let you know.

By the way, he is a Nurse Practioner and an Ordained Minister. Reverend Charlie Brown!

jrzgrl

Oh, good! We're low on nurses here. Do they supply letters of recommendation, as well? x;-)

Suffield University even has a Student Store link on their website. We're looking into getting T-shirts for the lacrosse team for everyone.

TN HR

Hmmm....I'd be careful on this one. There are online places that will actually print a diploma (and transcripts too) for any given school. In the case of Trinity College, my cousin attended Trinity College in Hartford, CT and I can assure you that it is not a sham school. Actually, US News and World Report rated it as one of their top 20 if I am not mistaken.

In any event, there are TONS of diploma mills out on the web. You can get up to a PhD and JD online and never set foot in a class room. My suggestion is to check the school's accreditation.

Steve McElfresh

I think TN has it right on. Each region has an accrediting body for higher education and there is no reason to accept degrees from non-accredited schools.
CHEA maintains a searchable database of accredited colleges/universities, and indicates who provided the accreditation. For most BA/BA-level, non-professional degrees you are looking for the regional college/university accrediting body. Not, e.g., the National Association of Bible Colleges. See [url]http://www.chea.org/[/url]

There are, for instance, not one, not two, but SIX Trinity Colleges listed, three of whom appear to have their regional accreditation (TN: this your cousin's school in CT). But note: there could be numerous places with this name who have no accreditation at all and so aren't on CHEA, perhaps including one mentioned by jrzgrl. If you are not sure which accrediting institution you should find(e.g., WASC out here in the west), a simple way to find out is to search for a well-recognized college nearby and see who accredits them. They should generally reference the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities (which, of course, should make clear that junior colleges have their own separate system and I know nothing about that).

And you can (nee, should) go one step further. Most graduate and professional schools have additional accreditation for their particular programs, such as AACSB for business schools. This is a much more stringent screen.

I was T&E Director for a company with a generous tuition program, and I instituted this requirement. One of the "life-experience" MBA programs we were cutting off cajoled, berated and paraded before me. Their last move was to "offer" me an adjunct professor role, to which I responded by throwing them out of our buildings, and off our dole, forevermore.

Regards,

Steve Mac

Steve McElfresh, PhD
Principal & Founder
HR Futures
408.605.1870

deniseE

A change in procedure might help you out here....I've applied for positions that requested a copy of your transcript NOT the degree or diploma. I imagine that the transcript is a bit harder to fake, since you have to come up with courses and time periods and everything.

My transcript indicates every course taken, the grade, the semester, the date it was printed, and the date my degree was conferred.

Don D

Steve: Having been exposed to your 'Fry Calculus', by which one can determine how long to fry a turkey as opposed to a chicken, I think you should have taken them up on that adjunct professor offer. It would at minimum make your email signature another line longer. x:-) I have a paperback book, about the size of a medium microwave, named The Complete Guide To Background Checks. It lists, or so I thought, every college and university in the nation with a blurb about each and direct line numbers to call for verification.

We have a new one in town named Virginia College. I think they're a diploma mill, although they do have a physical plant and a couple of trees and require that people show up for at least 'some' classroom time. And, I've never asked for a copy of a diploma. It's transcript or nothing. I can crank out diplomas on my printer. In fact I have given three associates a suitable for framing multi-colored photo of Otis on a mule, with the heading, Otis Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award.

jrzgrl

The Suffield College we found to be bogus offered transcripts, as well. Grades and all. They'll even send a certified copy of the transcripts to whomever you authorize for verifications. They acknowledge that there are other colleges and universities "in the world" named Suffield, and admit they are not associated with them in any way. One of their FAQ's is "Is this school accredited?" Their answer: "Membership in any one of the several US regional accrediting associations is strictly voluntary....At this time, none of the recognized regional accrediting organizations accept as members institutions that are not dedicated to traditional education that requires residency and classroom attendance. Therefore, even if Suffield College and University desired to apply for such accreditation, we could not be considered...However, we ARE ACCREDITED by the NDLAC [National Distance Learning Accreditation Council]. This is a private national accreditation organization that concerns itself with ethical standards and acceptance of degrees."

Steve McElfresh

Right you are that transcripts are no assurance. A book like Dons' will probably take care of the vast majority of instances in which you need to check accreditation. And it certainly will take care of the diploma mills. It will only miss places where changes that have occured. If you don't find a newer school in there and you want to be sure, you might check CHEA.

Don: my other degrees are too embarassing to list, fry calculus notwithstanding.

Regards,

Steve Mac

Steve McElfresh, PhD
Principal & Founder
HR Futures
408.605.1870