Degree mills

Being in education, I abhor the scam emails I receive several times a month offering to sell me a Ph.D. or any degree I want. This is a net epidemic.

By Kendra Mayfield|
03:00 AM Mar, 23, 2000
Some college degrees aren't worth the parchment they're printed on.

For a small fee an official Harrington University diploma -- purportedly accepted anywhere in the world -- can be delivered within 10 business days.

No coursework, grades, or academic experience required.

But Harrington University doesn't have a website, a campus, or even accreditation.

"It's just between us how you got your diploma," said a representative from Harrington, a self-described diploma mill that -- like other unaccredited schools -- uses Internet and email marketing to lure prospective students.

Wired News contacted Harrington University through an anonymous email ad. A representative who returned the call said that for a "small fee" of $1,400 (and an additional $500 discount for signing up that day), applicants can obtain a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhDs based on "life experience."

"You never have to complete courses because we give credit for work and life experiences," the Harrington registrar said.

Read the story.

And folks buy these and get good jobs with them:

By David M. Bresnahan
? 1999 WorldNetDaily.com

William Tiller was hired by the city of Encinitas, just north of San Diego, in 1996, fresh out of the Marine Corps, to coordinate preparations for Y2K at a salary of $97,000 a year.

Tiller certainly looked well qualified for the position; he boasted not only a bachelor's and master's degree, but also two doctorate degrees.

There was just one problem, city officials later learned. Tiller's resume turned out to be a complete fabrication.

Read the story.

Sometimes these assholes do get caught:

Teacher With Phony Doctorate Gets Charged
Chris Halsne
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Investigative Reporter

POSTED: 3:40 pm PDT September 27, 2006
UPDATED: 6:05 pm PDT September 27, 2006

A Bremerton school counselor has been charged with stealing your tax money after KIRO Team 7 Investigators catch him profiting from a fake doctorate.

Teachers automatically get extra pay if they have an advanced college degree. Over the past two years, KIRO Team 7 Investigators have exposed more than a dozen educators who turned in either a masters or a doctorate of questionable character.

Now, the Kitsap County Prosecutor's Office wants to put one of our featured teachers in prison.

Read the story.

My students pay an outrageous amount of money for their education, far more (even given cost of living and salary changes) than I had to pay. They work hard to get their money's worth. Crooks and cheaters, the scum who sell and buy phony degrees, turn my stomach. I'd bring down the hammer hard on anyone caught doing this.