Adult Education Scams Proliferate In Tough Economy

The Great Recession has put millions of people out of work and, for millions more, made them keenly aware of the need to improve their skills and credentials to stay employed.

At the same time, the Internet had made it much easier for "distance learning," taking courses online and earning degrees and certifications.

In this environment, diploma mills and other adult education scams have proliferated. It's been relatively simple for the scammer, since it's easy and inexpensive to set up a website that looks legitimate, even prestigious. The site will describe in detail training and degree programs and even offer testimonials from former "students."

A prospective student visiting the website from 1,000 miles away has no way of knowing the prestigious institution of higher learning is actually located in a dingy one-bedroom apartment. It's highly unlikely a prospective student would think to make the trip to visit the "campus" for a first-hand look.

All types of diplomas

Diploma mills don't just offer college degrees. A Texas court earlier this month granted a temporary restraining order against two individuals that operated three Internet-based "home schools." According to an enforcement action brought by the Texas Attorney General's Office, the defendants marketed and sold fake high school diplomas.

According to the complaint, the five unaccredited "diploma mill" defendants operate under a holding company called Advent Harvest Academy Corp. The "schools" named in the enforcement action are Sunrise Private High School, Longhorn Private High School and Bluebonnet Private High School.

According to Texas investigators, Advent Harvest Academy Corp. and its schools imposed no educational requirements. The schools required no age verification or identification; likewise, no instruction program or compulsory student "attendance" is mandated.  Students simply pay $225 in advance via a credit card and then take an unaccredited "test."

Students are instructed to fax the test to the school, where it is "graded. " Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says that, in a matter of days fraudulent academic diplomas arrive in the mail, including "transcripts" containing credit hours based on the test results.

Six years ago Abbott won a restraining order and asset freeze against Trinity Southern University of Dallas, charging it with being a diploma mill. Abbott said the "university" churned out bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees, issued solely on the basis of the student's assessment of his or her skills and experience.

Consequences

What's the harm in a diploma mill? Besides depriving a student of the education he or she is seeking, and cheapening the value of real degrees and accreditations, a diploma mill degree can cause all manner of grief.

USA Today reported the 2003 case of an eight-year old North Carolina girl who died after her doctor took her off insulin. It later turned out the man wasn't a physician at all, but had simply purchased the medical degree from a diploma mill.

A subsequent investigation turned up people who had gotten jobs as sex-abuse counselors, college vice-presidents, child psychologists, and athletic coaches, all with the help of phony degrees from diploma mills.

How do you tell if an online school is a diploma mill? For starters, be extremely wary of any institution that awards degrees based on "life experience." It just doesn't happen in the real world.

Colleges and universities accredited by legitimate organizations undergo a rigorous review of the quality of their educational programs. Although many diploma mills claim to be "accredited," their accreditation is from a bogus, but official-sounding agency that they created.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, prospective students can check if a school is accredited by a legitimate organization at the database of accredited academic institutions posted by the U.S. Department of Education at  or at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation database.

Red flags

The FTC offers these other "red flags," to help you determine if a school is actually a diploma mill:

• No Attendance. Legitimate colleges or universities, including online schools, require substantial course work.
• Flat Fee. Many diploma mills charge on a per-degree basis. Legitimate colleges charge by the credit, course, or semester, not a flat fee for an entire degree.
• No Waiting. Operations that guarantee a degree in a few days, weeks, or even months aren't legitimate. If an ad promises that you can earn a degree very quickly, it's probably a diploma mill.
• Click Here To Order Now! Some diploma mills push themselves through aggressive sales tactics. Accredited colleges don't use spam or high-pressure telemarketing to market themselves. Some diploma mills also advertise in newspapers, magazines, and on the Web.
• Advertising through spam or pop-ups. If the school caught your attention through an unsolicited email or pop-up ad, it may be a diploma mill. Legitimate institutions, including distance learning programs, won't advertise through spam or pop-ups.