The "diploma mills" keep on churning to everyone’s loss

Muhammad Ayish

• Last Updated: June 16. 2009 9:46PM UAE / June 16. 2009 5:46PM GMT

In the past few years many young people aspiring to obtain a university degree have been duped by glamorous and flashy web-based educational advertisements. After taking the bait, they find themselves entangled in legal, professional and ethical dilemmas arising from an affiliation with a bogus institution of higher education, better known as a “diploma mill”.

Such organisations award academic degrees and diplomas for substandard or no academic work at all. Their “degrees” are awarded without any official educational accreditation.

Last week, the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research issued a statement warning prospective undergraduate and graduate students looking into academic study abroad against falling victim to such fraudulent practices.

Like money laundering and drug trafficking, the multimillion industry in fake diplomas is a global challenge that has dire consequences for local communities. As a global challenge, the diploma mill fraud can only be combated through building up a culture of achievement and excellence not only within local educational systems, but within the community at large.

For those of us who were old enough to experience higher education in the 1970s, bogus universities were rarely an issue. The rise of the internet with its capacity to reach a global audience and to present something virtual – or fraudulent – as real has made these practices viable. In cyberspace, I have come across scores of counterfeit diploma websites that instantly “award” a wide variety of degrees for fees ranging from $300 to $5,000 without the need to attend any programme of study.

In the Bears’ Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, John and Mariah Bear report that there are more than 700 diploma mills that generate more than $500 million annually. In many situations, those degrees are often awarded based on vaguely construed “life experience”, suggesting, for example, that a person with 25 years of experience in field crop production should receive a doctoral degree in agricultural studies.

I am dismayed to learn that as much as the United States prides itself on having the finest educational institutions in the world, it is perceived by others to be a haven for a large number of bogus schools and universities. In the 1980s, Operation DipScam, an FBI-led investigative force, led to the closing of many diploma mills across the United States. Yet, the lack of further action by law enforcement agencies, uneven state laws and the difficulty with policing the internet have militated against making any substantive progress.

Four years ago, the US Department of Education launched www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation to combat the spread of fraudulent degrees. A number of states have passed bills making degree awarding contingent on accreditation from certified bodies. But the root of the problem derives from the fact that the United States does not have a federal law that would unambiguously prohibit these practices, and the term “university” is not legally protected or defined.

During my 25-year academic experience in different Arab countries, I remember having had only one or two first-hand experiences with fake degree holders. The bleak side of the story is not just about the potential devastation of fake degrees on a person’s reputation, but the irreparable damage they cause to the integrity of their profession.

The story of Marion Kolitwenzew in North Carolina illustrates additional risks. She learnt that her daughter was a diabetic and took her to a specialist for care. According to media reports, the physician seemed impressive, with an office full of medical supplies and a slew of medical degrees on the wall. His advice to her was to take her daughter off insulin. The immediate result was the death of an eight-year-old girl. His degrees were bogus and he had no expertise.

While fingers have often been pointed at those who run the bogus operations that award degrees, I also believe that the responsibility to limit their influence must be shared by the media, by the law enforcement agencies that too often show leniency towards those perpetuating these frauds, and by the people who intentionally purchase these degrees.

Because of the current financial crisis, there may be a surge in this type of fraud that preys on people’s aspirations and their desperation.

At its core, however, the issue is ethical. To combat this problem, we need a public culture that encourages merit-based promotion and rewards achievement demonstrated through hard work.

Muhammad Ayish is a professor of communications at the University of Sharjah