It’s possible that you are unaware of the fact that accredited institutions operate only for the purpose of awarding academic certificates to anybody who will pay for them. These institutions are commonly referred to as “diploma mills” because, for the proper price, they will grant anybody a degree in almost any field.
Imagine having little to no formal training or education and earning a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business administration. Although it may seem alluring, the unethical and even illegal outcomes may only cause further issues.
Not Higher Education Diploma only is this kind of degree awarding unethical, but it’s sometimes against the law to represent these degrees on a CV as genuine. Many employers will look into the colleges you’ve put on your CV, even if attending them is not illegal in your state. If the job requires a degree, your chances of getting it will be less likely if they find out you went to a “diploma mill.”
So, how can you guard against enrolling in a diploma mill?
The following are five red flags indicating the “school” may be a diploma mill:
GET YOUR EDUCATIONAL EDUCATION AT HOME
There are a number of reputable institutions where you can earn your degree online.Be extra careful whenever you hear this terminology being marketed since it is a diploma mill’s catchphrase in advertising. Selling correspondence courses or online education is a specialty of diploma mills. They put a lot of effort into making you believe you are receiving a legitimate degree.
Asking the “school’s” representative whether you may visit the campus can help you determine if the institution is a diploma mill. Although they may have an office, campuses with students are not a feature of diploma mills. Any online school that is accredited should be connected to a physical location.
You may get a degree based on your life experience.
You may spot a diploma mill if you ever come across the phrase “life experience will replace coursework” or “life experience will award you a degree.” This is pretty typical phrasing used in junk mail from diploma mills and on their websites. You can be very sure that this kind of institution is dispensing bogus diplomas.
No printed school catalogue or degree list is available for teachers.
Numerous diploma mills are correspondence or online institutions. They don’t have a campus location, and the only place to get their school catalogue is online. These degree mills most likely won’t disclose a list of their teachers or the degrees they have.
School tuition appears to be cheap.
Any college that offers a bachelor’s or master’s degree for less than $1,000 should raise serious red flags. Diploma mills make money by providing degrees at very cheap prices.
The total cost of the degree might range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, albeit you might need to purchase some books and pay some registration fees. Some credential mills may charge up to $15,000, but that is quite uncommon.
Crazy Accreditation Norms
The accreditation of many of these “schools” will be openly displayed. To appear impressive, they may even claim to have “international accreditation.” Many of these accreditations are problematic since they are meaningless. Find out more about the school’s accreditation by doing some research on it.
In conclusion,
Some of these “schools” have quite impressive titles that may entice you to enrol in their course of study. You can stay away from enrolling in one of these immoral colleges, however, if you do your homework.
