With the advent of Internet, there has been an increase in the number of unscrupulous and dishonest people who have set up a number of bogus universities which are operating on the internet that are conferring degrees which are not worth the paper they are written on and that we have to be wary of institutions that offer such degrees for ?life? or ?work? experiences.

Hence my decision to get an insight into such operations and malpractices and give further guidance and advice to those students contemplating future studies especially in UK or America so that they don?t fall victims of such institutions and in the long run, do not end up with bogus degrees from bogus universities readily available from the Internet.

It does not take long to produce the ?diploma? (picture opposite) on a computer. Of course, it?s quite worthless but some students pay large sums of money for equally worthless bits of paper. They are the victims of fraudulent and dishonest business operations masquerading as universities. These operations are known as diploma mills or degree mills.

However, not all their customers are victims. Some are accomplices because they are fully aware of the true value of their purchases and buy them to aid their own deceptions. Some need a degree to secure promotions but are averse to the effort required to gain real ones. Others may be the ?big chief? in some education or social organisation and the title of ?Dr.? before a name would impress everyone not realising that they are fooling themselves and sooner or later the truth will come out.

So, what is involved in the setting up of such degree or diploma mills and how can we avoid such scams?

Setting up of degree - diploma mills

The first thing that is done is to have a convincing-sounding name like the ?University of Somewhere? or the ?Institute of Nowhere?. To further confuse prospective students, these operations often have names remarkably similar to those of legitimate institutions. And since British universities are very popular around the globe, British sounding names like Knightsbridge, Wexford, Palmers Green, Wimbledon, Watford or Mooreland are chosen. This can be particularly confusing as UK and US practices differ in the way colleges are named. In the UK, the University of London and London University are one and the same institution. In the US, however, Texas University may not be the same as the University of Texas so a criminal might well adopt the latter name to mislead victims. Incidentally, one of our compatriots who is a Director got his PhD from one of these universities. More on that later...

?To give some semblance of credibility, the diploma mill may request the submission of a dissertation or thesis accompanied, of course, by a cheque. Its idea of a thesis, however, is not an original piece of research of 80,000 words. More likely, it?s a 200 ? 270 page essay, or an equally brief statement relating to one?s ?«life experience».?

The second requirements are a contact address and a phone number. The usual practice is a post office box number, sometimes supported by a telephone answering service. Some scams are registered in offshore locations, to avoid taxation, and to exploit the lack of restrictions and monitoring.

Genuine colleges are accredited by government, or government-recognized, agencies. So, to further confuse potential students, many diploma mills are themselves accredited, but not by any government-approved body but by equally bogus agencies, sometimes run by the same people as the ?colleges? they claim to accredit by including convincing names such as ?British?, ?American?, ?European?, ?International?, ?National?.

Once a bogus university is set up, students are sought through advertisement. The Internet news groups, press and the World Wide Web are obvious places but some more ambitious diploma mills offer glossy brochures to support the pretence. These appear alongside those of some very prestigious colleges, thus adding to the confusion.

Having attracted the interest of potential students, the final step is to snare them. To give some semblance of credibility, the diploma mill may request the submission of a dissertation or thesis accompanied, of course, by a cheque. Its idea of a thesis, however, is not an original piece of research of 80,000 words. More likely, it?s a 200 ? 270 page essay, or an equally brief statement relating to one?s ?life experience?. Another ploy is to offer reduced fees or scholarships to students, something real universities never do. In the case of Mooreland University, a report of 260 pages will do.

Most of this sounds terribly illegal and dishonest so how do diploma mills get away with it? In the UK, for instance, it is illegal for institutes or individuals to offer UK degrees unless they are authorized by the Secretary of State for Education. However, there is no law to stop them offering non-UK degrees. In the US, education is controlled at state level and different states have different laws.

Selecting colleges and avoiding the scams

Many mills are registered as religious organizations and, as such, are exempt from regulations that apply to other educational institutions. In some states, where fake bible colleges are commonplace, the authorities are reluctant to act for fear of alienating the ?religious groups?. Even when some of the more notorious operations have been shut down by the authorities, they have often resurfaced under different names or in different states. It has been reported that some convicted criminals have even continued to run their operations while in jail.

Before contacting a college, verify their status with a government or government-approved agency in the country concerned, and the acceptability of their qualifications.

Colleges advertise their courses on the internet, in the press, in brochures, and on TV. So do diploma mills with the exception of TV. Treat advertisements with caution and be particularly wary of advertisers that offer too easy a path to a degree, or are accredited in, or operate from, a different country, or in a different state, from their address. Some diploma mills are banned from operating in their ?home? states but, because of lax or non-existent regulation, are free to do so elsewhere. If the only address given is a post office box number, it?s almost certainly a scam.

Verifying their status - UK colleges

In the UK, it?s a criminal offence for any institution or person to award, or offer to award, a UK degree unless that institution is recognized by the Secretary of State for Education. The only recognized UK institutions are those universities which have been established by Royal Charter or Act of Parliament. These are the state-funded universities and one private one (University of Buckingham). The only foreign university so authorized is the UK-based, US regionally-accredited, Richmond College. A complete list of recognized degree-granting institutions can be obtained from the Department for Education and Science.

All the websites of recognised academic institutions in UK end with .ac.uk. Be wary if (a) it ends with .com, (b) their addresses are outside UK, (c) their email addresses ends with .com or @yahoo.com, (d) copies of their PhDs are not lodged at the British Library and (e) their websites include the word ?university? unlike other recognised universities. The Website for a recognised university like Brighton University is www.brighton.ac.uk and not www.brightonuniversity.com. For example, if Mooreland University was recognised by DES, its website would have been www.mooreland.ac.uk and not www.moorelanduniversity.com.

Verifying their status - US colleges

While governmental regulation of universities is the norm in most countries, in the US, regulation is undertaken by private accreditation agencies. Because standards vary between agencies, only degrees from colleges accredited by one of six regional accreditation associations are widely recognized, both nationally and internationally. However, government recognition of these agencies is limited to those approved by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Some suspect colleges and diploma mills advertise themselves as ?candidates for accreditation? by a recognised agency such as the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Such claims should be ignored. A candidate is merely an applicant. One should also be aware that in the US, ?state approval? or ?state authorization? is not the same as accreditation and might only indicate that an institution is solvent.

A list of government-recognized accreditation agencies are found on the CHEA?s website. Lists of accredited colleges are found on the accrediting agencies? websites which can be accessed via links on the CHEA?s site.

Other Information

Many colleges and diploma mills list their Faculties, their significant qualifications, and where they gained them, in their brochures or on their websites. Checks should be particularly made on the source of the qualifications. Be wary, also, of colleges whose Faculty comprise a high percentage of their own graduates.

Many diploma mills have no full-time Faculty. Another give away is that these institutions do not have a library and all enquiries are dealt by the Registrar or the Vice Chancellor of the University. Enquiries to Mooreland University are dealt by the Registrar and those sent to Knightsbridge University are answered by the Vice Chancellor himself.

Talking of Knightsbridge University, although it has a British sounding name, it is not recognised by DES and not only does it not have a library but its website include the word ?university? and is based in Denmark apart from its websites and its email address both ending with .com. It uses a post box in Denmark. According to its website, the University is a private, self-validating institution. Although registered for corporate purposes in Denmark, the University is not part of the formal Danish higher education system and the duration of its course depends entirely on the individual candidate; the university does not apply a minimum registration period for completing the PhD. This says it all.

This is the very university from where one of our compatriots obtained his PhD. His success was widely reported in the national press. Currently a Director of an institute, he is closely associated with the Labour Party and campaigned very hard for the Social Alliance party in a constituency in the South in the last general election. He was also present during the previous local elections especially in the Plaine-des-Papayes area for the Labour Party.

Conclusion

If you want a diploma just to impress your folks, print it yourself. It?s a lot quicker and cheaper to produce than obtain an equally worthless ?degree? from a diploma mill. Get one hoping no-one will find out and when the cat is out of the bag, you will be ridiculed and become a laughing stock not only in Mauritius but around the world with the advent of internet?

DOCTORIA