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Degree Mills, What They Are and How To Avoid Them

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Top 10 States for Degree Mills and Fake Online Degrees
Diploma Mill Police  >  Degree Mills, What They Are and How To Avoid Them
By GetEducated.com Consumer Reporting Team   
 
Top States for Diploma Mills and Fake Degrees in the USHere's a list most states in the USA likely hoped they'd never make. A list of the top 10 states to operate a degree mill or a diploma mill.  Phony online colleges crank out fake diplomas and phony college degrees at a dizzying pace.

Sadly, the United States may lead the world in diploma mills, degree mills, and fake online colleges, according to a report by Verifile Limited, a United Kingdom firm.


Here is a list of the top 10 diploma mill states in the U.S.  According to Verifile these states may be home to the highest number of fake universities—unaccredited institutions of higher education—and unrecognized accrediting agencies:


1. California (134)
2. Hawaii (94)
3. Washington (87)
4. Florida (57)
5. Texas (53)
6. New York (44)
7. Louisiana (39)
8. Illinois (29)
8. (tie) Nevada (29)
10. Arizona (28)

California ranks #1 among degree mill states because the state has long allowed unaccredited colleges to legally operate and award degrees. 

Read more about Verifile's report on fake online colleges and online degree mills
 
Should I Tell Employers I Earned My Degree Online?
Diploma Mill Police  >  Degree Mills, What They Are and How To Avoid Them
By Vicky Phillips, Chief Education Analyst   
 
How Earning a Degree Online Can Help Your Career

I’m worried about employer acceptance of my online degree. I just completed my bachelors online and am ready to send out my resume. Should I use my cover letter to reveal to potential employers that I earned my degree online?

—Holly, Nashville, TN



These days, taking college or post-secondary courses online is not an oddity. In 2010, more than 85 percent of traditional residential colleges will offer college courses online or through distance learning.  

Online education is no longer the future. It’s right now.
Employers are embracing online education in record numbers.
Unlike a decade ago, employers no longer automatically perceive online education or distance education as inferior or second class.

As a result, there is no need to reveal in a cover letter or resume that you “earned your degree online.”  Details about why you chose any particular type of school—such as a private school versus a public school or a Christian college versus a secular college—are best left to discussion during an actual interview. 

Learn which online schools MAY carry stigmas and how to discuss your online degree with a prospective employer
 
Unrecognized and Fake Agencies for Online College Accreditation
Diploma Mill Police  >  Degree Mills, What They Are and How To Avoid Them
 
Here is the official Get Educated list of 30-plus distance learning accrediting agencies that claim to oversee a variety of online college and university degree programs.  Most "accredit" diploma mills or degree mills.

Consumers Beware - NONE of these accrediting agencies are recognized as college accreditors in the U.S. by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation or the U.S. Department of Education. As such, colleges claiming “accreditation” by these agencies are not accepted as valid providers of online education or degrees and should be approached with great caution if online college credibility is important to you.

Remember -- Most diploma mills and degree mills are accredited -- but by fake or phony agencies that the degree mills themselves own and operate!
View list of unrecognized, fake and dubious online college accrediting agencies
 
Distance Learning, College Accreditation & Online Degrees: The Facts
Diploma Mill Police  >  Degree Mills, What They Are and How To Avoid Them
By Vicky Phillips, Chief Education Analyst   
 

Accreditation provides for the independent review of education programs for the purpose of determining if that education is of uniform and sound quality.
College accreditation is important if you want to have a public record of your learning that will be widely accepted by employers, professional associations and other colleges and universities.
Learn more about what to look for when evaluating online school accreditation
 
Top 10 Signs: Real College Degree or Diploma Mill?
Diploma Mill Police  >  Degree Mills, What They Are and How To Avoid Them
By Vicky Phillips, Chief Education Analyst   
 
A diploma mill, also known as a degree mill, is a phony university that sell college diplomas—the piece of paper itself—rather than the educational experience. Diploma mills are scam operations literally crank out fake paper diplomas to anyone who pays the requested "tuition.”

Diploma Mills promise a fast college degree based on life experience. The Get Educated online education team has prepared these Top 10 Signs of on Online College Degree Mill to help online students protect themselves from this popular online education scam.
Many maintain impressive-looking websites.

All of them advertise heavily online under the terms fast degree, life experience degrees, fast online degree, and work experience degree.
To protect yourself, you need to look behind the curtain. In other words, flip past the flashy graphics on the website and the promises of an instant degree for the name of the school’s accreditation agency.
Read more to learn the top signs you are dealing with a degree mill
 


 
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