[Air-l] Fake University Degree Programs

[Steve Fox (NLG)]

I too receive a lot of these mails soliciting "fake" degree programs. However, because I work full-time and at one time was researching some on-line educational alternatives, I came across some on-line programs that were a) extensions of accredited universities, e.g. the MBA at the University of Colorado, which is quite well-known, and b) legitimate on-line universities that offered similar programs, but who were going through the accreditation process. While I'm not sure what this process entails, I imagine that legitimate on-line institutions exist for legitimate subject areas that can be sustained through a self-study environment. This leads me to believe that fake diplomas, i.e. illigitimate on-line universities, are really not doing the on-line educational system any justice. And for people who actively seek on-line educational alternatives, this presents a real problem. It also presents a real problem for the development of the on-line educational system as a whole. When we look at this in the context of the culture or experience of cyberspace, the fraudulent solicitation of diplomas inhibits the growth of something that could be a really great thing for people who want to extend themselves to the cyberspatial experience but can't because (beyond the obvious offerings of phrenology :-) ) they don't know how to discriminate between on-line institutions.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Friedman [mailto:ken.friedman at bi.no]
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2002 3:57 AM
To: air-l at aoir.org
Subject: [Air-l] Fake University Degree Programs


Christian Berrio asks whether the degrees
touted in current spam ads are forgeries

--snip--

Diplomas from prestigious non-accredited
universities based on your present knowledge
and life experience.

No required tests, classes, books, or interviews.

Bachelors, masters, MBA, and doctorate (PhD)
diplomas available in the field of your choice.

--snip--

These university offers are not offers for
forged university diplomas.

They are solicitations for the sale of
"genuine" and _worthless_ diplomas from a
fake university.

All serious university degrees are offered
by accredited universities. Universities are
accredited by the government in most
nations, usually through the ministry of
education. In the United States, this takes
place at a second remove through the
regional accrediting agencies authorized by
the department of education. This level of
accreditation is necessary for tax status,
for proper status in relation to student loans,
for many kinds of financing and support, and
for other purposes. In addition the specific
professional schools or programs of many
universities are ALSO accredited under the
special accreditation programs of various
associations. In business, for example, this
would include accreditation by the AACSB
in the US and by EQUIS in Europe. Some
international schools seek these specialized
accreditations from other nations specifically
to establish value, and ranking, and to make
the school attractive to outstanding foreign
students, especially in the competition for
talented research students at master's and
especially at the doctoral level.

The tip-off on the solicitation you received
was the line "prestigious non-accredited
universities." Since no one recognizes a degree
from a "non-accredited university," and since a
"non-accredited university" seeks none of the
kinds of status or funding for which accreditation
is required, anyone may establish one. In effect,
anyone who receives this ad could just as
easily establish his own non-accredited university,
and give himself his own PhD. Those who want
several degrees from different universities can
establish one for each degree.

The tricky aspect of this is that some fake
universities emulate the names of real universities
with sound-alike or resemblance names.
This was once a common practice, but
aggressive trademark action by legitimate
universities to protect their names is
curtailing this.

What can't be stopped is the use of totally
fake names or the use of names that are not
protected in a remote jurisdiction. For example,
it might be difficult for the administration of the
real Patrice Lumumba University of Moscow
in Russia to locate and take legal action in the
United States against someone from Moscow,
Idaho, who sets up his own Patrice Lumumba
University. The ancient University of Montpelier
would probably never learn about a fake
university of the same name operating in Texas.

For the most part, though, these places chose
fancy, pan-Galactic names such as The University
of Higher Studies or Oceanic University. The
tendency of some universities to change names
to slightly wild new versions doesn't help keep
things sorted.

In some cases, these degrees are also awarded
for subjects that simply don't exist in real
universities, such as theosophy, astrology, or
phrenology.

The term "prestigious" is as meaningful or
meaningless as anyone wishes to make it. For
some people in certain places, it is far more
prestigious to own a relatively complete set of
Pokemon cards than to own a complete set
of college degrees. Prestige is a factor of
social circumstance.

These non-accredited universities are primarily
what used to be called diploma mills, and their
main purpose is earning money for the people
who own them.

Anyone likely to require a degree these days
tends to check not only on the degree, but on the
university. To many people, it doesn't matter,
though. They simply want a degree to feel better
about themselves or to sound better to friends
and neighbors.

For those purposes, a "non-accredited university"
may be as good as any.

These aren't forged diplomas, though.

For a small fee, I'll be happy to send you
an absolutely authentic doctorate in phrongistics
from Laurel and Hardy University.

If phrongistics isn't your thing, I'll invite the
subscribers of AIR-L to join me in establishing
the Pan-Galactic University of Higher Studies
Department of Cyberspace Programs. We'll
offer an MBA in dot.commerce and a Ph.D.
in anything you care to name. With so many
unaccredited mouths to feed, of course, this
will cost a bit more than a doctorate from
L&HU.

Nevertheless, at L&HU, "no one is turned down"
and we can guarantee "confidentiality assured."

In contrast, who knows what those cyberspace
people at PGUHS will be doing with your
prestigious, non-accredited degree?

On the whole, I'd say the Laurel and Hardy
doctoral program in phrongistics is the far
wiser choice.

Of course, to keep the record absolutely straight,
most of us who earned accredited degrees
are aware of two things.

First, it is the degree that counts, not the diploma.
The diploma is merely a piece of paper that
signifies the award of a degree. The necessary legal
document is the transcript kept in the files of each
university's registrar.

Second, the prestige conferred by these degrees
is not always as great as many would wish. One
always hopes on graduation that this degree or
that will help one to get a good job, meet the right
member of the opposite or the same sex, finally get
one's family to recognize that one is an adult, etc.

What you learn is that:

1) Jobs are scarce for everyone.

2) Grandma always loves you, you'll always
be a child to your Mom, and your Dad still kisses
you no matter how long you have had your Ph.D.

3) The degree generally doesn't matter much to
the girls, boys, women or men whom you want
to attract. On the other hand, a good Pokemon
collection may do the trick.

-- 

Ken Friedman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design
Department of Technology and Knowledge Management
Norwegian School of Management

Visiting Professor
Advanced Research Institute
School of Art and Design
Staffordshire University

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