The popularity and availability of accredited online universities has grown exponentially in the past few years. In fact, the number of students obtaining online university degrees has increased by 30% each year for the past few years, and that number continues to rise. Unfortunately, as these numbers increased so too have the presence of diploma mills.
What is a Diploma Mill?
Motivated only by making a profit, diploma mills are non-accredited organizations that award degrees with poor or no academic study. They are more interested in taking your money than they are in providing you with a legitimate education or a degree that will help to further your career. Their money is made by selling fake degrees and transcripts as well as providing academic references for employment.
Like many accredited online universities, diploma mills offer degrees at all levels from a bachelor’s to a doctoral degree. They tout the speed at which you are able to earn a degree for an extremely low cost. Some of these organizations misleadingly claim to be accredited by fake or international accreditation boards who do not have the authority to grant accreditation. To further confuse you, the fake accreditation boards attempt to appear more legitimate by copying real accreditation websites and marketing materials.
Don’t be fooled. If the online university information that you’re finding seems pretty unbelievable, it probably is. While many accredited online universities offer accelerated degrees at a lower cost than traditional schools, they certainly don’t provide instant degrees at a mere fraction of the cost. And you’ll definitely still need to complete the same amount of coursework for a legitimate online university. Remember, any worthwhile degree will make you work hard for that diploma!
Not Worth the Risk
The thought of getting a degree without any of the work at just a fraction of the cost may sound appealing, but it’s just not worth the risk. People found to be using fake degrees can be declined employment, terminated from their jobs, or in some cases actually face criminal charges.
How to Avoid a Diploma Mill
Diploma mills go to great lengths to appear legitimate, and it can be difficult to differentiate them from accredited online universities. However, certain clues can be found among most of these illegitimate organizations. If any online university that you are researching exhibits any of the below characteristics, you should consider them red flags and you may need to further examine their accreditation.
A lack of accreditation or the use of terms “licensed” or “state authorized” instead of claiming legitimate accreditation.
The institution’s name is not exact, but very similar to a well-known university.
Very little academic work is required, though credit is often offered for “real world” or “life experience”.
You are able to pay extra for academic honors.
No physical address or teaching facilities other than a post office box are mentioned.
Marketing materials often include spelling or grammatical errors.
The application process does not ask for any testing scores or any other academic history.
Little or no interaction with professors takes place.
You became aware of the school through a spam email or some other type of unsolicited method.
Their URL does not end in .edu.
Discounts are offered for enrolling in multiple degree programs.
The institution charges per degree as opposed to per credit or term, and these degrees can be attained in a few days or weeks.
Still Unsure?
If you are still unsure about the legitimacy of an online university there are several steps that you can take to confirm your suspicions.
Contact your Better Business Bureau or state attorney general’s office to verify that the school is operating legally.
Contact the school and ask all sorts of questions about faculty, degrees, experience, and reputation.
Search for online university reviews to see what others may be saying about the school.
The U.S. Department of Education has posted a list of Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies, check it if you are unsure about the legitimacy of an accreditation.
Rest assured that all schools listed on our site are legitimately accredited online universities. They are well-respected, reputable online universities offering a variety of degrees for dozens of fields.