Is it possible to obtain a degree without earning it? Of course! You can simply buy one. However, citing a purchased degree on your resume may be considered fraud in some states and in many countries. Even worse, you won't have learned anything of any value.
What Are Diploma Mills?
"Diploma mills," also known as "degree mills," tend to have drastically lower requirements for academic coursework, with some even allowing their students to purchase credentials without any education. Students may be required to purchase textbooks, submit homework, and take tests, but degrees are nonetheless conferred after little or no study.
Diploma mills are motivated by profit and often claim accreditation by non-recognized or unapproved accrediting bodies ("accreditation mills") set up for the purposes of providing an appearance of authenticity.
What Are Accreditation Mills?
An "accreditation mill" is an organization that awards educational accreditation to higher education programs without having government authority or recognition from mainstream academia to operate as an accreditor. Accreditation mills are much like diploma mills and, in many cases, are closely associated with diploma mills. The "accreditation" they grant has no legal or academic value but is used in diploma mill marketing to help attract students.
One of the advantages of earning a degree from an accredited program is that you will be sure to avoid the trap of "diploma mills," which award degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official accrediting bodies. ABET accreditation assures students that their program provides them with the knowledge and skills necessary to enter their chosen profession.
Avoiding Diploma and Accreditation Mills
Several national and international bodies publish lists of accreditors that are known to lack the necessary legal authority or recognition. Most legitimate accrediting organizations in the United States are recognized by either the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the U.S. Department of Education. ABET has been recognized by CHEA since 1997.
Accreditation Mill Characteristics
Watch CHEA's short video on how you can avoid being fooled by an accreditation or diploma mill.
CHEA also provides a list of attributes of accreditation mills to help us identify them. An accreditation operation might be a "mill" if it:
- Allows accreditation to be purchased
- Allows institutions to attain accredited status in a very short period of time
- Does not conduct site visits or interview key personnel as part of its accreditation process, instead reviewing institutions solely on the basis of submitted documents
- Grants “permanent” accreditation, with no requirement for periodic review
- Claims recognition from an authority such as CHEA without appearing on lists of accreditors recognized by that authority
- Has a name that is very similar to the name of a recognized accrediting organization
- Publishes a list of institutions or programs that it has accredited without the knowledge of the listed institutions and programs
- Publishes claims for which there is no evidence