If you’ve done much digging into online education, it’s possible you’ve come across the term “diploma mill”.
What is a diploma mill?
A diploma mill is a fake organization or institution that issues people fake degrees and steals their money. In other words, they pretend to be on online school, but the diploma they give you is utterly worthless. They are con-artists, and it is mostly definitely in your best interest to stay as far away from them as possible.
What Makes an Organization a Diploma Mill?
The main reason why a degree from a diploma mill is worthless is because diploma mills don’t have accreditation. Their “curriculum” has not been approved, their standards haven’t been measured, and therefore, they are not recognized as a legitimate source of education.
A degree from a diploma mill is no more useful than a doctor’s note written by someone who’s not a doctor.
How Do They Trick People?
So how exactly do people come to believe that diploma mills are legitimate online high schools and colleges?
Well, diploma mills have a few different tactics. Sometimes they’ll name and brand themselves very similarly to a major school that everyone has heard of. This isn’t so different from email scams who steal your security information by pretending to be famous websites.
It’s always important to check website URLs and to look carefully at the name of the school.
Some schools try to lie and say that they are accredited when they are not. If you are unsure about an online school, simply contact their supposed accreditor and confirm whether or not they are real.
It’s a Serious Problem
Diploma mills exist all around the world, giving people the false promise of a better education. In addition to stealing money from good people, they make legitimate online schools look bad. And we don’t like that.
Online education is a wonderful thing made possible by today’s technology. We are fully committed to helping put an end to these diploma mills. Don’t fall for their tricks.
