In recent years, along with the creation of the Internet, getting a fake
degree has become extremely easy. Everyone has heard a story about someone using
a fake degree to get a job, however, now more than ever; top officials are being
accused of using fake degrees and fake credentials on their resumes. This has
caused an acute awareness within corporations when deciding how they hire. With
the creation of many internet-based sites dedicated to creating fake
documentations such as fake degrees, transcripts and course schedules, it is no
wonder that many people, include people that now hold higher level jobs, got
their degrees from a website instead of a University.
Diploma mills are companies that print fake degrees from fake Universities
for a large sum of money. Although these degrees are not cheap, they are worth
nothing. A lot of people have purchased these degrees because they look
extremely official, and sometimes come with packages including things like
transcripts, report cars, and class schedules. It is no surprise that with this
extreme temptation only a few clicks away, that many officials have obtained
some of these degrees.
Many people with important jobs have now been accused of having degrees from
phony schools. In fact, according to a report done for a prominent news station,
people with phony diplomas have jobs such as safety engineers and extremely
secure nuclear power plants; biological weapons experts, workers at NATO
headquarters, and at the Pentagon. This is shocking news to the ordinary, law
abiding citizen, because the general community is taught to respect and trust
these people in high, government positions.
Some prominent government officials have been found to list degrees on their
resumes that are from diploma mills that have been shut down on fraudulent
charges. For example, the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Charles Abell, holds a
master’s degree from Columbus University, which happens to be a diploma mill
that was shut down in Louisiana and in being investigated in several other
states. Also, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Patricia Walker, has a degree from
Pacific Western listed among her degrees on her resume. Pacific Western, just
like Columbus University, also happens to be a diploma mill that is banned in
Oregon. Also, Rene Drouin, who is on an advisory committee for the Departments
of Treasury and Education, has two degree from fake diploma mills; one of these
mills is called Kensington University. Another person who has a degree for
Kensington University is Florida State Rep Jennifer Carroll, who recently
stepped down from her position on the National Commission on Presidential
Scholars. Although this seems like it would be extremely important news to other
government officials, when the pentagon was contacted for interviews, they
turned them down and said that they didn’t consider there to be an issue.
In some states, using a fake degree is a crime. Many people believe that
employing people who hold fake degrees violates people’s safety, especially in
certain jobs. For example, it would not be safe to have a person with a fake
degree teach children, would for homeland security, design bridges or building,
or work in the medical field. This could cause extreme safety issues that people
do not know about. It is certainly not fair to put people in unsafe situations
when they do not know about it.
Some people who take classes at fake Universities are also shocked when they
find out that the online University is not real. Many people work hard and
believe that the money that they are spending is going to help them in the long
run. Because there are so many great online educational opportunities, some
people forget that when there are also many fake online educational services.
Because it is so easy to obtain fake degrees, employer, and people who are
looking to obtain an online degree, should be extra cautious when looking at
credentials.
While online educational opportunities are great, people who are looking to
take online classes should look into the school they are planning on using very
carefully. A very good way to check to credibility of an online school is to
check and see if the school holds any national credentials. If they do not, a
person should make a more thorough investigation of the school before paying
them money. With the increase of fake universities, many companies are taking
extra care to make sure their employees have valid degrees. If not, there will
be even more people in high-level positions that are using fake degrees to get
ahead.