Investigator Says Many More Fake Degrees, Diploma Mill Grads Filling Gov't Positions
by Jim Brown
May 17, 2004
(AgapePress) - The U.S. government is being urged to close a loophole in a federal law that enables its employees to pay for bogus college degrees with taxpayer dollars.The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs investigated just three unaccredited schools and found that 463 federal employees have degrees from such "diploma mills" -- companies offering so-called "life-experience degrees" or other spurious diplomas and certificates for little or no academic work. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that two of the schools received $170,000 worth of federal payments for the fake degrees of government employees, and the Defense Department alone paid nearly $70,000 for employees to obtain bogus degrees.
Michael Bopp, the staff director and chief counsel for the Senate committee, says there are hundreds of these diploma mills in operation, so the scandal is much larger than the investigators have so far discovered.
"Congress passed a law last year which makes it very clear that the federal government cannot pay for employees to get degrees from diploma mills," Bopp explains. "The problem is that, under federal regulations that have been promulgated pursuant to that law, agencies can still pay for courses at diploma mills."
But according to the investigative committee's head, federal agencies often pay for their employees to enroll in diploma mills without realizing that they are underwriting the purchase of degrees, not simply paying for courses.
And Bopp says these diploma mills have become increasingly sophisticated, making use of a marketing strategy that preys upon people who believe they deserve a degree. He contends that the Office of Personnel Management, which governs employees within the federal workforce, has not made it clear that diploma mill degrees are unacceptable for those in government employment and security positions.
As a result, the Senate committee's chief counsel says, '"Some people who believe that they've earned their degrees might be actually putting diploma mill degrees down on applications both for employment and security clearances without realizing that what they're doing is wrong."
Nevertheless, Bopp notes, listing a bogus degree is an offense that could lead to a federal employee's firing or, in cases where fraud can be proven, even to criminal prosecution.
