Yesterday, we posted a story from the Chicago Tribune about a Diploma Mill bust where the fake university sold at least 9,600 bogus diplomas. We could assume from that story that these fake diplomas were used by the purchasers to obtain employment in positions they would be otherwise unqualified for.
Today, the Tribune is reporting some specific examples of how the fake degrees were used and the resulting ramifications. The group includes a group of five Berwyn (Chicago Suburb) police officers and a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) instrcutor, who were able to use the degrees to get increased compensation.
The Tribune reports: “The Junior ROTC instructor for CPS, now on leave for an unrelated matter, received a raise from the school district in 2003 based on a PhD and master’s degree allegedly bought from diploma mills affiliated with the fictional “St. Regis University.” The police officers received their degrees from the same scheme in 2001-02, and at least some of them allegedly benefited financially, according to a city official.
View the full story here . . .
Employers must be vigilant and perform proper background checks on all candidates which includes an Education Verification when a degree is required for a position or will qualify them for greater compensation and, or benefits.
I found a great resource for employers to learn about diploma mills on eLearners.com entitled Diploma Mills: How to Identify and Avoid Fake Online Degrees.
[...] and its students. By now millions of people across the country and the world have learned about the diploma mill in upstate Washington who sold false degrees from the bogus institution of “St. Regis University”. Well, one could understand how [...]
[...] –> We’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of months talking about diploma mills and how job applicants are using fraudulent degrees to gain employment, promotions, incentive pay, [...]
[...] of you recall that we highlighted this practice earlier in the year when Chicago-area police officers were accused of purchasing fake degrees from a diploma mill for the same purpose. This is clearly an emerging problem. It just goes to [...]
[...] Remember, that employers are getting more suspicious of degrees from institutions that they do not recognize as more and misrepresent their educational background. You don’t want to run the risk that they think you have obtained your academic credentials from a diploma mill. [...]