Business booms for makers of fake college degrees

The legitimacy of a degree of a Mahoning County sheriff
candidate is in question.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Interested in earning a master’s degree or a doctorate without having to do much, if any, work?

Then look no further than the Internet, where at least 300 “colleges and universities” are offering such degrees for as little as a few hundred dollars.

The problem is these “colleges and universities” aren’t recognized as legitimate schools by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation.

But if you have a degree from one of these places, you probably don’t have to worry. Many companies do minimal or no background checks on employees’ education, so the phony degrees are as good as the real ones, said John Bear of suburban San Francisco, who is considered an expert on “diploma mills.”

At least 50,000 fake doctorates were given last year compared to 40,000 given by legitimate universities, according to Bear.

“Nobody seems to care,” he said. “They don’t see it as a problem.”

Bear co-authored the “Bears’ Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning,” and “Degree Mills: The Billion-Dollar Industry That Has Sold More Than a Million Fake Degrees.” He also served as a consultant to the FBI’s DipScam diploma mill task force for its duration from 1979 to 1990. That investigation led to the shutdown of about 30 fake colleges and universities.

But with the explosion of the Internet, there are now at least 300 diploma mills in operation, Bear added.

If a diploma mill gets shut down, the owners move to another state and set up shop using a different name, said Richard Porter, spokesman for the Council on Higher Education Accreditation in Washington, D.C.

“When the heat comes on, they move on and open elsewhere,” he said. “Anyone with money to set up a Web site and process credit cards can operate a degree mill.”

The council is an association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities that recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations.

It is the largest institutional higher education membership organization in the country. Accredited colleges and universities can be found on chea.org — the council’s Web site.

The discussion over diploma mills is having an impact on the Mahoning County sheriff’s race.

Sheriff Randall Wellington of Youngstown filed a protest against David P. Aey, a former deputy sheriff and his challenger in the March 4 Democratic primary, claiming Aey isn’t eligible to run.

State law requires sheriff candidates to have at least two years of post-secondary education from an accredited college or university, or at least two years of supervisory experience as a peace officer at the rank of corporal or above, or to have served at the rank of sergeant or above in the five-year period before the filing deadline.

Aey says he has more than three years as a field supervisor for the U.S. Marshals Service’s Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.

He also received an associate degree in criminal justice administration last year from Belford University. The online school advertises on its Web site — belforduniversity.org — that a person can add degrees to their résumé in just seven days. It also has links to “order your degree based on experience” and another offering those without experience to take an equivalency test.

Belford officials didn’t respond to requests from The Vindicator to comment.

Accreditation proves the credibility of a college or university, Bear and Porter say. There are doctors, teachers, air traffic controllers and countless others who are employed with diplomas from degree mills, Bear and Porter say.

Degrees or college credits from schools not accredited by the Department of Education and/or the CHEA are not considered legitimate for students or employees of Youngstown State University, said Ron Cole, a YSU spokesman.

To get into the university’s master’s degree program, one requirement is a bachelor’s degree from an accredited school, Cole said. An associate degree from a nonaccredited school is meaningless to students seeking bachelor’s degrees from YSU, he said.

Also, those who seek employment at YSU for jobs that require degrees — such as professors — must have degrees from accredited universities, Cole added. “If they don’t have it, we don’t recognize it.”

Youngstown’s civil service commission requires original transcripts from colleges and universities for those who apply for city jobs that have educational requirements, said Jennifer Lewis, its administrator.

“We haven’t had anyone who’s applied [for a job with a] questionable degree,” she said. “In a case like that, though, I’d check with CHEA.”

Aey said he spent about six to eight months working toward a degree from Belford when he was notified that his life skills made him immediately eligible for an associate degree. Aey said he passed a test, paid about $400 to $500 and received the degree.

The Mahoning County Board of Elections is having a hearing on the protest today.

Aey said he never heard Belford referred to as a diploma mill not accredited by the DOE and/or CHEA and doesn’t see this as an issue.

When told of Aey’s comments, Bear laughed.

“Anyone with a two-digit IQ could see this is a fake university by its Web site,” he said. “You’d be an idiot to not know this is fake. It’s time-consuming and expensive to get a degree.”

Bear was surprised that Belford offers an associate degree because most people who obtain degrees from places such as Belford pay the few extra bucks for doctorates.

“You’ve almost got to feel sorry for the guy,” he said of Aey. “It’s like robbing a bank and stealing $3.”

skolnick@vindy.com