Whether studying at home or abroad, what worries students most is encountering "diploma mills."
Lucy received an offer from Hamilton University through an agency, and the school reduced her tuition from $7,295 to just $2,295. Overjoyed, she thought she was about to enter the renowned American institution Hamilton College.
Following the address on the offer letter, she arrived in Evanston, Wyoming, only to be greeted by four aging two-story office buildings, with no more than eight six-story teaching buildings in total—far from the "prestigious university" she had expected.
After talking with local students, she discovered that the so-called Hamilton University had nothing to do with Hamilton College; it was nothing more than a privately run "diploma mill" that would never be recognized back in China.
Cases like the one above have become all too common in recent years. The deceptions involved in these "diploma mills" can be either fake schools (for example, "Trump University" claimed to be personally curated by Donald Trump, teaching the secrets of a real estate mogul's success with the chance to meet him in person—when in reality, you might at best take a photo with a cardboard cutout of Trump, and the teaching quality was abysmal) or fake degrees (like Dickinson State University, which formed partnerships with 19 Chinese universities and provided offers to hundreds of ineligible foreign students, awarding them degrees without completing the coursework).
What's most absurd is that these schools are technically legal entities, because in a country like the United States, anyone can apply to establish a school. But the diplomas earned with so much time and money are simply not recognized by employers.
To help you avoid these pitfalls, today we're going to talk about so-called "diploma mills."
A diploma mill, also known as a degree mill or fake university, is an institution that profits by selling diplomas, churning them out like a factory. Broadly speaking, it refers to any higher education institution that lacks academic accreditation or proper qualifications—often nothing more than a private cram school, or sometimes not even that.
The fraud perpetrated by diploma mills includes fake schools as well as fake degrees. These universities and colleges often use names similar to well-known institutions, selling diplomas and muddying the waters. They typically enroll international students, who then use these easily obtained diplomas for job-hunting in their home countries.
These diploma mills share common characteristics:
Admission standards drop at the drop of a hat
The primary goal of such schools is to make money, so they have virtually no requirements for student admission. Although the stated requirements may seem high, when you actually apply, a poor language score or a low GPA is no problem—admission criteria will change to suit you. When you encounter such "easygoing" schools, you should be on your guard.
The school touts itself to the skies
To attract students, these schools describe themselves in the most grandiose terms, claiming that a former U.S. vice president once studied there, famous lawyers are among its alumni, or boasting a 100% employment rate. They also play tricks with the school name, often incorporating words like "national," "international," "Pacific," "world," or the name of a state. Some schools even tout "international accreditation" as a selling point. They may even take the initiative to offer to reduce part of the tuition, promise job placement after graduation, or provide "internship credits" and other rosy commitments.
The school name closely resembles that of a famous institution
Just as in the opening example, the difference might be just a word—"College" instead of "University"—or the same name but a different location, like "XXX Branch Campus," using a well-known brand to fleece students.
Teaching conditions are abysmal
The range of majors is narrow, offering only whatever is trendy. Faculty are mostly part-timers, and the student-teacher ratio is very low, sometimes as bad as 40:1. Instructors are primarily teachers from public schools moonlighting for extra money. Moreover, the facilities are terrible: the library may hold only a few thousand books, there are no dormitories, a rented office building counts as a classroom, and the computer lab might consist of just a couple of rooms.
Getting a diploma is far too easy
This type of deception targets those seeking to pad their credentials. The usual pitch is that there's a partnership program that allows you to finish the coursework in a short time, or there's no need to physically attend classes—through correspondence, you can graduate and receive the certificate.
P.S.: One type of study abroad program also carries certain risks—the so-called "1+3," "2+2," "2+3" models, where you study for 1–2 years at a domestic or foreign institution and then transfer to a well-known university. If you are taking such a cooperative program at a domestic university, be especially careful to confirm that it has been registered and approved by the Ministry of Education.
Studying abroad is no small matter; you must keep your eyes wide open when choosing a school. Many people fall victim to diploma mills for the following reasons:
First, they are unfamiliar with overseas schools themselves, and then are misled when consulting with illegal study-abroad agencies.
In April 2016, to crack down on unscrupulous agencies, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security set up a sting operation, creating a diploma mill—the University of Northern New Jersey—to lure in fraudulent agents. As a result, 22 black-market agencies were uncovered, and the thousands of international students involved, mostly from China, largely faced deportation.
There are also those who didn’t study seriously abroad and ended up with poor grades, so they resort to buying a fancy-looking fake diploma. Or, for a better shot at a job promotion, they actively purchase an impressive-looking diploma from a diploma mill.
Where there is demand, there is supply. Diploma mills have now become an industry of their own.
An investigation by the BBC found that a Pakistani “degree factory,” Axact, ran hundreds of fake online universities. These universities had names like “Brooklyn Park University” and “Nixon University,” which sounded very real. Their websites displayed pictures of smiling students and fake news stories praising the institution. In 2015, over 215,000 bogus Axact degrees were sold, including master’s and doctoral degrees.
Although governments worldwide are actively combating such illegal practices, and the number of diploma mills is decreasing year by year, one can still easily get caught if not careful.
How to verify a diploma mill
● Confirm whether the school is recognized by China's Ministry of Education.
Check whether the university’s name appears on the list of accredited institutions on the Ministry of Education’s Education涉外监管信息网 (jsj.edu.cn). The universities listed there have been strictly reviewed by the Chinese Ministry of Education and have received positive feedback from Chinese students abroad.
Most popular study-abroad destinations are covered, and the search is very convenient. Website: http://www.jsj.edu.cn/api/index/mdDesc/gwyx
● Confirm whether the school is accredited by its home country's authoritative bodies.
Take the U.S. as an example: a legitimate university is always accredited by a recognized U.S. accreditor. The U.S. Department of Education does not accredit universities; instead, the six regional accrediting associations provide accreditation. The full lists of all institutions accredited by these six regional bodies can be found at www.chea.org, or on each regional accreditor’s website.
● Choose schools with a long history and a good reputation whenever possible.
Schools with a long history usually have built a good reputation over time. They often have a strong campus culture, consistent teaching quality, and are generally genuine, legitimate institutions.
● Consult authoritative rankings.
Again, taking the U.S. as an example, you can check widely recognized rankings such as the U.S. News & World Report university rankings. The U.S. News rankings are very comprehensive, covering not only overall national university rankings but also liberal arts college rankings, regional university rankings, and rankings by specific programs.
● Check the school's website information.
Look closely at the founding date, academic programs, and other details. Also, note whether the school's website URL ends in .edu—that’s the sign of a legitimate institution’s website.
Furthermore, legitimate universities usually assign students an official student email address. Diploma mill staff often use generic free email accounts, and they won’t give students an email address ending with the school’s unique domain.
To all of you preparing to study abroad, make sure you do your homework when choosing a school!
I hope this article helps you. If you still have questions about study abroad applications or essay writing, feel free to scan the QR code below to add "CheersYou（清柚教育） Bro (WeChat ID: qingyouge23)" for a consultation~
