The prevalence of fraudulent, substandard, and illegal diplomas and degrees is an ever-increasing problem in the United States.

The United States Congress has found that the safety of the American public is particularly endangered by the sale of fraudulent degrees, and that the preeminence of the United States in science and engineering, as well as the prestige and reputation of American universities, is threatened by the trafficking of fraudulent degrees, diplomas, and certifications. (109th Congress, 2006)

Religious and theological degrees and other degrees from religiously affiliated institutions are some of the most commonly issued fraudulent, substandard and illegal credentials. The reason for the prevalence of fraudulent religious and theological degrees is the fact that anyone can incorporate a “church” by registering as a non-profit organization within a state. This “church” can then claim that its bylaws grant it the authority to issues certifications and degrees. Unfortunately many innocent people seeking a religious education fall victim to these “churches” issuing “degrees” that aren’t worth the paper the phony diploma is printed on.

These organizations issuing fraudulent and substandard religious degrees often claim that their action is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and guarantees of religious freedom. Simply put this is not the case. Religiously affiliated institutions are not exempt from state oversight under the First Amendment, nor do they gain the privilege of issuing fraudulent, substandard, and illegal degrees under protection of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

As an example of this, the Texas Attorney General has issued an opinion (JC-0200) that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not exempt religiously-affiliated institutions from the requirements under the Texas Education Code (Chapter 61, Subchapter G). The statute does not regulate any religious practice. Institutions that have a religious affiliation are free to exercise their religious beliefs. The law is written to regulate very narrowly those activities that are academic only, such as representations that the instruction is college level or that the student can receive a degree, and not to impinge on any religious practice or belief. In addition, institutions that do not wish to meet the academic standards of a higher educational institution are free to teach and prepare students for ministry positions as long as they do not assert that the level of their education is collegiate, either by offering degrees or calling the institution a college, university, or seminary. (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2007)

Unaccredited, religiously affiliated institutions are free to teach their religious doctrine as they see fit, but they may not legally represent themselves as colleges, universities, or seminaries; nor may they issues degrees or titles associated with degrees.

RELIGIOUS VS. ACADEMIC DEGREES

A commonly heard claim from institutions issuing fraudulent, substandard or illegal religious degrees is that there is a difference between a religious and an academic degree, and that the rules that govern academic degrees simply don’t apply to the issuance of a religious or theological degree.

We have already seen that in the opinion of the Texas Attorney General religiously-affiliated institutions are NOT exempt from meeting the requirements of the Texas Education Code, but what about legitimate religious schools and theological seminaries, how do they view their own degrees?

Of the 251 religiously based colleges, universities and theological seminaries currently recognized by the ‘Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada’ and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) all maintain an academic curriculum and structure and (based on a study of their web-sites and publications) consider their degrees to be an “academic degrees.”

The on-line encyclopedia ‘Wikipedia’ is a continually reviewed updated and reference source which can be edited by anyone. Wikipedia articles offer insight into the general public perception of a topic. When we look at the Wikipedia entries for Doctor of Theology and Doctor of Divinity we see that they are both defined as “academic degrees:

• “Doctor of Theology (in Latin Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated Th.D.) is a terminal academic degree in theology.” – (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Theology)

• “Doctor of Divinity (D.D., Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity.” – (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Divinity)

Clearly every legitimate theological seminary and college or university offering a theological program considers an academic curriculum and structure essential to their degrees, and the public impression of religiously based degrees is that they are in fact academic degrees.

One should be extremely wary of any entity that issues degrees with no academic curriculum or structure, claiming that its religious nature somehow exempts it from any academic standard or requirements. Such an entity is almost certainly issuing fraudulent and illegal degrees, or at best is issuing a substandard degree that confers no qualification or legitimate credential whatsoever, and may in fact be illegal to use in many states.

WARNING SIGNS

One should be particularly aware of degree scams that offer you credit for your life experience and current spiritual work, giving you an immediate doctorate degree in divinity, theology, or ministry all for a few hundred dollars and perhaps requiring a short paper of no more than a couple thousand words.

Another warning sign that an institution is issuing fraudulent, substandard, or illegal degrees is if they make it a point to explain why their degrees are “bonafide legitimate doctorate degrees.” While a truly legitimate college or university will normally identify its accreditation it is highly unlikely that it will have to stress why its degrees are “bonafide and legitimate”. Only an institution issuing fraudulent degrees needs to attempt to convince you of their legitimacy.

It is important to confirm the physical address of any school before you enroll. A legitimate college, university, or seminary will have a physical business address, even if it is set up to provide only on-line study. Any institution using a mail drop address is almost certainly issuing fraudulent and illegal degrees. You should be able to visit the institution that will grant your degree. If the offices of the college, university, or seminary are a back room or basement in somebody’s home, the degree is almost guaranteed to be substandard, and is most likely being illegally issued.

As we continued to look into the issue of addresses, we discovered that it is a violation of Federal law to use the Postal Service in conjunction with a business and request to be addressed by, any fictitious, false, or assumed title.

“Whoever, for the purpose of conducting, promoting, or carrying on by means of the Postal Service, any scheme or device… or any other unlawful business, uses or assumes, or requests to be addressed by, any fictitious, false, or assumed title, name, or address or name other than his own proper name, or takes or receives from any post office or authorized depository of mail matter, any letter, postal card, package, or other mail matter addressed to any such fictitious, false, or assumed title, name, or address, or name other than his own proper name, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.” (18 U.S.C. 1342)

Beware of any institution that offers a ‘one-time only tuition cost to you:’ ‘each doctorate degree is only $$$, get a second degree at half-price, $$$’, or any similar come-on where you simply purchase your degree for a flat fee.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (2005) “Most diploma mills charge a flat fee, require little course work, if any, and award a degree based solely on work or life experience.”

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (2007) cautioned that one of the warning signs that an institution may be offering fraudulent or substandard degree is charging “tuition and fees by the degree and not by the course. Whether charging $299 or $29,000, this is a sign of fraud. Legitimate colleges charge tuition by the credit hour (semester, quarter, or trimester) or by the course. Not all fraudulent or substandard institutions charge by the degree; some charge by the credit hour in order to appear legitimate. However, legitimate institutions do not charge by the degree.”

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education advises: when considering a degree provider, an answer of “yes” to one or more of the following questions may be an indicator of a diploma mill.

• Can degrees be purchased?

• Is there a claim of accreditation when there is no evidence of this status?

• Is there a claim of accreditation from a questionable accrediting organization?

• Does the operation lack state or federal licensure or authority to operate?

• Is little if any attendance required of students, either online or in class?

• Are few assignments required for students to earn credits?

• Is a very short period of time required to earn a degree?

• Are degrees available based solely on experiences or résumé review?

• Are there few requirements for graduation?

• Does the operation fail to provide any information about a campus or business location or physical address and rely only on a post office box?

• Does the operation fail to provide a list of its faculty and their qualifications?

• Does the operation have a name similar to other well-known colleges and universities?

• Does the operation make claims in its publications for which there is no evidence?

While it is not possible to list every institution engaged in a degree scam or issuing fraudulent, substandard, or illegal degrees; the state of Michigan maintains a list of schools that have been found to be most egregious in their issuance of fraudulent degrees.

The list can be found on-line at:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Non-accreditedSchools_78090_7.pdf.

Degrees from any entity on this list will not be accepted by the Michigan Department of Civil Service as satisfying any educational requirements or job specifications. Even if you don’t live or work in Michigan, any institution on the Michigan list is highly questionable, and would most likely be found fraudulent, substandard, or illegal if investigated by any other state.

The state of Maine maintains a similar list on-line at: http://www.maine.gov/education/highered/Non-Accredited/UnaccreditedSchools-112706.pdf

The state of Oregon is a leader in the fight against fraudulent, substandard and illegally issued degrees. Oregon maintains a list of entities issuing invalid degrees on-line at: http://www.osac.state.or.us:80/oda/unaccredited.aspx.

In addition to checking the Michigan, Maine and Oregon lists of unaccredited institutions, one should also check the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) – Database of Institutions and Programs Accredited by Recognized United States Accrediting Organizations, on-line at: http://www.chea.org/search/default.asp and the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (USDE) on-line at: http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.

The CHEA and USDE databases list institutions that are recognized as having met certain standards in their education programs.

While being listed in the CHEA or USDE database doesn’t guarantee that a degree will be suited to any specific purpose, an institution that issues degrees and is not listed in either one these databases is at best highly questionable.

STATE HIGHER EDUCATION BOARDS

Next, contact the higher education board in the state where the “degree-granting institution” is located and get the board’s opinion of the institution in question. Every state has some type of governing body for higher education. When considering enrolling in any college, university, or seminary, where there may be a question about its legitimacy, it pays to contact the governing body for higher education in the state in which the institution is located and ask whether that institution is recognized by the state and whether the degrees they issue are legitimate.

At the time this article was written the U.S. Department of Education maintained a list of State Higher Education Agencies on-line at:

http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov:80/Programs/EROD/org_list.cfm?category_ID=SHE

LAWS

Several states are beginning to recognize the problem of fraudulent, substandard, and illegally issued degrees and are passing laws to combat this crime.

Currently it is illegal in North Dakota, New Jersey, Texas, Nevada, Washington and Maine to use unaccredited degrees. It is illegal in Indiana to use an unaccredited doctorate. Other states are considering laws to protect their citizens from diploma mills and substandard degrees.

In Washington State, issuing a false academic credential is a class C felony; and knowingly using a false academic credential is a gross misdemeanor. (RCW 9A.60.070)

Florida Statute 817.567 — Making False Claims of Academic Degree or Title.– provides that no person in the state may claim, either orally or in writing, to possess an academic degree, as defined in s. 1005.02, or the title associated with said degree, unless the person has, in fact, been awarded said degree from an institution that is: (a) Accredited by a regional or professional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation… [or run by a state or by the Federal government, or for schools outside the U.S. has been validated by an accrediting agency approved by the United States Department of Education as equivalent to the baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate degree conferred by a regionally accredited college or university in the United States...]

and

(2) No person awarded a doctorate degree from an institution not listed in subsection (1) shall claim in the state, either orally or in writing, the title “Dr.” before the person’s name or any mark, appellation, or series of letters, numbers, or words, such as, but not limited to, “Ph.D.,” “Ed.D.,” “D.N.,” or “D.Th.,” which signifies, purports, or is generally taken to signify satisfactory completion of the requirements of a doctorate degree, after the person’s name.

LIFE EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

According to Roger H. Schmedlen (2006), writing in the Michigan Lawyers Weekly, “Some unsophisticated would-be experts may truly believe it is possible for them to obtain a legitimate degree without attending classes or performing any study activity–simply by using credit from lifelong career experience. . . . It isn’t!”

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board warns that another of the warning signs of fraud is an institution that “offers to grant a degree or generous amounts of credit for life experience. Claims that one can receive a complete degree for one’s life experience are a sure sign of fraud. Calculating credit awarded by years of service in a particular job or function is also a sign of fraud. Legitimate colleges that award credit for life experience require extensive evidence that the experience is the equivalent of coursework taught at a college. The average legitimate award by that means will be approximately 12 to 18 semester credit hours (about one semester). Many students who are assessed receive no college credit.”

While one should understand that no legitimate accreditor enforces any particular theological understanding, doctrine, or theology; it is just as important to understand that states have a responsibility to ensure that the public is not put at risk by fraudulently issued degrees and credentials. Ask yourself whether you would trust a medical doctor who received an immediate medical degree based on life experience. Would you trust a psychiatrist whose degree was based on a 4 to 8 page paper? No? Well, if you will not trust your physical and mental health to a person with a fraudulent or substandard degree, why would you trust someone with this type of degree to guide you in your spiritual and religious well-being?

John Bear (2007) offers an emphatic warning concerning fraudulent degrees: “We must warn you, as emphatically as we can, that it is very risky to buy a fake degree or to claim to have a degree that you have not earned. It is like putting a time bomb in your resume. It could go off at any time, with dire consequences. The people who sell fake degrees will probably never suffer at all, but the people who buy them often suffer mightily. And — particularly if their “degree” is health-related — their clients may be seriously harmed.”

We consider a religious degree to be health-related in any case where the degree-holder is involved in offering counseling or spiritual guidance. One’s spiritual health is just as important as one’s physical, mental and emotional health.

CONCLUSION

Fraudulent, substandard, and illegal degrees endanger the safety of the American public. Persons who use a fraudulent, substandard, or illegal degree and provide health-related services, to include counseling, providing life-skills and religious guidance or therapy, put the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health of their clients at serious risk.

Using a fraudulent, substandard, or illegally issued degree is likely to have dire consequences for the person who uses it, both in employment and licensing issues and in matters of trust and integrity. It is in fact illegal in several states to use an unaccredited, fraudulent, substandard or illegally issued degree.

A serious question should arise in regard to any individual’s integrity and competence, who claims a fraudulent, substandard, or illegally issued degree regardless of any other credentials or experience that person may possess.

FOOTNOTES

109th Congress – Diploma Integrity Protection Act of 2006 – H.R. 6006 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc109/h6008_ih.xml

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada

http://www.ats.edu/

Bear, John, Quackwatch, Degree Mills,on-line at: http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/dm0.html (May 2007)

Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)

http://www.chea.org/

Federal Trade Commission, “Facts for Business Guide on Avoiding Fake Degree”, February 1, 2005 on-line at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/02/diplomamills.shtm

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education – http://www.okhighered.org/student-center/college-stdnts/academic/diploma-mills.shtml

Religious Freedom Restoration Act (42 U.S.C. § 2000bb (1993)

Schmedlen, Roger H. CPP, CFE, CII, MIPI – Michigan Lawyers Weekly, “Doctor Who? Avoiding Fraudulent Opinion Experts”, April 24, 2006 Edition; on-line at: http://www.securityexpertonline.com/fraudulent_security_expert_article.htm

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Frequently Asked Questions, May 2007 http://www.thecb.state.tx.us//AAR/PrivateInstitutions/FAQ.cfm

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