Fake or Fraudulent College Degrees

[Firefighter807]

Content deleted by author.

[MikeWard]

Originally posted by Firefighter807
Do you know anyone who has a degree (bachelor, master, or doctorate) from a nonacredited university who is operating in the fire service?

Yes, I know of many. But the content of your question makes me wonder if you are really interested in the issue or are just stirring up a pot that has boiled-over a couple of times on this forum.

If you are interested in identifying diploma mills, start with any of the publications by John Bear, PhD. He has spent more than a decade on non-traditional degrees and, as a result, identfying diploma mills. You can start at http://www.degree.net. He provides a clear description of accreditation.

If you have a specific institution you are interested in, contact the federal Department of Education. There are folks there that handle diploma mills.

It takes two to make an unaccredited degree work. The person that obtained it and the employer that accepted it. Employers need to perform due diligence before making an appointment or promotion. I am not supporting the use of unaccredited degrees for a public safety position. I want to point out that, in the Calif and Conn cities where fire fighters used unaccredited degrees, the local jurisdiction failed to clearly describe what type of degree or certification they would accept. Do a word search here to find the old FH forum threads. One was just last month.

Do a Google search. There was a recent congressional hearing about unaccredited schools and senior federal employees (about 40 folks were identified.) Part of that investigation is the realization that the federal government paid for a couple of those degrees.

Mike