Looks to me like the ND legislature is about to get tied up in what is a
"fake" degree. John Bear, at
johnbear@degree.net and I think at
www.degree.net, spent a great deal of time looking into
less-than-fully-accredited schools, has produced a reference book or
three, etc. There is a range of rigor in programs, and the range extends
from the highest academic levels (Stanford, MIT, Harvard, take your pick)
down to state schools and small private schools of all sorts. And from
there on down the list until at the bottom we have schools that would
provide a pretty diploma for a small fee. Some of the schools on this
wide range of academic rigor are accredited, by North Central Association
and related groups. Some aren't.
I'm surprised anyone successfully charges over $200 for any degree. A
little net searching should bring in a BS for less than USD 125.
What we need to ask, ourselves & our students, is what they think they
are buying when they sit in the classroom in front of a professor. If a
prospective employer checks the refs provided by an applicant, and
refuses to discuss employment for a degree mill diploma, then word will
get back quickly, and the North Dakota Legislature can relax. the
original reasons for attending school will not matter too much, as the
employer will assure that the student attended suitably.
If the employer doesn't really care what the paper says, then perhaps the
employer deserves the product they are hiring. Certainly, students with
an employment motive will quickly learn to select the less arduous route
to collecting suitable paper.
Seems to me that the North Dakota Legislature could resolve the "problem"
more easily and quickly by requiring all individuals hired by the state
where a degree is required, to provide transcripts from a suitably
accredited school. Any private employers who want to hire without
accreditation, that's their problem.
Cheers,
Jay
Charles Wankel wrote:
> Dan Carnevale, "North Dakota Contemplates a Law Prohibiting the Use of
> Fake Degrees," Chronicle of Higher Education online, January 15, 2003.
>
>
http://chronicle.com/free/2003/01/2003011501t.htm
--
Jay Warner
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