A diploma mill is an institution that sets itself as a legal academic institution that sells fake degrees to individuals. The diploma mills main aim is to make profits and attract more customers. Diploma mills target two groups of people; individuals who are seeking a genuine degree, but they do not know the diploma mills are fraudulent organizations and individuals who are aware they are buying fake degrees, but they want to own them as part of their academic credentials (Stewart, 2000). Diploma mills emerged from the high increase of online learning institutions. It is hard to monitor the genuine institutions from the fraudulent institutions due to the high number of online institutions offering different school programs. Diploma mills are illegal in most countries.
Diploma mill business is a booming business worldwide with an estimation of 100,000 fake degrees sold daily in the states (Contreras & George, 2009). The high demand of the fake degrees is high because there is a stiff competition in the corporate world. This has led individuals to buy fake degrees from diploma mills to have an edge over others in the job market (Alt, 2006). The diploma mills allow an individual to choose the specific type of degree of interest. The fake degrees are awarded once an individual writes an in-depth story of their life or an individual will undertake some course work but since the institutions are unaccredited, the degree will be worthless. Diploma mills are different from forgery companies that provide a fake certificate in the name of a recognized institution. Diploma mills are institutions on their own, only that they are un-authorized to award academic qualifications. It is easy to identify most fake degrees because they are cheap and given after a short period of time (Alt & Alt, 2006).
References
Alt, e. v., & Alt, K. v. (2006). Accredited Institutions of Post-secondary Education, 2005-2006: Includes Candidates for Accreditation and Accredited Programs at Facilities (2005-2006. Ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education.
Contreras, A., & George, G. (2009). DIPLOMA mills. The Real and the Fake Degree and Diploma Mills (41) (2): 36-43.
Stewart, D. W., & Spille, H. A. (2000). Diploma mills: degrees of fraud. New York: American Council on Education.
