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"Degree mills" are universities and/or business schools that give away titles that are either:
• counterfeit
or
• worthless due to extremely low standards .
The degree is given in exchange for:
• Money
Result: a degree that is far under the normal standard for the acquired title.
How to identify a "degree mill"?
- The advertisements in the Internet do not appear to be made by academics/professionals.
- When calling the ˜university you reach an answering machine.
- "Previous experiences and knowledge" will be credited.
- One receives the degree "within a few days".
- The homepage contains solely an application form.
- If more information is available, then its contents are often copies of documents from other universities.
- Several universities share the same domain and phone number.
- The same graphics show up on different university web pages.
- There is no existing university building.
- The degree one receives after ˜completion of courses looks deceptively authentic.
Laws that are supposed to control degree mills often have holes, which are then exploited by these organizations. Some get by the penalties and civil laws very easily by selling the degrees in foreign countries. Degree mills are alarming for two reasons: one, because they make it possible for their unqualified "graduates" to carry out jobs which they are not qualified for. There are not only fake Masters/MBAs on the market, but also doctorates from the medical, psychological and educational fields. Second, degree mills make it more difficult for those in charge of hiring personnel to evaluate applicants due to the constant question of authenticity.
At the same time, a counterfeit/worthless degree may never be noticed if the person has already accumulated the necessary knowledge and experience from the working world. However, entering the work force with a faked degree is very risky. Even if you successfully deceive the Assessment Center, the person with the fake MBA/Master will not live up to the company's expectations. (However, there are also leading positions where you have little work to do, only hold 'responsibility'). After all, many have successfully advanced into leading positions with counterfeit degrees without ever being discovered.
- Keep in mind: Those with fake degres should realize that if discovered, not only the counterfeit, but also all other legally obtained academic degrees and titles will be taken away.
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