Accreditation Group and Unesco Team Up to Take On Diploma Mills

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization put out a joint statement today with suggestions for combating diploma mills around the world.

The statement is short on details, instead outlining a set of general goals. For instance, it says that higher-education leaders should confirm that providers are “in good standing with recognized accreditation and quality-assurance bodies” in other countries. But often the rub is knowing which bodies are recognized and which are bogus.

It also suggests developing “an international network for information and alerts about degree-mill activity.” But how such a network would work — and who might run it — is left to the imagination.

The problem of international diploma mills is a thorny one. Because what amounts to accreditation varies from country to country, figuring out whether a foreign institution is legitimate often isn’t a simple matter, and shutting down illegitimate operators can be next to impossible.

Even in the United States, diploma mills have moved from state to state to avoid the authorities. In recent years, though, some states have gotten tougher on diploma-mill operators. Mississippi — once known as a haven for unaccredited colleges — passed a law in 2006 that cracked down on diploma mills, and it seems to be working.

Perhaps the best list of unaccredited colleges is maintained by Oregon’s Office of Degree Authorization. —Thomas Bartlett