April 23, 2006

New Law in Miss. Will Enable Crackdown on Diploma Mills

Mississippi officials now have a new weapon with which to crack down on the state’s large population of diploma mills. According to the Associated Press, Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, last month signed into law a bill that gives the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation the power to go to court to shut down issuers of unapproved postsecondary degrees.

The legislation stemmed from complaints by higher-education officials who said that “not only were the diploma mills harmful to higher education, but they also perpetuated negative perceptions of Mississippi,” according to a 2005 report by the state’s College Board cited by the AP.

A number of diploma mills have apparently moved to Mississippi since states like Hawaii, Louisiana, and Wyoming—previously known for their own diploma-mill industries—passed legislation similar to Mississippi’s. A special report in The Chronicle in 2004, Degrees of Suspicion, outlined the scale of the industry.

Comments

1. As I read it, the bill contains a loophole that renders it ineffective. Here are links to State of Mississippi information.

   Mississippi Senate Bill 2218 legislative history:
   http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2006/pdf/history/SB/SB2218.htm

   Bill as sent to the Governor:
   http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2006/pdf/SB/2200-2299/SB2218SG.pdf

   SEC. 75-60-5. Exemption of certain courses and institutions:
   http://www.mscode.com/free/statutes/75/060/0005.htm

   The bill (whose text is quoted below) contains this zinger at its end: “The provisions of this section shall not apply to private schools that are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) or to the proprietary schools as defined in Sections 75-60-3, 75-60-4 and 75-60-5.”

   Section 75-60-5 includes this in the list of exempted “courses and institutions”: “Private nonprofit colleges and universities or any private school offering academic credits at primary, secondary or postsecondary levels.”

   I read that to mean that any private school is entirely exempt from the oversight of the “Commission on College Accreditation.” I suppose this is an honest (but crashingly unfortunate) mistake. It will be interesting to see if a correction is enacted soon.

   Quote:

   ***************************
   SENATE BILL NO. 2218
   1 AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-101-241, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972,
   2 TO DEFINE THE AUTHORITY OF THE MISSISSIPPI COMMISSION ON COLLEGE
   3 ACCREDITATION AND TO AUTHORIZE THE COMMISSION TO SEEK AN
   4 INJUNCTION TO ENJOIN UNAPPROVED COURSE OFFERINGS; AND FOR RELATED
   5 PURPOSES.

   6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
   7 SECTION 1. Section 37-101-241, Mississippi Code of 1972, is
   8 amended as follows:

   9 37-101-241. (1) There is hereby created the Commission on
   10 College Accreditation. Said commission shall be composed of the
   11 Executive Director of the State Board for Community and Junior
   12 Colleges, the Commissioner of Higher Education, or their
   13 designees, and two (2) additional members, one (1) of whom shall
   14 be selected by the foregoing two (2) members and who shall
   15 represent the private colleges within the state, and one (1) of
   16 whom shall be selected by the Mississippi Association of Colleges.
   17 The latter two (2) members shall each serve for a term of three
   18 (3) years.

   19 (2) The commission shall meet and organize by electing from
   20 among its membership a chairman, a vice chairman and a secretary.
   21 The commission shall keep full and complete minutes and records of
   22 all its proceedings and actions.

   23 (3) The commission shall have the power and authority, and
   24 it shall be its duty, to prepare an approved list of community,
   25 junior and senior colleges and universities or other entities
   26 which offer one or more post-secondary academic degrees and are
   27 domiciled, incorporated or otherwise located in the State of
   28 Mississippi. Post-secondary academic degrees include, but are not
   29 limited to, associate, bachelor, masters and doctorate
   30 degrees. * * * The commission shall adopt standards which are in
   31 keeping with the best educational practices in accreditation and
   32 receive reports from the institutions seeking to be placed on the
   33 approved list.

   34 (4) The above-described community, junior and senior
   35 colleges and universities or other entities * * * must be approved
   36 annually by the commission in order to grant diplomas of
   37 graduation, degrees or offer instruction.

   38 (5) The commission shall petition the chancery court of the
   39 county in which a person or agent offers one or more
   40 post-secondary academic degrees subject to the provisions of this
   41 chapter or advertises for the offering of such degrees without
   42 having first obtained approval by the commission, for an order
   43 enjoining such offering or advertising. The court may grant such
   44 injunctive relief upon a showing that the respondent named in the
   45 petition is offering or advertising one or more post-secondary
   46 academic degrees without having obtained prior approval of the
   47 commission. The Attorney General or the district attorney of the
   48 district, including the county in which such action is brought,
   49 shall, upon request of the commission, represent the commission in
   50 bringing any such action.

   51 (6) The provisions of this section shall not apply to
   52 private * * * schools that are accredited by the Southern
   53 Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) or to the proprietary
   54 schools as defined in Sections 75-60-3, 75-60-4 and 75-60-5.
   55 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from
   56 and after July 1, 2006.

   ***************************
   End quote

   Here is “section 75-60-5”:

   Quote:

   ***************************
   SEC. 75-60-5. Exemption of certain courses and institutions.

   The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the following categories of courses, schools or colleges:

   (a) Tuition-free courses or schools conducted by employers exclusively for their own employees;

   (b) Schools, colleges, technical institutes, community colleges, junior colleges or universities under the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges;

   (c) Schools or courses of instruction under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Cosmetology, State Board of Barber Examiners or the State Board of Massage Therapy;

   (d) Courses of instruction required by law to be approved or licensed, or given by institutions approved or licensed, by a state board or agency other than the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration; however, a school so approved or licensed may apply to the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration for a certificate of registration to be issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter;

   (e) Correspondence courses;

   (f) Nonprofit private schools offering academic credits at primary or secondary levels, or conducting classes for exceptional education as defined by regulations of the State Department of Education;

   (g) Private nonprofit colleges and universities or any private school offering academic credits at primary, secondary or postsecondary levels;

   (h) Courses of instruction conducted by a public school district or a combination of public school districts;

   (i) Courses of instruction conducted outside the United States;

   (j) A school that offers only instruction in subjects that the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration determines are primarily for avocational, personal improvement or cultural purposes and that does not represent to the public that its course of study or instruction will or may produce income for those who take that study or instruction;

   (k) Courses conducted primarily on an individual tutorial basis, where not more than one (1) student is involved at any one (1) time, except in those instances where the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration determines that the course is for the purpose of preparing for a vocational objective;

   (l) Kindergartens or similar programs for preschool-age children.

   ***************************
   End quote

   I would read part (g) to indicate that the Commission is unable to act against ANY private entity that offers academic credits in the style of a university.

   George Gollin
   University of Illinois

   — George Gollin    Apr 28, 12:26 AM    #

Previous: Hunger Strike Ends at U. of Miami, but Walkout Goes On
Next: 2 Cases of Alleged Plagiarism Hit Academe