Warning Signs Associated With Degree Mills and Scam Schools

The number of diploma mills in the US is on the rise as prospective students seek to take action against their perceived economic insecurity. In fact, a scam school operated a fake nursing program for five years, separating pupils from their tuition dollars. In too many cases, the education received from these schools does not lead to increased earning potential for graduates. More commonly, graduates find themselves in intractable debt. This piece lists the red flags commonly associated with diploma mills and scam schools.

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Warning Signs Associated With Degree Mills and Scam Schools

Until a few decades ago, a high school diploma or GED was suitable enough to secure a good job in the US. Soon after high school graduation, people on the vocational track found entry-level positions at factories, steel mills, construction sites, unionized grocery stores, automobile plants, or insurance firms and often stayed with the same workplaces for 30+ years. In return, these loyal workers relished a number of middle class comforts over the years before retiring with a considerable employer-sponsored pension plan. Unfortunately, lifetime employment is a relic of a bygone era.

Fast-forward to the 1970s and 1980s, however, and we see the first significant handful of "predatory" racketeers making serious private investments into vocational training, purely as a profit-seeking business (CollegeTimes, 2013). Since a high school diploma doesn't open the doors to a great job anymore, and with nearly 70 percent of Americans over the age of 25 lacking a bachelor's degree, trade schools and business colleges are alluring to those who perceive that their economic situations are insecure. Sadly, a few of these schools are outright diploma mills and scams crafted to line the pockets of individuals, corporations and proprietorships. Some scam schools are designed solely to amass tuition monies, federal grants, and student loans (Yeoman, 1997).

Diploma mills, also called degree mills, are non-accredited schools that confer degrees and certificates with relatively insufficient academic standards. The prototypical diploma mill or scam school boasts open admissions and miniscule academic work requirements. In exchange, the 'graduate' is granted a diploma or degree upon completion that carries little to no respectability in the job market. Scam schools and diploma mills come with warning signs, but an unfortunate number of people do not detect them until it is too late.

Be alert for the following red flags:

  • The school has been sued and/or is under investigation by a federal agency.
  • Degrees are issued based on qualities such as life experience.
  • Staff is freely available when payments are due, but unavailable at other times.
  • Professors and instructors are grossly unqualified and often unavailable.
  • Diplomas / degrees are conferred after a swifter time frame than usual.
  • Rather than per credit, students pay for clock hours or entire degrees.
  • Contact information is nebulous. 1(800) numbers are common.
  • Online / distance-based tests and quizzes are never proctored or monitored.
  • The school's official website is deluged with errors in spelling and grammar.
  • Accreditation is granted by a questionable accrediting agency.
  • The school's official website ends in .com, .net, or anything other than .edu
  • The school is heavily criticized online and few graduates recommend the school.
  • Compared to nonprofit schools, tuition is staggeringly expensive.

If several of these warning signs are present, tread carefully and do some further research because the entity may or may not be a scam school. Numerous readers might wonder, "These red flags are common sense. How could anyone fall for a degree mill in this day and age?"

Regrettably, people are scammed by diploma mills all the time. People who perceive they are too busy to handle the rigors of higher learning pay top dollar for degrees that have no value in academia or the workforce. In fact, a phony nursing school operated as a diploma mill for five years (2006 to 2011), conning a large number of students out of their much-needed money. Click on the following website link to read about the fake nursing school and its three shady owners:

Trio Convicted of Running Fake Nursing Schools

Be cognizant that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Any educational program that seems quicker and easier than usual might be nothing more than a diploma mill or scam school. Use your common sense and do not fall victim to any academic scams.

RESOURCES

CollegeTimes. (2013, July 4). How to Spot a Scam School (Diploma Mill). Retrieved April 11, 2014, from CollegeTimes - Real World Education

Yeoman, Barry. (1997, February). Scam Schools. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from Scam Schools

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TheCommuter

About TheCommuter, BSN, RN

TheCommuter, BSN, RN, CRRN is a longtime physical rehabilitation nurse who has varied experiences upon which to draw for her articles. She was an LPN/LVN for more than four years prior to becoming a Registered Nurse.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

Excellent reminder to be very careful about any educational program you choose. I attended (once upon a time) a private paramedic program. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, it was relatively fast. Yes, the school's website did end in ".com" and there were some grammatical and spelling errors... but I did my due diligence and the school was not only properly accredited by the State as a training entity, the school had a very high pass rate with a relatively high student retention rate. They were (and still are) considered one of the better programs in the entire State.

The key thing is that I did my due diligence and made sure that the school I chose was a legitimately accredited and recognized program that would result in me being able to take the exam with a high probability of passing.

If you don't do your own due diligence and really research the programs you intend to apply to, especially if the programs are expensive, it's incredibly easy to become a victim of some very shady folks that only really intend to separate you from your money.

This applies to even college/university programs... YOU are investing in YOUR education, so YOU need to be certain that the school will provide you the education that you will need to be successful in whatever field you choose.

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Specializes in Emergency, ICU.

Wow! I had not heard about the totally fake schools! Unbelievable. And you are right Commuter, although some of the signs you mentioned would seem like common sense warnings, not everyone sees them. I would never attend a school called "Envision Review Center, the Helping Angels Foundation of America (HAFA), or Hope-VTEC" (the fake school's name), but obviously many did.

The worst thing is the low sentences these women got after robbing hopeful people of their money. So shameful.

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Specializes in PACU.

I think for some people, even though the signs are there, they are so desperate for what they want they completely overlook the bad until it's too late.

I just read the story on the fake nursing school--unbelievable!

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Haven't heard of this. This seems interesting. Thanks for posting. I always love to read your posts.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

Two more cents ?

- school refuses to give prospective students its curriculum (or it is given, and looks very different from the one from local community college/university program, with overabundance of subjects like "advanced English for nursing professionals" or "advanced medical documentation", or there are multiple online courses about things like "death and dying")

- some courses' length is dramatically different from ones in the community college (e.g. 3 semesters of medical terminology or nursing math)

- time spent in sim lab >>> time spent on clinicals any time after first semester

- students pursuing nursing degree are not eligible to sit for nursing assistant exam after certain semester (maybe state-dependent but in Michigan it looks like a cut-off factor)

- students are expected to arrange their own clinical activities, with minimal or no support from school

Simple way to figure it out: call BON of the state where the school is registered, or go online, and find out how many clinical hours for each subject are necessary to qualify for the license in this state. The general requirements are here:

https://www.NCSBN.org/Educational_Programs_Entry_into_Practice.pdf

but something can be changed from 2012, or the State BON can adjust them a little. Then directly ask school official how many hours (not credits or semesters) they provide, and where students spend them. If there is no clear response, or there is any wiggling around "life experience" or such, go home and forget about this place.

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Specializes in Internal medicine/critical care/FP.

I read all these posts about people unable to find preceptors. I think that alone is a red flag. If your school doesn't provide preceptors if needed. It's bunk

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My husband's coworker's wife attended a program much like what you speak of. She already had her LPN, but went online for one of these bogus ADN degrees and couldn't arrange to get her clinical hours anywhere. I think she's out around 10k because of the whole ordeal.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical - Care of adults.

Not necessarily a scam in the strictest sense of the word -- but, before you start at a private for profit nursing program call your local public college and ask whether the core courses -- English, math, psychology, sociology, etc. -- and the science courses transfer from the private for profit to the public college. If they don't, and if you are planning a career in nursing, I suggest you find a way to attend a different program. I've known too many students who have had to retake all of those courses when they wanted to bridge from an LPN/LVN status to an Associate Degree RN or from either of those to a BSN. I've heard tales but can't be sure they're true, of schools telling students lies about whether the school's courses would transfer so I'd ask that school then check with a public college -- a discrepancy there is VERY telling.

If the program under consideration does not have separate science courses, you can be assured that any time you want to continue your education in nursing after that program, you will have to take the college level courses.

It is also a good idea to check with either the National League for Nursing's accreditation arm or with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to see if the program of interest is accredited. This is NOT a requirement for licensure like State Board Approval is, but it is one indicator of quality. Accredited programs have had their curricula examined by visitors from other nursing programs and have filed documentation on student attrition rates, kinds of experiences their students get, amounts of instruction in classrooms and labs as well as clinicals, and pass rates on the licensure exams -- accreditation is no guarantee of quality, but it is an indicator to be considered along with many other factors.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Hancock330 said:
It is also a good idea to check with either the National League for Nursing's accreditation arm or with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to see if the program of interest is accredited.

The National League for Nursing (NLN) changed its name to the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) within the past year.

In addition, if a school is not accredited by ACEN, accreditation by the CCNE (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education) is also suitable.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Excellent article. I note on the AN boards frequently that prospective students often don't want to hear negatives about these type programs as well as the legit uber-expensive private schools (I'm looking at you WCU!).

Leading a horse to water and all...

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
meanmaryjean said:
I note on the AN boards frequently that prospective students often don't want to hear negatives about these type programs as well as the legit uber-expensive private schools (I'm looking at you WCU!).

Some of the students can be their own worst enemies. Rather than criticize the person or corporation who owns the shady school, they'll shout down anyone who mentions the multiple drawbacks of attending the school.

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