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Degree mills are those universities and business schools that issue degrees and titles that are either fake or otherwise worthless, as the requirements to obtain the degree do not fulfil any quality standards at all. They are either given in direct exchange for money or by offering low quality courses that meet none of the conventional industry standards for the title or degree. How do you spot a degree mill?
- Internet advertising tends to be highly commercial and not academically oriented
- The advertised contact number is connected to an automated system
- ˜Previous experience and knowledge” is largely credited
- The degree or title can be obtained within only a few days
- The institution’s homepage is often not much more than an application form
- If the institution website contains more than one webpage, the content offered is often copied from other institution
websites
- More than one institution is sharing a domain
- More than one institution is sharing a contact number
- The university has neither building nor campus
- Graphics used on the university website often show up on other university websites.
- The degree document looks deceptively authentic at first glance only
This is of course not a complete list of indicators and it is advisable that you research the institution in question carefully before enrolling anywhere. Degree mills often appear in education fields in which academic standards are either not at all or insufficiently defined. Loopholes in laws that regulate the industry allow for the exploitation of the desire or need for a degree and a title. Many of the degree mills avoid legal prosecution simply by selling their degrees and titles only abroad. Degree mills are alarming for two reasons: they enable unqualified ˜graduates” to enter the job market and obtain positions for which they are not qualified. It is not merely the MBA title that is traded on such a basis, but degrees in medicine, psychology or education are available from degree mills as well. Secondly, they make it more difficult and labour intensive for any HR manager to evaluate an applicant, as the authenticity of any degree is automatically called into question.
It is often not readily apparent if a person holds a fake degree or not, particularly if they have gathered relevant skills and knowledge in their previous professional experience. Nonetheless, it is risky to aim at a solid and swift career path in a management or leadership position when holding a fake degree. Even if a candidate succeeds in passing the Assessment Tests, a phoney MBA/Master will not be able to meet the high demands a management or leadership position makes (although there might be the odd leadership role that demands little actual work beyond carrying a large mount of ˜responsibility”).
Keep in mind: Those who hold a fake degree and are found out will lose not only the inauthentic degree document, but also forfeit every previously legally obtained educational qualification.
For more information on the authenticity of an MBA/Master program of your choice visit www.anabin.de |
