February 11, 2009 8:34 PM
- Text
Cracking Down On Diploma Mills
(CBS)
If there's one thing University of Illinois physics professor George Gollin values as much as his students, it's the degrees that made him a professor, reports CBS News Correspondent Lee Cowan.
So when he found out prestigious degrees like his were for sale on the Internet, he decided to investigate.
"I got pissed off, basically," says Gollin. "There were people committing fraud who were putting at risk innocent victims."
His research uncovered hundreds of sham universities – diploma mills – offering fake degrees in everything from oncology to emergency surgery.
There are no lectures, no staff, no faculty, yet some people will pass off these phony documents as legitimate degrees.
Take London's Strassford University. Its Web site claims this impressive looking institution was founded during the reign of Queen Victoria. But an attempt to find those ivy-covered halls of learning turned up no grand building, no ivy, not even a sign.
"It may have a beautiful brochure, it may have a picture of a gorgeous building on it, but it's not theirs," says former FBI investigator Allen Ezell.
Fake degrees are nothing new to Ezell. What is new is the level of sophistication.
"They offer you lifetime verification, lifetime backup to your employer if you're going for a job interview," Ezell says.
That means buyers not only get a fake diploma, they get a bogus transcript with grades for courses never taken – and even letters of recommendation.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Me., is a not-too-grateful graduate. During her investigation, she applied for two masters – one in medical technology, the other in biology.
And what does she know about medical technology and biology? "Zero, nothing," Collins says. "In fact I never took a college level biology course in my life."
But she really got mad when she discovered that a woman named Laura Callahan boasted a doctorate in computer information systems from one of the phantom universities.
And Callahan landed a job at the Department of Homeland Security.
"It raises questions, particularly if the individual has a security clearance," says Collins. "That's very troubling to me."
Troubling also, Collins says, because many of these fake degrees can also be used to get student visas – just like two of the Sept. 11 hijackers used to get into the country in the first place.
All reasons, says Gollin, to double-check fact against fiction and make sure that virtual degree is indeed from a virtuous institution.
So when he found out prestigious degrees like his were for sale on the Internet, he decided to investigate.
"I got pissed off, basically," says Gollin. "There were people committing fraud who were putting at risk innocent victims."
His research uncovered hundreds of sham universities – diploma mills – offering fake degrees in everything from oncology to emergency surgery.
There are no lectures, no staff, no faculty, yet some people will pass off these phony documents as legitimate degrees.
Take London's Strassford University. Its Web site claims this impressive looking institution was founded during the reign of Queen Victoria. But an attempt to find those ivy-covered halls of learning turned up no grand building, no ivy, not even a sign.
"It may have a beautiful brochure, it may have a picture of a gorgeous building on it, but it's not theirs," says former FBI investigator Allen Ezell.
Fake degrees are nothing new to Ezell. What is new is the level of sophistication.
"They offer you lifetime verification, lifetime backup to your employer if you're going for a job interview," Ezell says.
That means buyers not only get a fake diploma, they get a bogus transcript with grades for courses never taken – and even letters of recommendation.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Me., is a not-too-grateful graduate. During her investigation, she applied for two masters – one in medical technology, the other in biology.
And what does she know about medical technology and biology? "Zero, nothing," Collins says. "In fact I never took a college level biology course in my life."
But she really got mad when she discovered that a woman named Laura Callahan boasted a doctorate in computer information systems from one of the phantom universities.
And Callahan landed a job at the Department of Homeland Security.
"It raises questions, particularly if the individual has a security clearance," says Collins. "That's very troubling to me."
Troubling also, Collins says, because many of these fake degrees can also be used to get student visas – just like two of the Sept. 11 hijackers used to get into the country in the first place.
All reasons, says Gollin, to double-check fact against fiction and make sure that virtual degree is indeed from a virtuous institution.
Latest Now in CBS Evening News
- Evening News Online, 02.08.12
- Female soldiers tell stories from the frontlines
- Behind winter's wild weather
- Gas prices continue to creep up
- GOP turns up heat on Obama contraceptive law
- Do Santorum wins signal fundamental change in GOP?
- Are Santorum wins good for GOP's future?
- Bloodletting underway in Syria, as rebels falter
- On the frontlines with Syrian rebels
- Combat rules don't keep women off battlefield
- Why winter is mild in the U.S., frigid in Europe
- Obama pledges $130M for Alzheimer's research
- Entire staff removed at L.A. elementary school
- Evening News Online, 02.07.12
- For rebel-held Syrian towns, constant funerals
- Fans celebrate 200 years of Charles Dickens
- Discrimination found within Air Marshal Service
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook
on CBS News
- Greek agreement accomplishes nothing
- Broadway set to tell the tale of Magic and Bird
- AP Top Financial News At Noon EST
- Military food getting nutritious upgrade
on Facebook
- Mo. teen gets life in prison for murder of 9-year-old girl
- Calif. surfer runs fastest-growing camera company
- "Person to Person": Bon Jovi behind the scenes
- "American Idol": Jim Carrey's daughter out, and then disaster
on CBS News
