The truth about fake degrees

A fake degree is a document of qualification or certification that has been fraudulently obtained from an educational institution. These are documents created to represent someone as having completed courses, passed examinations, and gained qualifications that they have not in reality done. Examples include the offer of a degree for sale from an online university or forging certificates to create false employment records. As well as being illegal, these actions can also cause damage to the reputation of educational institutions and people who work within them.

The truth about fake degrees is that they can be used for many things, including getting jobs or high paying positions where you would otherwise not qualify (i.e., banking). Many people with fake degrees have become very successful despite their lack of actual education.

Fake degrees are produced illegally, which means that the person requesting the degree actually does not receive the qualification stated on the certificate. This may lead to difficulties for those who hold such a degree when it is later found out, as potential employers may feel let down and decide not to offer them employment or promotions.

In some cases, fake degrees can be used in conjunction with legitimate ones. For example, a person might purchase a fake degree as proof of completion of a course that they never attended in reality.

There are many different types of fake degree, such as the sale of degrees from private colleges, degree mills, and other less reputable institutions.

Fake certificates are sold over the internet or by a fake university which is not recognised by law to give individuals educational qualifications; these degrees are sometimes referred to as non-accredited degrees. A certificate, not linked to any known institution, may also be a "diploma mill" – an unaccredited document that is unqualified for purpose of employment or occupation .

A degree mill is a fraudulent university that offers fake degrees for a fee. Some of these are offered as online degrees, where the student does work at home on their own computer and sends it to the mill. The mill then produces a degree, which may or may not resemble the actual work completed. Degrees are purchased by individuals who want a qualification without undertaking the necessary study.

A common practice among some employers is to ask employees to submit a copy of their degree transcript with corresponding diploma, when they apply for jobs in different companies within their industry or when seeking promotions. Inability to produce such credentials may lead to an employer asking for other applicants' transcripts.

A degree gets its value from the institutions awarding them. If a college or university's quality is poor, their graduates may not achieve the required standards in many different fields – and may consequently be dismissed as not being qualified for their job, but with a fake degree. The large number of out-of-date degrees that are held by employers constitutes one of the biggest drawbacks and problems with fake degrees. As in most cases, it is better to choose an institution with strong credentials than one on lower ground.

It is one thing to know what your educational requirements are, and another entirely to make sure you have met them. If a student finds they have not met the qualifications they thought they had obtained, there are several options.

One solution is to apply for a replacement. If the degree is actually genuine, the university will often consider an application for replacement but place conditions on the copy that must be met. The original will also become invalid and cannot be used for any purpose.

It may also be possible to simply amend details on an existing award of degree so as to bring it up to date with current requirements. Where this is not possible, there are many other reasons why a degree may have been made in error or not held true by all standards and many colleges maintain advisory services for this purpose.

If a degree has been obtained from an unaccredited or fraudulent college and it could not be replaced, then this information must be disclosed to potential employers. It is in the best interests of both the employer and the employee if they are both aware of this.

A common form of fraud in producing fake degrees is to impersonate people who have previously attended a particular course or university. This is often done by forging other coursework undertaken by these individuals which can give the impression they were eligible to gain their degree. This is done by using 'plagiarised' work, which is where someone other than the actual author had written the work and the forger has used it without permission.

"Plagiarism" is perceived to be unethical because it is assumed that someone who originates new and original work must have put in significant effort to produce a high standard – why would anyone else want to copy their efforts? It may be referred to as "self-plagiarism", as when discussing educational fraud this can be used interchangeably with "plagiarism".

Plagiarism is still an important part of the educational process. The difference between plagiarism and presenting a false degree lies in the way in which it is presented. If an individual has actually gained a qualification, but misrepresented themselves through various means by using someone else's work, this is fraud and the degree they have gained should be referred to as a 'fake' one.

The main types of cheating that can lead to fake degrees are:

The students who engage in these activities do so for either personal gain or to gain acceptance from their peers.

Many countries routinely use a fake degree as a way of keeping track of their employees. Fake degrees are issued to those who do not meet the minimum requirements to work in certain fields or for those whose qualifications must be verified. For example, students obtaining fake degrees in the medical field may choose this route rather than using forged medical certificates and notes.

Cheating can occur in many different forms and with many different consequences which may depend on the context (what was being falsified and for what reason). The subject of cheating is also closely linked to plagiarism, which is often considered cheating by many educators or lawmakers.

Conclusion

The fake degrees operations are a big problem for the U.S. public schools, which is allocating more than $2 billion on the purchase of fake degrees to meet student demand and maintain academic standards, says The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). A big part of this industry is on degree mills in overseas countries.

“For a while now we have understood that fake degrees cost universities, states, local governments and taxpayers billions of dollars each year,” said Steve Gunderson, President of AASCU in his statement to “Newsweek” magazine in April 2014. A special committee created by the U.