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Diploma Mills:Don’t Strike Out
MASFAP Spring ConferenceMarch 24, 2011
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Agenda
• Program Integrity Regulations• Postsecondary Responsibility• FAFSA High School Question• Accreditation• The States• Diploma Mills
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Program Integrity Regs
• Develop and follow procedures to evaluate the validity of a high school diploma
• When?– Reason to believe it is not valid– Reason to believe it was not obtained from an
entity that provides secondary education• Believed by Whom?– The Secretary– The institution
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Program Integrity Regs
• Why regulations?– Protect the integrity of the high school diploma
requirement• Address the issue of high school diploma mills• Growth of online high schools• Fraud at some postsecondary institutions
– Address issues raised in 2009 GAO report
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Institutional Responsibility
• Validity questioned by Secretary or institution• Follow the required procedure• Suggested documentation– Copy of high school diploma– Final high school transcript– Evaluation report of foreign diplomas
• Self-certification is not sufficient• No appeal to USDE• Not applicable to home schooled students
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FAFSA
• 2011-12 FAFSA– Question 27– First time entering students– Information requested• High school name• High school city• High school state
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FAFSA
• “Drop-down” list– Based on NCES high school survey– Includes most public and private schools– Not “good” or “bad” schools
• Data collected for analysis only (for 2011-12)• No ISIR comments• Not required to collect diploma• Not required to compare information
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Accreditation
• No USDE recognition of secondary level accreditation
• Not required/recommended as sole basis for review under institutional procedure
• Without recognition, hard to determine legitimate from the questionable
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Regional Accreditation
• Same basic structure as postsecondary– New England Assoc. of School and Colleges– Middle States Assoc. – Commission on Secondary
Schools– Southern Assoc. – Commission on Accreditation and
School Improvement (SACS-CASI)– North Central Assoc. – CASI– Northwest Association of Accredited Schools– Western Assoc. – Accrediting Commission on Schools
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Other Accreditors• Distance Education and Training Council– Accredits both secondary and postsecondary
levels– May have limited acceptance• States• Postsecondary
• AdvancEd– 27,000 public and private schools accredited– NCA-CASI; SACS-CASI– Commission on International and Trans-Regional
Accreditation
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States
• No consistent requirements• Standards vary widely from state to state– PA• Licensure/approval is required• Primarily consumer protection focus
– FL• No substantive regulation
– MO• No substantive regulation of private high schools
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Diploma Mill
• Offer a credential• Typically a fee is charged• Requires little or no academic work on the
part of the recipient• Same definition as for a postsecondary
diploma mill• Sounds simple but often is more complicated
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Diploma Mill
• Not all online; not all are obvious• Many offer all the same documents are
legitimate school– Authentic looking diploma– Complete transcript– Contact information for verification
• May claim accreditation• May claim/possess some type of state status
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Tips and Suggestions
• How do you spot a diploma mill?– Documentation and investigation– No simple formula– Look for signs
• Claims of unknown or unclear accreditation – Often operated from same address as school– Review list of accredited schools
• State Registration– Often references corporate registration
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Examples
• Texas Star Point Academy (www.texasstarpointacademy.com)– Registered with the State of Texas– Accredited by North Central Texas Regional
Certification Agency– Accredited by Texas Unified Certification Program
• Finishhighschool.com (Wyoming)– Operates its own accrediting agency– 25 question open book test– Diploma and transcript for $495
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Tips and Suggestions
• Unbelievable offers– “Earn a recognized high school diploma from
Belford High School within 7 days, for just $249.”– “Get your high school diploma on the basis of
prior knowledge and experience.”– “Pass our simple online equivalency test to get
your high school diploma.”
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Tips and Suggestions
• Grammatical and Spelling Errors– Website, documents, even tests
• Testing– Diploma for little or no study– Simple, sometimes single test for diploma
• Low cost– Substantially below legitimate schools– Special deals, sale prices, combo purchases
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Wrap Up
• Watch for federal guidance (DCL, etc.)• Establish a policy and procedure• Look for accreditation, when claimed• Watch for the signs
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Questions?
Missouri Department of Higher EducationP.O. Box 1469
Jefferson City, MO 65102Phone: (573) 751-2361
Fax: (573) 751-6635Info. Center: (800) 473-6757
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