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Education Department enlisted to help unmask diploma mills
- Congress Daily
- January 16, 2004
- Comments
Collins' request followed a day-long meeting between Governmental Affairs staffers and representatives from the Education Department, FBI, and FTC, in which participants discussed "diploma mills," institutions that grant college degrees for a fee, requiring little or no actual coursework.
Collins called the proliferation of these institutions "a serious problem which devalues the legitimate education credentials earned by millions of individuals through hard work, persistence, and achievement."
In July, she called for GAO to investigate diploma mill degrees held by federal government employees; that report is expected within a few weeks, according to a GAO spokesperson.
Collins became interested in diploma mills after Laura Callahan, a senior director in the Homeland Security Department's chief information officer's office, was put on paid leave last June while officials investigated allegations that she had acquired her degrees from an unaccredited diploma mill in Wyoming.
