Education Department to create accredited schools list

Education Secretary Rod Paige said Monday that his department is moving toward developing a "positive list" of accredited higher education institutions as part of the fight against fake educational degrees in the federal government.

Paige made his statement in a letter to Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine. Collins has led the fight against diploma mills -- organizations that sell degrees for little or no coursework. Officials from Congress, the Education Department and a slew of other federal and state agencies met in January to discuss developing a list of accredited schools that federal managers could use when looking at resumes and judging the validity of tuition payments.

The diploma mill controversy, and a General Accounting Office investigation, began last year when Department of Homeland Security administrators placed a senior technology official on administrative leave and looked into her educational credentials. Homeland Security officials have not responded to several requests for updated information about the employee's status. The GAO report is due by March, and congressional officials have said they want to hold hearings on the issue shortly after receiving those findings.

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Sally Stroup "is taking the lead in this effort," Paige said in his letter. "Her staff is currently developing a proposal to accomplish this and to identify any potential challenges that will need to be addressed in making information available to government personnel."

Paige said also that diploma mill degrees "devalue legitimate education credentials and in some cases pose genuine threats to the safety and well-being of Americans."

Collins applauded Paige's response.

"I am very pleased that the department has agreed to move forward with this project, which will help federal agencies," she said.