Davis and Davis letter

June 5, 2003

The Honorable Kay Coles James
Director
United States Office of Personnel Management
1900 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20415-0001

Dear Director James:

An article in "Washington Technology" dated May 30, 2003 describing the possible use of a "diploma mill" by a high-ranking federal employee has come to our attention. The article reports that Laura Callahan, Senior Director in the office of Chief Information Officer Steven Cooper at the Department of Homeland Security, received a Ph.D. from a Wyoming institution identified as Hamilton University. According to the article:

The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization quotes Webster's Third New International Dictionary on the definition of a diploma mill: An institution of higher education operating without supervision of a state or professional agency and granting diplomas which are either fraudulent or because of lack of proper standards worthless. (emphasis supplied).

The problem of employees embellishing resumes with degrees from these diploma mills has been raised from time to time in recent years. Last year, an investigation by the General Accounting Office's Office of Special Investigations demonstrated how easy it was for individuals to obtain fraudulent degrees. The ease with which these fake credentials can be obtained and the evident lengths to which the deceit can go - even to the point of manufacturing counterfeit transcripts - is very troubling.

Government personnel professionals must ensure that employees have a legitimate claim to the knowledge, skills, and abilities reflected on their resumes and job applications. At a time when we depend more and more on the capabilities and effectiveness of federal civilian employees to safeguard the security of our nation, it is even more important to make certain that those employees possess the skills necessary to carry out their responsibilities.

Accordingly, pursuant to Rules X and XI of the U.S. House of Representatives, please provide the Committee with answers to the following questions by June 20, 2003:

1. Has the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) developed any government-wide strategy or offered agencies any guidance on methods and procedures to verify the educational background of a prospective employee before an individual becomes a member of the federal civil service?
2. Has the OPM developed any government-wide policy that requires agencies to screen the credentials of current employees to ensure that the credentials they claim are in fact from legitimate institutions?
3. Does OPM or any federal department or agency keep records of how many instances of the use of misleading resumes have been discovered as a result of the policies described in questions 1 and 2 above?
4. Does OPM or any federal department or agency keep an ongoing list of suspect institutions that can be used to inform employers and employees of what institutions are unacceptable under OPM policies?
5. If OPM has no standing policies designed to address the problems of credential fraud and diploma mills, what policies would OPM recommend implementing to provide the government with the appropriate confidence that the individuals being hired possess the skills they claim to possess?

Thank you for your timely attention to our request and this matter.

Sincerely,

Tom Davis, Chairman
Committee on Government Reform

Jo Ann Davis, Chairman
Subcommittee on Civil and Agency Organization