These are bogus institutions which grant fake degrees to the students in exchange for money. With the growth of the Internet, these fake diploma mills have grown very rapidly and at times it is very difficult to distinguish these fake foundries from legitimate institutions of higher education. It is thus important to check the accreditation status when choosing an institute or a program. These fake Diploma mills not only harm the students with the bogus degrees but they also hurt the society as a whole besides damaging the reputation of legitimate alternative and non-traditional educational institutions and programs.

Students are advised to visit the U.S. Department of Education Website http://www.ed.gov/students/prep/college/diplomamills/resources.html which is designed to help students avoid the online diploma mills menace.

Some other useful links/resources which can help the students in identifying these fake operators can also be found at:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/diplomamills.htm

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/scholarship/index.htm

http://www.ossc.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html