DIPLOMA AND ACCREDITATION MILLS

RECOMMENDATION

Steps to follow to avoid recognizing qualifications from diploma mills

It is imperative that credential evaluators refuse to recognise qualifications or credits from diploma mills. More specifically, it is recommended that credential evaluators follow the following steps to prevent recognition of documents issued by diploma mills when assessing foreign credentials:

• check whether the issuing institution or institutions actually exist and whether they are accredited and/or appropriately recognised by the competent authority in the country in question;
• If the awarding body is not accredited and/or appropriately recognised by the competent authority, determine the legitimacy of the provider, and if there is any merit for partial or full recognition;
• If you cannot confirm the existence and/or status of the awarding body, check the transcripts and website for some of the features mentioned above that are indicative of diploma mills;
• check one of several websites that provide the names of known diploma mills (see sources below). Keep in mind however that no such list is ever complete as new diploma mills appear and old ones change their names constantly;
• collect and save examples of qualifications from diploma mills for reference. This helps to become familiar with the common formats and contents of diploma mill qualifications.