Diploma Mill Friendly States

In October of 2010, the U.S. Department of Education made a decision that may change the landscape of online education when it comes into effect in July of 2011. They decided to take a hands-off approach when it comes to regulating online colleges and what's required for them to "operate" in each state. Students attending degree programs that do not comply with state regulations might become ineligible for federal student aid programs. But, as to any specific guidelines as to what is required for compliance, the DOE offered no guidance to the state governing boards.

This non-action could actually prove to be a good thing - states will be forced to make decisions and decide for themselves how to regulate online colleges operating within their state. Conversely, a student from a state with more permissive requirements might have trouble finding employment should they move to a state with more restrictive requirements of their online degree providers. And, this hands-off approach might also make it a bit easier for diploma or degree mills to operate - they simply operate out of states with more permissive rules.

One education expert, Richard Garrett said identified four typical categories of regulatory strictness enforced by state educational governing boards.

• Exemption - when a state enforces no licensing requirements for online colleges. There are currently six states that make themselves a target for degree mills by not regulating online programs. Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii and Utah have virtually no safeguards against diploma mills setting up shop in their states.
   
• Online-Explicit - the state has regulations in place that "clearly imply" that licensure is required for online colleges to grant online degrees to students residing in that state.
   
• Online-Ambiguous - the state does not clearly mandate that online-only programs (meaning there's no physical presence in the state) must be licensed. The language is unclear enough that their policies may be open to a variety of interpretations. Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Tennessee and Texas are considered to have unclear regulatory policies that might make it easier for online diploma mills to operate within their state.
   
• Physical Presence - the state requires licensure for any degree-granting institutions that has a physical presence within the state, does in-person recruitment within the state's borders or conducts "some other instructional/marketing activity" in the state. However, a physical presence is not established simply by a state resident being a faculty member of an online institution operating out of another state.
   

Overall, the report released by Garret and his consulting firm Eduventures found Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Wyoming to be the states with the strictest licensing regulations with regard to online educational institutions. It would seem that these states are the least friendly towards the degree mills and offer its residents the greatest online degree value.

Don't miss our two-part series on sneaky things diploma mills do to look legitimate - Diploma Mill Tricks - Accreditation from UNESCO and Diploma Mill Tricks - the Name Game.