Diploma mill
A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is an unaccredited organization which awards academic degrees and diplomas with little or no academic study, and without recognition by official bodies. Many diploma mills claim to offer these qualifications on the basis of "life experience", but many only require a payment to issue a qualification. They are used to fraudulently claim academic credentials for use in securing employment (e.g., a schoolteacher might get a degree from one in order to advance to superintendent).
Common attributes of diploma mills
Diploma mills often have names that are deliberately chosen to sound confusingly similar to prestigious accredited institutions. They often claim to be accredited, even when they are not. Some even go to the lengths of inventing their own accreditation organizations to endorse them, complete with superficially convincing websites modelled on those of real accreditation organizations.
Some diploma mills claim to be based in small countries with unusual circumstances, even though they are selling to customers outside those countries.
See also
