Vocational Training: Diploma Mills!

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	Vocational Training: Diploma Mills!

	Move Your Career In The Right Direction!
	Do You Want Your Career To Stand Out or Stand Still? Sadly, many medical assistants have told us that not having sought certification sooner was a mistake they came to regret. Until they took charge their career went nowhere... but precious time was lost. We don't want this to happen to you! Take the first step in the right direction today. Receive this FREE Career Information Kit IT'S IMPORTANT - And 100% FREE!

WOW! Did you know?

If you follow the news you will learn that thousands of people have bought medical degrees from a bogus school in Liberia, Africa.

Diploma mills make the unthinkable real! For a relatively small fee, and almost zero effort anybody can become a doctor, clergyman, or receive college level and advanced degrees. It just blows the mind: doctors, clergymen, police officers, teachers, federal employees, such as White House staffers, National Security Agency employees, FBI agents, and a senior State Department official, purchased bogus degrees to seek employment, promotions, higher positions, and better pay.

Extreme Caution Example

Caution: Diploma Mills!

Extreme Caution Example

Rip-Off—Fighting Back

A Warning about Diploma Mills!!!

Definitions:

1. Accreditation mill. "Accreditation mill" means an entity that is created to give the appearance that certain substandard schools or institutions of higher education are legitimately accredited organizations, that is not recognized by any authorized state, professional or national agency and that has few, if any, standards for quality.

2. Diploma mill. "Diploma mill" means an institution of higher education operating without accreditation or supervision of a state or a nationally recognized professional agency and granting diplomas that are either fraudulent or, because of lack of proper standards, worthless.

Online Students

Online students must be careful and know what to look for when they seek education or training. The best programs are those that are accredited by an organization that is approved by the United States Department of Education, or an accreditation body approved and recognized by the department, such as CAHEP or ABHES. But there also are institutions, which are not (yet!) accredited, but working on it, since accreditation does NOT happen over night. Institutions that want to be licensed have to go through a rigorous review process by a commission of state elected officials who verify that the school meets a standard set of criteria; and many of them are planning, or are in the process of completing the much desired accreditation status. The institution of your choice should at least be licensed by their local Department of Education.

Bogus Certificates from diploma mills, or certificates from programs that claim accreditation, but are not accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education will not be worth the paper they are printed on. Furthermore, any job placement assistance that might have been promised may consist of nothing but a copy of doctors listed in the local area's Yellow Pages (if that much!)

Council of Higher Education Accreditation warns:

Diploma- and accreditation mills!

7 Important Things to Consider when Deciding on a Medical Assisting Program:

Is the institution licensed by regulatory entity that is a branch of the United States Department of Education?

Is the school planning to pursue CAHEP or ABHES accreditation status?

Will the school document all course work for academic credit?

Will I receive an official transcript that demonstrates completion of course work and instruction?

Will I receive a diploma or degree by an institution that is a duly authorized institution of vocational or higher learning?

Does the program have a clinical training and externship requirement?

Will I be eligible to sit for national certification once I have completed my program?

Will the school assist me in job placement?

Educating The Consumer

If the answers to all of these questions are YES; then you are on your way in being an educated consumer. If any of the answers is NO, then consumer BEWARE.

An official certificate is a credible document. Although most learning programs offer some sort of certificate of completion, the term "certificate" can be easily confused with "professional certification".

A non-recognized, no-credit medical assistant online course certificate of completion is not the same as the documentation received by graduating from a bonafide medical assistant program, and passing one of the national certified/registered medical assistant exams.

The purpose of the professional certification exam to earn a professional designation is to certify that a person is proficient, and qualified to perform a certain job. Certification indicates that the individual has a specific set of knowledge, skills, and experience in the view of the associated certifying body.

When issued by a gray-area, unrecognized school, or worse, a diploma mill, it is by no means confirmation of conferment of an individual's knowledge, academic excellence, or qualification for a specific job.

In their quest for higher education and training students and the public in the United States sometimes encounter “diploma mills”—dubious providers of education that ends in certificates and degrees that are considered completely bogus.

They may also encounter “accreditation mills” which are dubious providers of accreditation that is considered completely worthless under present standards.

Those institutions that went through the process and are approved will always have their program's accreditation status visibly posted on their Web site and online course catalogs. Read: Accreditation Standards!

Also know this: just because a course requires a fee to join doesn't automatically mean the program is accredited, even if the provider claims that it is. Council of Higher Education Accreditation states that identifying diploma mills and accreditation mills is not easy because a number of the features of diploma mills are similar to familiar higher education institutions. However, prospective students and the public can look for several indicators that suggest an operation may be a diploma or accreditation mill. Read CHEA letter from the president.