Dog gets high school diploma as so-called 'degree mills' flourish under Texas law

For those who believe privatization and choice are the solutions to all of our problems...

This from KHOU:

What if we told you that your family dog could graduate from school? Not obedience school, but a program that awards high school diplomas. Sound incredible?



It’s what the [KHOU] I-Team discovered can happen at some private schools that critics say are really diploma mills. And a Texas law is actually helping these businesses thrive...

The I-Team decided to do a test of its own and signed up Molly, our photographer’s basset hound.

And what was Lincoln’s “test” like? Doggone laughable at times, with questions like “a triangle has how many sides?” or  “the President lives in the White House, true or false?”

In a couple of hours, with our help, Molly passed.  After a $300 payment and a few days later, her diploma and official transcript arrived. Lincoln Academy was even nice enough to e-mail:

“Dear Molly, 

You have truly reached a new milestone in your educational career... 

sit back and enjoy your new life of being a
high school graduate from Lincoln Academy.”

So we had some questions for Nancy Lubbat, whose family runs Lincoln Academy.
I-Team: “Can I ask you about Lincoln Academy real quick?

Lubbat: “I don’t have anything to say to you.”

I-Team: “Do you know who you’re awarding diplomas to? A dog, ma’am. What do you have to say to that?” ...

NJ Education chief on hot seat over bogus degrees

This from APP.com:

TRENTON — State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy endured a grilling Monday from the chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, who questioned how school administrators were permitted to adorn their credentials with academic degrees from fly-by-night institutions.

During Monday's hearing, Davy said that she believed the schools chiefs collected the questionable degrees because their contracts assured them higher degrees meant higher salaries.

"To use it to gain an increase in pay," Davy said when asked why the school bosses needed to overstate their academics...

Spokane diploma mill officer sentenced to prison

This from the Seattle Times:

SPOKANE, Wash. — A man described as the chief financial operator of a Spokane-based diploma mill has been sentenced to three years in federal prison.

Steven Karl Randock Sr. got the same sentence Tuesday that his wife, Dixie Ellen Randock, was given last month. Both pleaded guilty earlier to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and charges of money laundering were dropped in exchange.

During six years, the Randocks and six others sold high school and college degrees from 121 fictitious online schools, as well as counterfeit diplomas and transcripts from 66 legitimate universities, government lawyers said. About 10,000 degrees were sold to more than 9,000 people...

...Meanwhile, immigration officials have begun examining a list of 9,612 names to see how many federal employees may have bought phony high school or college degrees from the diploma mill...

Hundreds Linked to Diploma Mill

This from the Washington Post:

Government, Military Probed For Violators

Scores of people in Maryland, Virginia and the District are on a list compiled by federal investigators of more than 9,600 people who might have purchased fraudulent high school diplomas and college degrees, including some who appear to work in government and the military.

Federal authorities are studying the list for U.S. employees who might have purchased a diploma or degree from an Internet-based diploma mill that operated out of Washington state, said Brandon A. Montgomery, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Matched names will be sent to the agencies where the person works for possible administrative action, he said.

Names on the list might include some people who only inquired about purchasing a degree. The list includes at least 160 people in Virginia, 117 in Maryland and 17 in the District. At least 20 of those appear to be military personnel, and at least 10 appear to be government employees or contractors. Of 9,612 names listed, 5,212 are without state identification.

"Literally you could have someone using a diploma in an extremely harmful way if they are not properly trained," said Kristen Nelson, director of communications and
government relations for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, where the state legislature this year passed a law making it illegal to fraudulently use a phony degree.

The Spokane Spokesman-Review newspaper obtained the list and posted it on its Web site on Monday...

Some Kentucky names on the list:

Acree, Delores Irene KY United States AA
Adkins, Willard Bryan KY United States BS
Andel, Betty G KY United States BA
Aubrey, Charles KY United States
Birch, William R KY United States MA
Carnes, Karen A KY United States PhD
Cox, Casey Crandall KY United States
Cundiff, Dennis Ray KY United States HS Mission High School
DeWeese, Whitney KY United States HS
Duty, Scott Allen KY United States BS
Etherton, Kenneth Mack KY United States BA Holmes University
Ewards, Robert L KY United States MA
Fontaine, Rick J KY United States MBA
Fraley, Laura KY United States BBA St. Regis University
Frederick, Brenda S KY United States BBA Holmes University
Gibson, James Earl KY United States HS Trinity
Gifford, Heath KY United States HS
Hale, Chris Henry KY United States PhD James Monroe University
Hanson, Timothy V KY United States PhD
Harris, James Edwin KY United States MA
Harris, Timothy Mark KY United States PhD
Howard, Henry Lee KY United States BA
Huffstutter, Roxanne KY United States HS Liberty High School
Itson, James Earl KY United States BS
Kawadri, Mayssa KY United States AA
Knowlton, Stewart Hood KY United States BA St. Regis University
Krassi, Hashim A KY United States
McCall, Alex David KY United States BS
Miller, Donna M KY United States HS Mission High School
Mount, Joshua S. KY United States HS
Murphy, Kevin KY United States
Phillips, John T (Jr.) KY United States MBA Holmes University
Phillips, Susan G. KY United States
Powers, Daniel Lyn KY United States HS
Rodriguez, Ruben KY United States HS Mission High School
Sands, Michael H. KY United States BS
Seay, Shelia F. KY United States HS Monroe University High School
Smith, Charlie Gordon KY United States BS InTech University of Engineering & Science
Smith, Gary R. KY United States BS
Stokes, Ronald W KY United States MA St. Lourdes Graduate Institute
Stokes_, Ronald W KY United States
Thomas, Bradley KY United States HS
Thomas, Kyong KY United States HS
Thurman, Linda KY United States BA
Tilley, James KY United States HS Liberty High School
Tuttle, Michael Maas KY United States BS
Wilson, Cynthia E KY United States BS
York, Kenneth C KY United States
Young, Barrett L KY United States MBA St. Regis University