Did you earn that degree?

[audiophile]

<p>Makes you wonder…
[SR.com:</a> Buyers of bogus degrees named](<a href=“http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=15898]SR.com:”>http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=15898)</p>

<p>

Buyers of bogus degrees named</p>

<p>Hundreds of people working in the military, government and education are on a list of almost 10,000 people who spent $7.3 million buying phony and counterfeit high school and college degrees from a Spokane diploma mill.</p>

<p>The complete list of buyers, which the U.S. Department of Justice has refused to release to the public, has been obtained by The Spokesman-Review.</p>

<p>“There are people in high places with these degrees, and only one of them has been charged with a crime,” a source familiar with the list said Monday.</p>

<p>A preliminary analysis of the list by The Spokesman-Review shows 135 individuals with ties to the military, 39 with links to educational institutions and 17 employed by government agencies. Those numbers were derived from e-mail addresses that are part of the list obtained by the newspaper. However, the exact number of individuals with ties to the military, government and education is believed to be far greater because many of those buyers used their personal e-mail accounts.</p>

<p>The list includes NASA employee Timothy Francis Gorman, who bought an electrical engineering degree using his e-mail account at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to correspond with the diploma mill, and U.S. Department of Health oncology expert Frank S. Govern, who purchased a doctorate in health care administration.</p>

<p>National Security Agency employees David W. Barden and Barry A. Hester both bought degrees. Hester, who was a computer Web trainer and designer for the NSA with top-secret clearance, paid $1,187 for an information systems and technology degree, the list shows.

</p>

[audiophile]

<p>No one is concerned about this?
How about:</p>

<p>

Remah Moustafa Ahmed Kamel, a 43-year-old Saudi Arabian, bought degrees in obstetrics and gynecology

</p>

[StickerShock]

<p>Audio, aside from the ethical violation, I am most worried about the OBGYN. Now THAT’s dangerous! </p>

<p>I think much of the work done in government agencies is well below the caliber of the private sector & that’s why someone with a mail order doctorate in health care administration or a BS in electrical engineering (literally a BS degree in this instance !)wouldn’t stand out like a sore thumb.</p>

[StickerShock]

<p>One more thought --Perhaps those scammers who bought the degrees all skipped h.s. calculus. It’s a slippery slope…</p>

[audiophile]

<p>To tell you the truth, I think it’s a poor reflection of our society and government. </p>

<p>There is a well known consultant to my profession who was found to have a mail order MBA. Big uproar for about a millisecond, now he’s back to advertising in our trade journals and signing up clients (although I think he no longer advertises the MBA).</p>

<p>

One more thought --Perhaps those scammers who bought the degrees all skipped h.s. calculus. It’s a slippery slope…

</p>

<p>Very true! :D</p>

[overseas]

<p>It all goes back to Appearance versus Reality! This is a problem as old as the human race…sigh…</p>

[ReneeV]

<p>In answer to the thread title, YES, I did!!! From a fine institution in Spokane, WA (really!).</p>

<p>When I was looking at several masters programs., a couple of my colleagues were in a once-a-month weekend program with a for-profit U, and it seemed like their course requirements were a lot of fluff. I remember commenting to another teacher, “I want to WORK for my degree, not just hand over a tuition check and go to monthly club meetings…” </p>

<p>I agree, a fake OBGYN certification is a terrifying thought.</p>

[Piterbizon]

<p>well it’s not like many of these people would’ve had much use for real degrees… at the NSA especially…</p>