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Almeda U. Diploma Mill Targets Faux Students

Posted by vida

I wondered recently why a known diploma mill would sent out a press release claiming to be a legitimate, accredited online school when in fact, it was not.

This “school” claimed to have thousands of satisfied “students” and no complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau. When I checked further, I found that this part was true. The Better Business Bureau had no record of complaints filed against this fraudulent entity. But why not?

The name of the diploma mill is Almeda University. They are not recognized as a legitimate online school by the US Department of Education. They are reluctant to give a physical address. They place the bulk of the credit for their degrees on life experience. They do ask ’students’ to write a thesis; but no classes are required. After 5-8 months, a degree is awarded.

But what about all those satisfied customers? This bothered me. Finally, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The press release was not designed for those who would immediately recognize a diploma mill and avoid it. It was targeting those pretend students who wanted to buy their online degree, not work for it.

This is difficult to swallow. The image of the poor victimized student is fading. Later, when these ‘graduates’ are exposed, they simply say they didn’t know any better and cry the blues, hoping they can hold onto their jobs.

And now I understand why Almeda advertises its wares any way it can without fear of exposure or reprisals. They make lots of easy money selling a product with high demand. And so do the rest of those in this reported $500 million industry. So when will it stop? It will stop when the public wants it to stop and not one moment sooner.

diploma mill, education, online schools, distance education, fake degrees, US Department of Education, students, college, easy money

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4 Responses to “Almeda U. Diploma Mill Targets Faux Students”

Mary Says:
August 16th, 2007 at 6:29 am
These types of colleges are usually for the employee that has been in the workforce for the past 15 to 20 years. They DO have the experience that young kids wouldn’t have and they HAVE put in their time and hours….Most businesses today couldn’t afford to hire somebody early on because they couldn’t afford the Degree’d person…So the person who has put their blood sweat and tears into their job and has made their business successful SHOULD have the ability to test out for the dimploma in their respective areas, i.e. Business, Communications, etc. I see no problem with this at all! That being said I don’t know what all the requirements are of these so called “Diploma Mills” but I do agree that once you have been in the business over 20 years, that you should be able to get a “Legitimate Diploma” through a majority of life experience.
Tim Says:
February 14th, 2011 at 8:46 am
I agree with Mary. A perfect example is a military member. They attend courses of instruction, schools, and receive on-the-job (OJT) training to the maximum extent. Their skill set is superior to most of their civilian counterparts, yet must compete on an uneven playing field. Just because you have a degree from sitting on your butt for four or six years doesn’t necessarily mean you have a clue on how to actually perform a task. Would you want an electrician working on your house who had only “seen” the effects and properties of electricity on a computer screen? That is why a Journeyman can only earn their license through on-the-job experience. I do admit it irritates me to no end that someone with a degree will look down their nose at me and poo-poo my “life expereience”, but in the end I know I can get the job done correctly while the child with the sheepskin is too scared to pick up a screwdriver and get dirty.
Joe Says:
February 16th, 2011 at 10:31 am
What the critics of these school fail to realize is that there is absolutely no reason, especially no economic reason, why education should be a monopoly enterprise by the state. Why should the government dictate just what is and what is not a “legitimate” degree?

Consider, the government wants to tell you what school to go to, how long you should be there, what classes you should take and, want you to get the money to finance it from, you guess it, the government. After following all of these prescribed rules as to how you should pursue your education, they have you in servitude as you pay back the huge debt for the rest of your adult life!

Tell me, who is running the real racket here?
Jon Says:
February 9th, 2012 at 9:18 am
I absolutely agree with Mary,Tim,& Joe. I’ve been in the Law Enforcement field for 30 years and I’m still working on my degree. Because of the work I do in Law Enforcement, very little time is left to attend classes in a traditional setting. On line is great, however it also requires a great amount of time and it’s also expensive. In 30 years, all the law enforcement classes I’ve attended, received certification for, should count for something. Upon taking criminal justice classes at a well known university, I found out through the instructor himself, that he had absolutely no experience in Law Enforcement but had been teaching it for years. This is the so call ed expert who is teaching me how to be a Law enformcement officer. Over the years I’ve spoken to several college recruiter who agree with me that my work experience/life experience should count for something,but as they would ultimately add, the colleges & universities need to make their money so they can continue to operate. If everyone was getting their degree through life experience programs, they’d be out of buiness. That may be true, but to employ so called experts to teach certain fields of study who truly are not experts in their chosen field, is as much a scam as any I’ve seen. Also,I’ve paid for everyone of my college course out of my own pocket, this being done on a Police Officer’s small salary. I don’t qualify for many grants due to the amount of money I make yearly,the fact that i’m not a minority, or that there aren’t many grants available for the field that I’m in. I prefer not to take out loans because of the high interest rates and by the time I could pay them back, I’d be long retired. I know this is a long reply, however, I believe through my vast experience in Law Enforcement & the education I’ve acquired through it, I have a lot to offer to my community & the work place in general. In today’s society I can’t even acquire a Chief’s position without a college degree, however in most department’s I can attain the rank of Commander or Ass’t. Chief, without one as I have already. My vast experience and Law Enforcement education certainly makes me a qualified canidate but with out that “sheepskin diploma” I’m automatically eliminated. I would agree with Tim that the playing field is uneven. I believe Life Experience Degress should be considered legitimate provided one has the background to prove he/she has earned it.

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Almeda U. Diploma Mill Targets Faux Students

4 Responses to “Almeda U. Diploma Mill Targets Faux Students”

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