Legality, privacy and verifying a college degree Hiring Tips by Donald Burleson

 

In the competitive world of Information Technology, resume fraud is rampant and it never ceases to amaze me how many unscrupulous job candidates will fabricate a college education.  I've seen so many fake MBA's and illiterate people who list degrees that it's prudent for anyone to verify any and all claims of a college education.

 

Spotting diploma mill universities

It's not always easy to spot fake degrees.  I?ve been working with one crumbum who got his PhD from the notorious LaSalle University of Mandeville Louisiana, one of the worst diploma mills in America!  I was not until I checked his resume that I discovered his fraud!

Founded by scammer James Kirk (no relation to Captain Kirk of Star Trek), LaSalle University gave out hundreds of baloney degrees shortly before he went to prison for mail fraud, listed hundreds of companies that they said had accepted and paid for their degrees.

?La Salle University in Louisiana, is a notorious degree mill that was shut down by federal authorities after a raid of its offices in 1995.  Its founder, James Kirk, served more than four years in federal prison for mail fraud and tax evasion.?

I?ve now learned to look-up degrees and not take anyone at face value anymore, a sad commentary on the lying scum who send me resumes every day . . .

• Here is an unaccredited diploma mills:

• Here are some scumbags who brag about graduating from this diploma mill:

Background checks and credentials

Routine background check services offer public details that can shed light on the personal integrity of a computer job applicant:

• Court Records - While companies have always checked for criminal histories, many are now pursuing other public records for evidence of moral turpitude.  These include divorce cases and civil litigation.
   
• Credit history - Companies routinely perform credit checks seeking evidence of dishonesty and disregard for obligations such as late payment history.
   
• College degree - You can quickly verify if your job applicant graduated.

 

Why verify a degree?

 

Long gone are the days where the shame and embarrassment of lying about a degree would prevent cheaters, and it's critical to verify the academic degrees of anyone who claims to be an authority on any subject.  The influx of fake degrees on resume's in the IT profession is due to several factors:

• Expanding demand - As the need for computer professionals outstripped supply, desperate companies were forced to lower their hiring standards.  For example, companies who used to required newbies to be graduates from AACSB accredited universities were now forced to entertain applicants from community colleges.
   

• No barriers to entry - Unlike other professions that require licensing and certification (e.g. Engineers, Accountants, Architects), anyone can hang out a shingle proclaiming themselves to be a computer expert. 

Given these market conditions, fly-by-night computer "colleges" sprang-up everywhere,  enticing marginal blue-collar workers with the promise of a well-paid professional lifestyle.  Offshore diploma mills sprang-up on the web, offering instant degrees, complete with a telephone answering service disguised as a Registrars office, all of this with the intent to deceive HR departments when verifying a college degree.

 

 

The lucrative lifestyle of an IT profession attracts thousands of marginal people

 

Verifying a college degree

 

In many countries you are free to verify the credentials of any computer professional, even if they are not applying for a job.  Credibility on the web is a serious issue, and many netizens will telephone universities registrar offices to verify claims of advanced degrees.  You can also use web sites to verify a college degree for a small fee.

 

Verifying a college degree is especially problematic for foreigners, some of whom count on the HR departments inability to speak a foreign tongue.  Many HR departments automatically discard resume's with foreign degrees because some diploma mills set-up a fake registrars office to verify graduation from phantom schools.

 

For more details on verifying college degrees and credentials, see the books "Conducting the Programmer Job Interview" and "Win your Computer Dream Job".