Identifying and Combating Diploma and Accreditation Mills in Papua New Guinea

The growth of private higher education providers within Papua New Guinea (PNG) and internationally is a cause for concern as well as optimism. Whilst some of these providers are genuine, others are degree or diploma mills, institutions which are bogus and often operating with equally bogus mandates from sham accreditation agencies. The purpose of this briefing paper is to respond to the Ministers concerns about these providers. To do so, diploma and accreditation mills are first defined; then the reasons why they have emerged are explained followed by an outline of the threats they pose to PNG higher education; and finally some tools to identify and combated them are proposed.

 Diploma and Accreditation Mills

Diploma or Degree Mills

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in the United States defines a diploma or degree mill as “…a phony university that sells a college diploma — the piece of paper itself — rather than the educational experience.”  As such “diploma mills are scam operations that literally crank out fake paper diplomas to anyone who pays the requested "tuition.”  UNESCO labels them as “questionable providers of higher education, typically offering degrees and other credentials that are costly but provide less than a robust educational experience” (LH Martin Institute, 2014, p. 119). In short, a diploma mill’s sole purpose is to make money by selling a piece of paper of little value. Regrettably, as the CHEA and UNESCO find:  “Degree mills are part of an emerging academic corruption that… is accompanying the growth of access and participation in higher education worldwide” (Council for Higher Education Accreditation & UNESCO, 2009, p. 1).

 Accreditation and Accreditation Mills

 Genuine providers of higher education would desire to practice under authority and oversight from recognized accreditation agencies such as the NHEQA, as in the case of PNG.  Accreditation is the tag of legitimacy which informs the public and key stakeholders that it has been assessed by a recognized accreditation agency to have met a predetermined set of minimum standards (Council for Higher Education Accreditation, 2010, p. 7). Legitimacy provides a license to operate and as such adding value to academic awards of the institution earning the institution public, government, and industry confidence (Council for Higher Education Accreditation, 2010). Fortunately, not all unaccredited institutions are shams as is the case with some institutions in PNG and elsewhere for instance, the Atlantic International University (AIU) in the US,  which prominently states its non-accreditation status on its website (Atlantic International University, 2014). In fact, AIU downplays the value of accreditation arguing that it is a voluntary undertaking. But the Council of Higher Education Accreditation in the US (2010), for instance, makes a stronger case that accreditation gives an institution a competitive advantage without which an institution misses out on the benefits that will flow from the prestige that come with public, government and industry confidence. 

 Accreditation mills, unlike recognized agencies, are sham agencies that collude with diploma mills to setup fronts  in order to self-accredit whilst remaining anonymous and  circumventing legitimate requirements (LH Martin Institute, 2014, p. 126).These corrupt players often include in their titles highly visible reputable names such as Cambridge Association of Managers or Oxford Association of Management (LH Martin Institute, 2014, p. 120), a tactic to evade detection and to lure the unsuspecting consumer.

The Reason for the Emergence of Diploma and Accreditation Mills

 

In PNG, as in many other countries of the globe, there is an explosion of higher education providers and product range as new universities are announced, new colleges springing up.  These institutions are both homegrown and external imports. The new teachers’ college recently established in a highland’s province, for instance, has the full backing of the provincial government.  Other institutions are hosts to franchise programs from internationally institutions. Still others promote homegrown programs as accredited by international institutions, a possible tactic employed by diploma mills to deflect scrutiny by quality agencies. One institution existed briefly as a university before it was made to comply with national regulations.

Several factors drive this growth not just in PNG. First, it is closely linked to the emergence of the higher education market under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GAT), which promotes free trade is goods and services (LH Martin Institute, 2014). The global market for this trade is increasingly integrated socially and economically. Second, national economies have become more knowledge-based and globally integrated. This means governments and industry employers alike are demanding new forms of new knowledge and skills from the workforce. These demands have created a surge in higher education participation. Third, millions of people worldwide irrespective of nationality, class, gender, race or ethnicity perceive increased prospects to climb the social ladder through education, not just within national boundaries but also outside and across national boundaries. In Kina [1]or dollar amounts, mass access opportunity or “massification of higher education” translates to billions of Kina or dollar business (Office of Higher Education, 2011).

Likelihood of PNG being a Target of Diploma Mills

 

The environment is ripe for diploma and accreditation mills to emerge and thrive--and they have.  Estimates of degree mills worldwide put the number in the thousands (Council for Higher Education Accreditation & UNESCO, 2009; LH Martin Institute, 2014). Given such numbers, PNG cannot afford to be complacent. The question is no longer whether PNG is likely to become a target of diploma and accreditation mills, rather, it is what should PNG do to combat fraudulent practices to protect the national higher education system as PNG is already a target of fraudulent providers.  Many Papua New Guineans are seeking higher education both in country and outsider of their national boundaries both physically relocating to other countries, the increasing numbers travelling to the Philippines for instance, and taking up online studies. One person in Madang graduated with a PhD from an unaccredited US institution, completing studies wholly online, a mode which has been flagged as a possible defining characteristic of sham providers (LH Martin Institute, 2014). These numbers are poised to rise perhaps exponentially in the near future.

How to Identify and Combat Fraudulent HE Providers

 

Every nation has a responsibility to protect its citizens from corrupt practices from fraudsters whilst educating and enabling people as consumers to make informed choices about education providers. The challenge though is ongoing as degree mills “are easy to start, difficult to eliminate and, at least to date, relatively immune to regulation” (Council for Higher Education Accreditation & UNESCO, 2009, p. 1).  Much is already being done by organizations such as the Commission of Higher Education (CHE), and by international organization such as UNESCO CHEA, and Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) in the UK to combat the rise of diploma and accreditation mills. Below is a list of descriptors compiled from different sources, the presence of any one of these could be a tell-tell sign of a diploma mill taken from various sources which include LH Martin Course notes (2014, pp. 118-128) and Council of Higher Education Accreditation (2009, p. 9). A degree mill is likely to:

 

Offer education completely online.

·         Use the media to promote academic testamurs without information on the academic soundness of the program or study duration.
·         Use the “appeal factor” tactic where certificates may carry an institution’s name intended to sound respectable and appealing when hung.
·         Run advertisement that might carry disclaimer intended to sway to public into buying into counterfeit certificates. Some certificates may come with real university names, but without the institution’s authority. 
·         May print testamurs on non-reproducible paper.
·         Employ deceptive advertisement intended to deceive the casual reader
·         Make claims of accreditation, which make only be making reference to a recognized accreditation agency.

 

Recommended actions to Combat diploma mills

 

The following is a list of actions also compiled from international agencies and sources that will help NHEQA combat fraudulent practice. NHEQA could:

 

·         Create a database of diploma mills and host it on the Department of Higher Education Science and Technology web portal with links to web portals of other reputable international accreditation agencies such as the US-based Council for Accreditation in Higher Education, and United Kingdom’s Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).  
·         Develop a quick reference guide on how to spot a degree mill with specific indicators to allow prospective students to submit an accreditation status test before proceeding to enroll with any private higher education provider (LH Martin Institute, 2014)
·         Develop a data base of listing legitimate accrediting agencies by country
·         Develop and maintain a list of red alert countries where diploma mills and accreditation mills originate
·         Publish list of providers known to be illegally operating in the country along the lines of what the American have done.
·         Provide a list institutions not complying with national accreditation policies and standards.
·         When in doubt about genuineness of an award with a recognized institutional title, use the “validation” service.
·         Conduct ongoing media campaign, to education the public on the threats posed by diploma mills and how to avoid falling prey to them.

Recommended Further Actions For NHEQA

 

Perhaps in the longer term, the following actions could be taken by NHEQA to inform the public and government:

·         Work to criminalize higher education fraud where repeated offenders will serve jail time.
·         Join or exploring creating a pacific network of accreditation agencies.

Conclusion

 

Diploma and accreditation mills are threats to the integrity of the national education system. In a context of high demand and limited access, unsuspecting people can easily fall prey to the deceptive practices of the providers of sham education awards. The NHEQA has a vital role to play in protecting the system as well as the people. Information and tools provided here can help to identify and combat the diploma and accreditation mills. The more this can be done, the more confidence the government, industry and the public have in the value of the education funded and received.

 

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List of References

 Atlantic International University. (2014). Accreditation  Retrieved 3 June, 2014, 2014, from http://aiu.edu/Accreditation.html

Council for Higher Education Accreditation. (2010). The Value of Accreditation. Washington DC: CHEA.
Council for Higher Education Accreditation, & UNESCO. (2009). Towards Effective Practice: Discouraging Degree Mills in Higher Education. Washington DC CHEA & UNESCO.
LH Martin Institute. (2014). Graduate Certificate in Quality Assurance: Corse Notes for Semester 1, 2014 Melbourne University. Melbourne University.
Office of Higher Education. (2011). Guidelines for Quality Assurance for Open and Distance Learning in PNg. Massification of technical Training and Higher Education in PNG through Public Private Partnership
Stakeholders' Consultative Workshop content. 

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[1] PNG’s trading currency

 

 

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Attract, train and retain: Can we staff our universities?

In the new socio-economic policy context, universities in PNG are singled out as key tools to support a highly ambitious Vision 2050 national development strategy. However, as mentioned in other posts, PNG universities face many challenges, which if not meaningfully addressed, their ability to effectively support national development is hampered.

 One of these critical challenges looming large for the universities is that of adequately staffing themselves for quality performance to meet the expected quantity output.  At least two recent consultancy reports including the Garnaut-Namaliu Review on the sector have singled out this factor as one which will predetermine the quality of higher education provision and therefore, the quality of graduates entering the workforce.

Indications are that universities cannot attract, retain or train the qualified national and international staff they need.  The constraints they face stem from both policy and professional work-life issues.  Of general concern for PNG is that work-life issues such as remuneration, work-life balance, security and work-load burden are leading to a brain drain out of PNG of highly skilled Papua New Guineans including pilots, doctors, and engineers.  Of more pressing worry for PNG and its universities in the context of the development agenda is that amongst those on the track out of PNG are academics of PhD standing.

 As the universities watch the brain drain out, they are unable financially to capitalize on opportunities presented to attract a brain flow-in of mid-career or earlier career international academics. A recent report on the academic profession in Australia suggests that the profession there is under transition as the country anticipates a migration out of early or mid career academics. 

Whilst Australia’s loss is the gain of other nations, it is unlikely that its closest neighbor, PNG, even in economic boom times, is in the position to lure some of these academics to its shores.  Many of the concerns that in the first instance are driving the migration out of Australia of its academics are the same concerns facing academics in PNG. These included pressures of workload, work-life balance issues, remuneration etc.

On the policy front, two work against the universities’ efforts to staff themselves adequately for quality provision. One of these policies curtails the efforts of universities such as DWU which are classified as private. Though privately governed, DWU is in fact a national institution involved in providing higher education as a public service and not for profit. As with other PNG universities, with a limited national pool of PhD qualified candidates to recruit from, and not being financially able to attract early or mid-career international academics, over the years DWU has been able to secure the services of post-career or retired academics and leveraged institution-to- institution partnerships with Australian universities such as Macquarie, James Cook and Australian Catholic universities to boost its staffing levels. Though clearly having benefits for DWU, these strategies however do not provide the assurance needed for long term planning for provision.

Nevertheless, even these sorts of attempts to secure staff are further  hampered in the way these universities are framed as businesses. Such framing subjects these universities to a lengthy and costly process to secure visas and work permits to recruit international staff, a process their public counterparts are not subjected to.  Often willing experts find the lengthiness of the process too long  to endure  and eventually decide not to come.

Another policy constraint that all universities face comes from the “localization policy”, a policy introduced after independence to replace foreign workers with Papua New Guineans. The extent to which it is enforced in the university setting is not known, but it can be stated that such a policy is an antithesis to the organization of the university and academic profession which are by nature cosmopolitan organizations. As such cross-border knowledge fertilization is necessary for currency and quality of teaching and research endeavors.

In view of these particular constraints, if PNG wants its universities to deliver, then it has to effectively empower them. All universities need sufficient funding to attract, retain and to support the training of the next generation of academics. For some universities empowerment means going further to remove counter-productive policy barriers.  The reality is: Without the assurance of sufficient numbers of highly qualified academics, the quality and high numbers of skilled workforce that universities and other HE institutions are expected to deliver is just not going to happen.