You get those nuisance spam emails just as I do. The headlines try to interest us in getting a degree without having to attend classes and without taking any examinations. It is much cheaper and quicker than having to spend four years attending class lectures, doing laboratory practice and sharing time with classmates as you discuss concepts that are the basics of the courses.
One major element in the idea of these distance-learning diplomas is one's life experiences. They ask detailed questions about a person's interests, hobbies, jobs in the past and present or places where one has traveled. They then suggest that this job that you had for three years in the 1990s is worth x number of credits toward a diploma in a particular field of study. This trip that you took for three weeks to Europe is worth x number of credits for another course. This stamp collecting hobby is worth x number of credits for still another course. In time, they manage to "sell" you on the idea that you already know enough and have enough experience to get a diploma, maybe even an associates degree.
If you are gullible enough to send them a check, they will arrange a transcript showing that you have a diploma (or a degree) from their institution of learning. As long as you believe their hype, you will think that your carefree life for the past few years is equal to a degree from the community college in your neighborhood. You may begin to wonder why your high school classmates were so stupid as to spend two, four or more years at the college or university while you held a 40 hour per week job and enjoyed the rest of your time.
It seems true that college or university students must take a lot of required subjects which have no relationship to their field of study. It may seem like a waste of time to study history or earth science when your field of interest is corporate law or accounting. When you study the required courses for many of these diploma mills, you will notice that many required courses in a normal college are not among the requirements for this life experience diploma or degree.
Much of the teaching in regular college classes involves four steps.
- Listen to the lecture as to how to do it
- Observe the teacher (or other) doing it
- Try to do it yourself with someone guiding you
- Prove that you are able to do it by yourself
These steps are not included in those diploma mill courses. There is no evidence that you know how to do something unless you are tested. Testing is not a part of those programs. They simply verify that you had the particular experience that you claimed to have. In essence, these diplomas without exams are often diplomas without skills.
