Every month or so, I receive an e-mail that invites me to get my bachelor's, master's, or PhD degree from a "prestigious unaccredited university" with no required classes or exam. In other words from a diploma mill. This morning's New York Times has an article on a high school diploma mill in Florida.
It appears that the major market for this high school consists of athletes whose grade point averages fall below the 2.75 needed for an athletic scholarship and are in danger of failing Florida's required high school graduation exam. In its wisdom, the Florida legislature exempted private schools from the requirement that all students need to pass the exam.
Diploma mills prosper when the symbols of education become more important than its substance. So universities, anxious to rack up a winning season, look the other way when their athletes are unprepared for college work.
Likewise, markets can be very powerful, for both good and ill, as they respond to incentives. When the incentives are to find loopholes, some entrepreneur will find them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment