The Office of Personnel Management told a Senate panel that
it is using seminars to train federal managers and HR
officials to detect bogus degrees, and that educating federal
agencies is the best way to expunge the use of diploma mills
in federal hiring and promotion.
It said that it has increased resources within OPM’s
investigations unit which uncovers bogus degrees during
background checks on employees and applicants and has
conducted four training seminars since August 2003 for
approximately 750 hiring officials and program managers on
techniques and tools they can use to identify fraudulent
academic degrees, grade transcripts and claims of job
applicants and employees.
Appearing before the Senate panel was a convicted former
diploma mill employee who explained slick marketing methods
and “creative” billing procedures to facilitate agency
reimbursements.