Excerpted from The Dallas Morning News story by Sarah Sarder
The city of Denton, home to two four-year universities, is also the false location for a diploma mill claiming to offer online “life experience degrees.”
The Denton Record-Chronicle first reported on the so-called Denton University, which purports to offer students their choice of associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degrees — or all four at once.
The price of individual diplomas varies, but applying for all four costs $999 for transcripts and diplomas.
In December, an Oklahoma police officer was arrested on suspicion of using a fake master’s degree that he got from Denton University to reportedly get a salary increase from the city, the Record-Chronicle reported.
A probable-cause affidavit from the officer’s arrest states the school is at an address that appears to be a TA Travel Center.
The Denton University website says it is located in a ZIP code that encompasses an area just north of the University of North Texas and east of the downtown square.
The site claims Denton University has an accreditation from the Accrediting Commission of International Colleges and Universities or ACICU, which is not a real accrediting body, the Record-Chronicle reported.
Unlike the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University, Denton University is not listed as an accredited institution in the city, according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
The U.S. Department of Education offers resources about diploma mills and information on how to check if an institution is accredited, and notes that some legitimate institutions do give academic credit for life or work experiences.