It seems everyone is reporting on diploma mills lately, and rightly. It's important that legitimate online degrees are not tagged with the 'diploma mill' baggage. Here's a story from the Capital Times out of Madison, Wisconsin on the subject.

There are funny stories, like the one about the state attorney who bought an MBA for his cat, and then there are the horror stories like tales of New York City cab drivers who moonlight as dentists.

These days you can be anything you want by simply clicking on a mouse and buying a degree from a "diploma mill." Institutions sell phony diplomas, usually by mail, and recently they have been popping up all over the country.

Laura Callahan had a doctorate from Hamilton University and scored a job at the Department of Homeland Security as the associate deputy in the Chief Information Office.

Hamilton University is listed as a diploma mill by Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization, the leading authority on degree mills. After being exposed by a co-worker in 2003, Callahan resigned less than a year later.More commentary at LCCTeach weblog.

Apparently, several online universities & colleges are calling Cheyenne headquarters. These colleges and universities have been branded "diploma mills" -- you pays yo' monies, and yo' gets dat fancy piece o' paper. These institutions all claim to be accreditted; however, the accreditting agency is not recognized by the educational community as a valid group. Laramie County Community College, the University of Wyoming, and the other six community colleges in the state are all accreditted by several groups, including the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School,which is nationally recognized.