By Christina Couch

Columbia Pacific University in Novato, Calif., was a four-year, private institution, offering bacheloršs, masteršs, and doctorate degrees in fields ranging from economics to aviation management. Founded by Harvard graduates in 1978, Columbia Pacific had a proven history of creating fully licensed, fully operating Ph.D.s, including alumnus Dr. John Gray, author of the best-selling book 'Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,' and Dr. Roman Frankel, founder of The Healing Place, Ltd., a substance abuse treatment facility in Farmington Hills, Mich. Doctorate degrees could be earned in a matter of months and CPU's bargain tuition price gave students of all income levels the opportunity to explore new areas of interest.

A doctorate? Fast? And cheap? With successful alumni to boot? If CPU sounds too good to be true, that's because it is. Columbia Pacific University is actually a bogus degree factory that was forced to close down in 1999 for awarding fake Ph.D.s to students who never attended a class or wrote a dissertation. In the age of instant messaging and online banking, buying the credentials of your dreams is easier than ever. The advent of the Internet and the popularity of online studies programs have sparked a boom in the diploma mill industry, making a Ph.D., JD, or even MD one quick payment away.

Columbia Pacific is just a small part of the $500 million in revenue generated each year by the diploma mill industry. According to John Bear, author of Bear's Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, there are more than 300 unaccredited universities currently operating and accepting students. While some are fledgling colleges on their way to legitimate accreditation, many are simply money sinkholes with an academic front, designed to rake in "tuition" money and churn out unearned certifications.

"Graduates claim the same credentials on their resumes and often put the familiar initials, 'Ph.D.,' after their names," states Mike Lambert, executive director of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring ethical business practices within distance education. "But in this upside-down version of academe, words like 'university' and 'doctorate' don't mean what they do to the rest of us."

Before it was shut down, Columbia State University touted itself as the only school to offer Ph.D.s in 27 days or less. Unfortunately, most degree scams don't blatantly advertise their doctor-for-money schemes. Instead, students are lured in by the belief that they're enrolling in valid distance education programs.

"[Degree mills] make bold claims about the libraries they have, their classrooms, campus facilities. all of the key things one would expect to find at a legitimate institution," says Mary Adams, president of the American Graduate School of Management. "In the days before the World Wide Web we used to say the first sign of a diploma mill was the four-color brochure describing their wonderful institution. The rest of us could not afford to spend that kind of money on our marketing materials because we actually had to teach students!"

Money is what a diploma mill is all about. Once students enroll, tuition is paid up front, 'taxes' are sometimes added in, and promises of financial aid are forgotten. Minimal work, if any, is assigned and more than half of the program credits come from outside 'life experience' rather than actual coursework. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars later, students walk away with a degree worth less than the impressive watermarked paper it's printed on.

"The best way students can avoid diploma mill scams is to check the accreditation of the institution," states Lambert. Accreditation ensures that an institution is financially sound, has a concrete program of study, staffs qualified educators, and has the necessary facilities to deliver what it promises. To confirm the legitimacy of a school or degree within the U.S., consult the Council for Higher Education Accreditation's (CHEA) institutional database online at www.chea.org or call the DETC at 202-234-5100. For international programs, check with the host country's ministry of education.

"Check out the facts," advises Adams. "What are the admissions requirements? Are the requirements similar to those of other legitimate schools? What do you have to do to earn the degree? How fast can you get your diploma?" Before applying, contact the school and ask to interview a faculty member or current student on their experiences. Real schools expect prospective students to ask questions and will be prepared to provide you with answers.

Bottom line? Don't expect to become a doctor or lawyer over the weekend. Whether it's online or in a classroom, an education must be earned.