But most students study at lacklustre public universities or at private diploma mills.

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Instead of these for-profit diploma mills, we should focus on making vocational training a more integral part of our high schools and community colleges.

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The for-profit college business model is essentially built on these lines: diploma mills which exist solely on the government dime and yet are almost entirely unregulated.

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Some are little more than diploma mills of dubious quality.

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Noble has been following UCLA Extension's online maneuverings from a distance and has written a series of essays, called "Digital Diploma Mills, " that focuses on the UCLA Extension-OnlineLearning partnership.

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Widely acknowledged to be a world authority on distance learning, Mr Bear acts as an expert witness for the FBI on trials involving so called diploma mills where degrees are sold for cash.

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Companies like University of Phoenix and others cost taxpayers money, provide subpar education, serve as diploma mills, and prey on students who may never be able to pay back the tens of thousands of dollars in student loans they take on.

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