The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "diploma mills" ...
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"Safety for Sale"
The Federal Aviation Administration is under fire after WFAA-TV reveals that thousands of aircraft mechanics licensed by the FAA, had "questionable" training. The poor training and slow reaction by the FAA could be connected to two deadly airplane crashes. The series also revealed that repair facilities hired foreign mechanics through "immigration loopholes" who were unqualified and often could not speak English.
Tags: FAA; Federal Aviation Administration; diploma mills; U.S. aircraft mechanics; mechanic training; foreign mechanics;
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NJ Educators free to use Diploma Mills
Top school officials and superintendents exploited state law to receive degrees from phony diploma mills. Taxpayers spent tens of thousands in bonuses until their actions were uncovered.dd
Tags: administrator; Freehold Regional; pay raise; Department of Education; tuition; Breyer State;
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Pasco 911
WTSP-TV found that Pasco County's 911 system had systematic failures. Operators were not trained for medical emergencies, supervisors were not doing their jobs and managers "padding their educational experiences through diploma mills."
Tags: emergency response; medicine; health; ambulance; fraud; management; neglect; Florida
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Diploma Mill
A series of stories from the Virgin Islands Daily News, "Diploma Mill" reveals that the V.I. government was working with and enabling a diploma mill to target V.I. teachers. The author's research indicates that the institution was not a school, but was instead a "diploma-generating business that had ties to a questionable online operation."
Tags: diploma mill; teacher certification; accreditation; Virgin Islands; buying diplomas; teacher's union
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A Trustworthy Lie Detector?
The Computer Voice Stress Analyzer (CVSA) is a lie detector "said to be able to determine truth or deception by tone of voice or stress level." The machine has "been sold to hundreds of police departments and the U.S. military," with these organizations using it to put people in jail and interrogate terror suspects even though "not a single scientific study has been done to show the CSVA actually works." The Pentagon has now banned use of the machine. An ABC News investigation discovered that while the machine is sold for $10,000 apiece with claims of 98 percent accuracy, some of its convictions have been overturned. In addition, CSVA creator and National Institute for Truth Verification CEO Dr. Charles Humble is "not a medical doctor and does not have a PHD from an accredited university. Instead, he was awarded a Dr. of Psychology after taking a few hours of bible studies at a bible college which was located in an Indiana strip mall."
Tags: Computer Voice Stress Analyzer; Dr. Charles Humble; prisoner interrogation; Institute for Truth Verification; diploma mills
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Degrees of Suspicion
This investigation by The Chronicle of Higher Education looks at the popularity of so-called "diploma mills"and Web sites which provide people with fake degrees and diplomas. The reporters also discover many "legitimate" professors behind some of these operations who run unaccredited universities and colleges. The article also looks into the background of some of these Web sites, and you'll never guess where they're coming from.
Tags: fake degrees; diploma mills; spam web sites
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Diploma Mills
This series of stories reveals that top officials in the Department of Homeland Security claim they have degrees from uncredited institutions. Some of these institutions even sell the degrees online with no academic requirements. The personnel managers on the other hand have no policies in place to identify such frauds.
Tags: FOIA Department of Homeland Security; Laura Callahan; Office of Personnel management; diploma; fake degrees
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Diploma Mills
Starting with one high-ranking official at the Dept. of Homeland Security, the reporters turned up numerous individuals throughout the federal government who claim degrees from unaccredited colleges and universities, including several "institutions" that are diploma mills, selling degrees over the internet with no academic requirements.
Tags: college; university; diploma; PhD; federal government
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Diploma Mills
WBRZ-TV investigates e-mails promising "a degree by mail" and discovers that "more and more people are getting solicited." The report reveals that organizers offer fake diplomas in any field, while "students don't do anything at all" and only pay to get the bogus papers. The story sheds light on the gullibility of some employers who accept fake diplomas without scrutinizing them. The investigation also finds that the organizers of the scam are hard "to track down, because their only trace is a phone number that keeps changing."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; Internet; higher education; law enforcement; degrees; employment
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Credentials in Question, Parts I & II & Folo
A WPLG-TV investigation found top educators and administrators in the Miami-Dade public school district with Phd.'s and Master's degrees from diploma mills.
Tags: TAPE TRANSCRIPT school administration; diploma mills; accreditation