Why we need to tackle degree fraud

Degree fraud is a bigger threat to the value of graduates' education than a weak economy or saturated jobs market - so what exactly is it and what can you do about it? Adam Francis explains…

I graduated last summer with a degree in English and Creative Writing. After a few stalled attempts at other subjects, I left university at least £65,000 in debt. In this kind of environment, it is especially important that graduates can be confident that the jobs market we are moving into is fair.

Graduates who, like me, end up with a hefty price tag attached to their degree want to know that it will eventually lead to a good job that allows them to balance their income with loan repayments.

Unfortunately, there is a predatory industry currently destabilising the graduate market. Anyone being interviewed for a graduate job would assume that all those who reached the interview stage were fellow graduates. It would also be reasonable to assume that their degrees would be measured against each other in a fair way. But what if this isn't always the case?

As a graduate, degree fraud represents the biggest threat to the value of my education - more so than a failing economy or a saturated market. So, what exactly is degree fraud? Generally, we describe degree fraud in four ways:

1. Bogus universities - government agencies maintain a register of who is and isn't allowed to award valid degrees. To get around this, fraudsters invent universities that pretend that their degrees are recognised by the UK government. These bogus universities might also plagiarise the branding of real universities.
2. Fake certificates - these are counterfeit documents meant to look like genuine degrees. Like bogus universities, they can come from completely invented universities or plagiarise the name and branding of institutions.
3. Confidence tricks - if someone is particularly gifted at lying, then they might be able to pass an interview stage with the power of bluffing. This also might occur if there are minimal requirements to demonstrate knowledge before getting a job.
4. Essay mills - this is distinct from the others as this takes place while a student is at university. It is possible to commission original essay material from companies in order to submit as their own work. If a student pays to pass all their essays, then this isn’t much different from buying a degree.

At the interview stage, a candidate will most likely provide their degree (an original or a photocopy) to prove they have the education they claim they do. For most employers, this will be enough. Imagine, however, that you get five candidates with five different degrees - can you tell at first glance which ones are counterfeit and which are real?

These are, in fact, all fake. While some of these are not so convincing, the more sophisticated ones are indistinguishable from genuine degrees. But why exactly do fraudsters succeed in their lies?

Between the pressures of having to repay loans, getting a high-value job and the attractiveness of alternate study routes, the number of undergraduates has only risen by a net 0.5% since 2012/2013.1 Yet, the Times Top 100 employers are increasing their vacancies by 9% from last year - the biggest increase since 2010.2

This creates a vacuum for fraudsters to move into. Graduates are needed more than ever, yet the number of graduates is not meeting demand. What better space for a fraudster to exploit? A candidate who has paid for a convincing degree will not stop the lie there. They will embellish all other parts of their application to make themselves seem the best choice.

The ramifications of fake degrees go further than just a university education. If a public official defrauds their way into a job, then it is taxpayers' money at risk. It could be a family member of yours receiving unnecessary shock treatment, or your local NHS trust being fleeced out of £350,000.3

At Prospects Hedd our mission is simple. We want 100% of graduates to be verified by 100% of companies 100% of the time. Degree fraud can only thrive when there is the demand. If people know their claims will be verified against student records, there is no possible way they can buy an invented degree.

You can contact us at degreefraud@prospects.ac.uk or on 0161 277 5279 for advice, or to talk to us about anything suspicious you might have seen. Though we can only investigate companies, we can advise on where best to report instances of individual degree fraud. Together, we can make sure that every graduate and degree is respected in the market.

Notes

1. Who's studying in HE, HESA, 2017/18.
2. The Graduate Market in 2019, High Fliers, 2019.
3. Electrotherapy warning over bogus psychiatrist Zholia Alemi, BBC, 2019; and NHS worker duped Cambridgeshire trust out of nearly £350k, ITV News, 2019.

Written by

Adam Francis

HE services executive

Prospects