MIE
Tuesday, 08 November 2011
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Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ideco Group and established credentials verification services provider in South Africa.
The company is positioned to help consumers identify “degree mills” or websites that promote fake qualifications for payment.
MIE has drawn up a list of general characteristics or points that will help consumers test the legitimacy of institutions:
- Lack of accreditation by nationally recognized accreditation bodies. Some degree mills even claim accreditation from accreditation mills.
- Institute names that are similar to those of legitimate and often prestigious schools. This is used to deceive unassuming prospective employers.
- Extremely low coursework requirements in comparison to accredited institutions, with credentials awarded following very little to no studying.
- Academic legitimacy based on claims of affiliation with respected organizations that are not involved in academic accreditation.
- Lecturers’ who themselves have qualifications from the degree mill or have legitimate degrees that are not related to their area of lectureship.
- Marketing via unsolicited e-mail or spam as well as grammatical errors in marketing material
