What is your understanding of a Degree Mill?

Answer 1

Degree mills are unaccredited places that dispense degrees in exchange for money. They often have extremely low standards, if any. The degrees they hand out are worth as much as a degree you made on your home computer and printed out, since they aren't accredited.

Some degree mills use accreditation mills to give them some semblance of legitimacy, but again, it's as legitimate as making your own degree and accrediting it yourself.

One of these degrees will not permit a person to become licensed in a profession by the state, and a background check would reveal such a credential as being illegitimate.

While seeming quick and cheap in relation to obtaining a degree by attending classes, the degrees are meaningless, so the money is wasted.

Answer 2

There are some unaccredited schools that are not degree mills. Not many, but some. There are also many accrediting agencies and some are not legit.

The bottom line is that a degree/diploma mill trades a diploma for money. No work is required. Very often they justify this by trying to explain that the recipient has sufficient "life experience" to be equal to a degree.

If you want to really check if it's a diploma mill - see if your dog or cat is eligible for a degree. My late pet 'Velvet elGato' has one of these degrees and it only cost $75. She was also an ordained minister.