diploma mill

American  

noun

1. an organization claiming to be an institution of higher learning but existing for profit only and granting degrees without demanding proper qualifications of the recipients.

2. a college or university having such a large number of students that none receives individual attention from the teachers.

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Etymology

Origin of diploma mill

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

diploma mill

Even by those standards, John Brinkley — who was awarded his medical degree by a disreputable diploma mill — was one of a kind.

From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2022

She was referring to the fact that the university where Robertson got her master’s and doctoral degrees, Corllins University, was nothing more than a diploma mill.

From Washington Times ● May 3, 2017

Even private schools require the students attend classes at that institution and make the grades to play, not go to a strip-mall diploma mill.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2016

In the United States, one federal prosecution in 2008 revealed that 350 federal employees, including officials at the departments of State and Justice, held qualifications from a non-Axact-related diploma mill operation based in Washington State.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2015

Over a decade, one diploma mill, Southeastern University in Greenville, S.C., graduated 620 students, including 171 county, state and federal employees.

From Time Magazine Archive