Friday, February 10, 2012

An audit of a North Dakota state university suggests that Dickinson State University was a diploma mill for foreign students.

The report finds that the school awarded hundreds of degrees to foreigners who didn't earn them. It says the school signed up students who couldn't speak English, and enrolled a handful without
qualifying grades.

Most of the affected students were Chinese.

The school could face penalties from the State Department for violating the federal student visa program as well as sanctions from the departments of Education and Homeland Security.

The audit could raise questions about whether public universities that are strapped for cash are cutting corners to attract foreign students, who typically pay full out-of-state tuition.

The audit lists 410 students who received a degree under a program allowing them to get degrees from both Dickinson State and a school in their home country. It says 400 of them were missing the required credits or course work. About 95 percent of the students in the program were Chinese, and the rest were Russian.