Are Fake Degree Certificates Undermining the Education System

Thanks to the internet it is now easier than ever to buy a fake degree certificate. There are many sites selling these for the “novelty value” and a few more which market them as being more serious fakes.
Clearly using a fake degree certificate carries a high level of risk for the person using one, particularly at a job interview. It is very easy to check someones attendance time at University. For example, a recent winner of the reality show “The Apprentice” was found to have lied about his time at University on his CV, and the ineffectiveness of fake degree certificates is widely written about.
Of course none of this botheres the vendors and purveyors of fake certificates as all the are after is a fast buck, as are their potential customers, however, the effects are a little more far reaching as increasingly the value of academic qualifications in general is being brought into question.There is a seemingly endless debate over standards and dumbing down within Universities. Only today I read that many Universities are encountering problems with foreign students who think all they need to do is pay their fees, and they will be awarded a degree.
Then there are the degree and diploma mills pumping out fake qualifications, and a myriad of services offering copywriting services (plagiarism). So far Universities have proved completely un-prepared for this aspect of the “Internet Revolution”.
Systems for detecting plagiarism are not integreated properly between Universites. Hollograms are not used on certificates, which is absolute madness given a pair of jeans may have one, and clearly, a degree certificate is worth a lot more than a pair of jeans!
Finally the fact that so many people take degrees is lowering their value in the eyes of employers, who increasingly look for second degrees.
Fake certificates are really only a small part of a wider problem, which is that Universities are several years behind of where they need to be to deal with these socialogical and technological changes.

How to Study - Power Learning: getting by with online college degree studies

Ever wonder why some online college degree students know how to
study seem to quickly learn, recall and excel in school while
others (perhaps your child or you) never seem to quite get it.
You’re probably just as smart in all other respects, right? Well
what’s the problem? (And what is power learning?)

Most of us are born with good minds, but some just use them
better than others. I believe that the best students naturally
find a good study system and just keep on using it because it
works. For others, learning in school just doesn’t come
natural–that’s the problem!

Power Learning can be that answer because it recognizes how
most people learn and teaches them how to study. Have you ever
noticed toddlers learning complex language and social skills,
and they’re having fun too, right. Well you see, in our
education system all the fun has been removed. Most young
children love kindergarten and the first grade because teachers
at that level generally try to encourage students to learn by
making the experience fun. By the second or third grade,
however, all this stops and students must be quiet, sit still,
and learn. That puts the stop on natural learning and is the
main reason why most people don’t have any idea how to study for
online college degrees–or traditional degrees!

A few online college degree students are able to make the
transition but for most of us it is a struggle because the new
learning process is so unnatural. Learning should be fun right?
Students fall behind, not because they’re not smart enough, but
because the regular learning system is completely unnatural its
no longer fun, its work.

What to do? Power Learn. Power Learning is a system that
follows a natural education progression, and its fun. Once
learned it can be applied to any subject from K1 through
college. Essentially, power learning deals with teaching good
how to study methods that work and are applicable to any
learning topic. If online college degree students learn how to
study and have fun doing it, good results will follow.

One of the principles of power learning is the SQ3R principle
which stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review. How
can something so simple work? I don’t know, but it does. For me
that’s what really matters. The system was developed by Dr. Paul
Pimsleur, the famous educator and linguist from Columbia
University to help students of all ages quickly and permanently
learn and, to have fun in the process. Online college degree
students are dire need of learning how to study because they are
frequently missing good feedback form their professors and
peers. Power Learning has many variations today, but the basic
principle is always the same — you need a system and you need
to make it fun. Power Learning can be applied to:

. All Academic Subjects K-1 through College

. Learning Foreign Languages

. Speed Reading

. CLEP Examinations

. Exam Preparation

. You name it

Are we having fun yet?