A Long-Distance Diploma

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• Both the FION Fellowship Church of Wyoming and Hamilton University list their address as 125 South King Street in Jackson. Also listed at that address is something called University Center, which claims to be a consultant to private colleges and universities. According to the Idaho Falls Better Business Bureau, 125 South King Street in Jackson, Wyoming, is an office building.

What else can the Better Business Bureau (BBB) tell us about Hamilton University?

In response to a number of consumer inquiries, the BBB opened a file on Hamilton on August 25, 1998, and requested some basic background information. As of this writing, it had received no reply.

The BBB also reports that Hamilton University is not licensed with the State of Wyoming. According to the Wyoming State Education Department, Hamilton would be required to be licensed, unless qualified for exemption under a religious affiliation. Although as of this writing no such exemption had been filed or granted, Hamilton's enrollment booklet states: "The university is exempt from state licensing due to its theocentric nature and affiliation."

The BBB further notes that the Wyoming Secretary of State lists an incorporation date of March 27,1998, for a Hamilton University located in Cheyenne, Wyoming (there is no listing for Hamilton U. in Jackson, Wyoming). Yet Hamilton claims to have been in business since 1976.

Call me crazy, but I think I'll pass on Hamilton's invitation to enroll. Thanks anyway, guys.

More Tips for Avoiding Trouble

Diploma mills have likely been around as long as distance education itself. By the 1980s, a sufficient number had cropped up to capture the attention of the federal authorities. Between 1983 and 1986, the FBI shut down 39 sham schools under what the bureau dubbed Operation Dipscam.

But with the '90s came the Web and electronic mail, opening the door wide to a whole new generation of con artists. Suddenly, virtual "universities" were everywhere, their "founders" operating in the nearly lawless realm of cyberspace.

It set up a phony accrediting agency to sanction its programs.

And pictured on the front of its catalog was an ivy-covered Gothic-revival building—the heart of the Columbia State campus. Or so students were led to believe. In reality, the building is part of a Tarrytown, New York, estate formerly owned by railroad mogul Jay Gould. Columbia State's real "campus" was nothing more than a Metairie mail drop.

Because Louisiana has some of the most lax laws governing educational institutions, it has served as haven for diploma mills. So, too, have Hawaii, Utah, and a handful of other states. It's hard to estimate how many sham schools are currently operating out of P.O. boxes around the country (they tend to elude authorities by moving and changing names frequently) but guesses range anywhere from about 100 to more than 350—with the most lucrative ones pulling in as much as a $1 million a month.

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