It is very important to make a clear distinction between these two concepts. 

One could rework the hackneyed old phrase about freedom fighters and say; “One man’s degree mill is another man’s non-traditional university.” 

However, the subject requires a little more thought than that! 

We must make a clear distinction based on two areas: legality and procedure. 

For us to term an institution a “Degree Mill” it would have to fall into one of the following categories. 

1.   It is not legally formed.

2.   It breaks the law in the way it operates.

3.   It fraudulently claims accreditation from an accrediting body that it does not in fact have.

4.   It awards degrees purely in return for money, requiring the applicant to do no work or provide no life experience declaration.

5.   It requires CV’s, resumes or portfolios for academic assessment, but does not require an applicant to legally declare the contents to be true.

6.   It does not clearly explain in it’s literature the nature of it’s legal status and the relevant laws under which it operates.

7.   It awards degrees based on life experience, but does not have some form of guide to explain the relevant procedures and how they are implemented.

8.   It provides degrees from other institutions.

9.   It grants medical degrees based on life experience. 

If the answer to one of the above questions is “YES”, then we would be inclined to term that institution a “Degree Mill”. 

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However, if an institution is obviously able to answer “NO” to each of the above criteria, then in our opinion they cannot be classed as a “Degree Mill” and must be regarded as a valid non-traditional degree granting institution. 

Accreditation is not mandatory and is not a guide to the worth of a degree. In some professions only a degree with specific accreditation is considered valid. A person considering the acquisition of any degree should consider whether they need a degree with specific accreditation. 

Credit Transfer is also not a guide to the worth of a degree. Many traditional institutions, though not all, balk at the concept of life experience based degrees and their worth. This is strange, since they readily expect their graduates to enjoy enhanced social prestige and income based on taking their theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom into the real world.

Yet they seem reluctant to accept the idea that a person can take knowledge gained in the real world, and have it validated in the classroom. 

In our opinion, degrees based on properly assessed life experience are valid degrees gained through a valid concept.