I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 773 
To reduce and prevent the sale and use of fraudulent degrees in order 
to protect the integrity of valid higher education degrees that are used 
for Federal purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 31, 2007 
Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota (for herself, Mr. BISHOP of New York, and Mr. 
GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on 
Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Government Reform, Judiciary, 
and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To reduce and prevent the sale and use of fraudulent degrees 
in order to protect the integrity of valid higher education 
degrees that are used for Federal purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Diploma Integrity Pro-
tection Act of 2007’’. 
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SEC. 2. PURPOSE; DEFINITIONS. 
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to protect 
institutions of higher education, businesses and other em-
ployers, professional licensing boards, patients and clients 
of degree holders, taxpayers, and other individuals from 
any person claiming to possess a legitimate academic de-
gree that in fact was issued by a fraudulent or nonexistent 
school, by a non-educational entity posing as a school, or 
by any entity in violation of Federal or State law. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) 
DEGREE-GRANTING
INSTITUTION.—The 
term ‘‘degree-granting institution’’ means any entity 
that offers or confers an academic, professional, or 
occupational degree, diploma, or certificate, if such 
degree, diploma, or certificate may be used to rep-
resent to the general public that the individual pos-
sessing such degree, diploma, or certificate has com-
pleted a program of education or training beyond 
secondary education. 
(2) DIPLOMA MILL.—The term ‘‘diploma mill’’ 
means any entity that— 
(A) lacks valid accreditation by an agency 
recognized by a Federal agency, a State govern-
ment, or the Council for Higher Education Ac-
creditation as a valid accrediting agency of in-
stitutions of higher education; and 
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(B) offers degrees, diplomas, or certifi-
cations, for a fee, that may be used to represent 
to the general public that the individual pos-
sessing such a degree, diploma, or certification 
has completed a program of education or train-
ing beyond secondary education, but little or no 
education or course work is required to obtain 
such a degree, diploma, or certification. 
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 102 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Diploma mills (entities that sell fraudulent 
degrees, diplomas, or certifications), have pro-
liferated in recent decades due to inconsistent law 
enforcement and technological advances such as the 
Internet and electronic mail. 
(2) Diploma mills take many different forms 
but often share common characteristics, such as— 
(A) lack of accreditation or false claims of 
accreditation by agencies not recognized by the 
Department of Education or by the Council for 
Higher Education Accreditation; 
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(B) no previous academic records are re-
quired for admission; 
(C) tuition is charged based on the number 
of degrees purchased, rather than the number 
of credit hours or courses taken; 
(D) credits for degrees are offered based 
on life experience rather than academic work; 
(E) students can receive degrees in far less 
time than at legitimate, accredited institutions 
of higher education; 
(F) faculty do not have degrees or creden-
tials from accredited institutions; 
(G) the use of foreign or post office box 
addresses for the entity, without a physical per-
manent address in the United States; and 
(H) names that are very similar to legiti-
mate, accredited institutions of higher edu-
cation. 
(3) Several hundred diploma mills are operating 
at any given time, with revenues estimated to total 
more than $500,000,000 each year. 
(4) Rapidly growing commerce in fraudulent 
academic credentials imperils the national security of 
the United States. 
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(5) The safety of the American public is par-
ticularly endangered by the sale of fraudulent med-
ical, engineering, science, and education degrees. 
(6) The preeminence of the United States in 
science and engineering, as well as the prestige and 
reputation of American universities, is threatened by 
the trafficking of fraudulent degrees, diplomas, and 
certifications. 
(7) Some individuals who obtain degrees from 
diploma mills are conspirators in fraudulent behav-
ior, but others are innocent consumers who have be-
come victims of financial scams. 
(8) Efforts to shut down diploma mills have 
been weak and erratic due to variations in— 
(A) the laws of Federal, State, and local 
jurisdictions; 
(B) available enforcement mechanisms; 
and 
(C) political priorities. 
(9) In 2004, a Government Accountability Of-
fice investigation revealed weaknesses in the Depart-
ment of Education’s administration of the student 
loan programs for higher education, including the 
possibility that a diploma mill could participate in 
the Federal Family Education Loan Program 
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(FFELP) under title IV of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965. 
(10) The 2004 Government Accountability Of-
fice investigation included an examination of the cre-
dentials of a sampling of Federal employees, and re-
vealed that, of the Federal employees selected for 
the examination, 463 Federal employees held de-
grees from diploma mills and other unaccredited uni-
versities, including 12 employees for the Department 
of Homeland Security, 13 for the Department of 
Justice, and 29 for the United States Postal Service. 
The investigation also found that Federal agencies 
have paid more than $150,000 in tuition payments 
to diploma mills and other unaccredited universities 
on behalf of Federal employees. 
(11) Recent investigations of suspected diploma 
mills have exposed a tangled web of fraudulent be-
havior that spans across State lines and the United 
States border. 
(12) The regulation of education in the United 
States is, in general, a State responsibility, and the 
development and regulation of academic standards 
in higher education is the responsibility of institu-
tions of higher education. 
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(13) The Federal Government should have uni-
form standards to determine, for Federal purposes, 
the legitimacy of degrees, diplomas, certifications, 
and degree-granting institutions. 
(14) This Act is necessary to prevent the use of 
fraudulent degrees for Federal purposes, and to ex-
pand Federal authority to investigate and penalize 
operators of diploma mills. 
SEC. 4. RECOGNIZED ACCREDITING AGENCIES AND INSTI-
TUTIONS. 
(a) LISTS MAINTAINED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF 
EDUCATION.—Not later than 30 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 
shall make available (in a regularly updated, electronic 
format) to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 
heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, a list of— 
(1) accrediting agencies and associations, recog-
nized by the Secretary of Education under section 
496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1099b), or by the Council for Higher Edu-
cation Accreditation; 
(2) eligible institutions, as defined under section 
435(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1085(a)); and 
(3) foreign degree-granting institutions that— 
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(A) have degree-granting authority, as 
granted by the appropriate agency or ministry 
of jurisdiction in the home country of such in-
stitution; 
(B) issue degrees that are accepted for 
professional licensure, public employment, and 
admission into graduate programs of degree- 
granting institutions in the home country (as 
determined by the Secretary of State); 
(C) are determined by the Secretary of 
Education to be academically equivalent to an 
eligible institution, as defined in section 435(a) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1085(a)); and 
(D) are located in a home country that is 
capable of performing an effective academic 
evaluation of the degree-granting institutions to 
which it issues degree-granting authority, as de-
termined by the Secretary of State, in consulta-
tion with the Secretary of Education, 
for the purposes of allowing the Secretary of Homeland 
Security and the heads of such Federal agencies to deter-
mine, for immigration and Federal employment and hiring 
purposes, the legitimacy of degree-granting institutions 
and degrees issued by such institutions. 
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(b) REVISIONS TO LISTS.—The Secretary of Edu-
cation shall modify and maintain the lists described in 
subsection (a) as necessary to ensure that the lists and 
the information contained in the lists are accurate and up- 
to-date, based on the most recent information available to 
the Secretary. 
(c) NOTICE OF RECOGNITION.—To be eligible to re-
ceive funds under title IV of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965, each eligible institution described in subsection 
(a)(2) shall, not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, prominently display on the institu-
tion’s Internet website a notice indicating that the institu-
tion is recognized by the Secretary of Education as a le-
gitimate degree-granting institution for immigration and 
Federal employment and hiring purposes. If the Secretary 
of Education determines that an institution no longer 
qualifies as a legitimate degree-granting institutions de-
scribed in subsection (a)(2), and removes the institution 
from the list maintained under such subsection, the insti-
tution shall, not later than 15 days after the removal of 
the institution from such list, delete the notice required 
by this subsection from the institution’s Internet website. 
SEC. 5. ACCREDITING AGENCIES. 
No accrediting agency or association may be consid-
ered to be a reliable authority as to the quality of edu-
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cation or training offered by a degree-granting institution 
for any purpose related to immigration, Federal employ-
ment and hiring practices, or for any other Federal pur-
poses, unless the agency or association is on the list of 
accrediting agencies and associations recognized by the 
Secretary of Education or the Council for Higher Edu-
cation Accreditation and provided to the Secretary of 
Homeland Security under section 4(a). 
SEC. 6. STUDENT VISAS. 
No nonimmigrant visa under subsections (F), (J), or 
(M) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) shall be issued to any 
alien unless the established college or university described 
in such section is on the list of eligible institutions recog-
nized by the Secretary of Education and provided to the 
Secretary of Homeland Security under section 4. 
SEC. 7. FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT. 
For purposes of applying any civil service law, rule, 
or regulation that requires or takes into consideration a 
degree from an institution of higher education for pur-
poses of appointment or promotion of, or improved pay 
for, a Federal employee, only a degree from a degree- 
granting institution that is on the list of eligible institu-
tions recognized by the Secretary of Education and pro-
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vided to the appropriate Federal agencies under section 
4 shall be acceptable. 
SEC. 8. TASK FORCE. 
(a) TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED.—The Secretary of 
Education shall establish within the Department of Edu-
cation the Diploma Mill Task Force (referred to in this 
Act as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) NUMBER
AND
APPOINTMENT.—The Task 
Force shall, if practicable, be composed of 19 mem-
bers, as follows: 
(A) The Assistant Secretary of Education 
for Postsecondary Education. 
(B) A representative of the Department of 
Education with experience related to the deter-
mination of the legitimacy and quality of de-
grees from foreign institutions of higher edu-
cation, selected by the Secretary of Education. 
(C) A representative of the Department of 
Justice, selected by the Attorney General. 
(D) A representative of the Federal Trade 
Commission, selected by the Chairman of such 
agency. 
(E) A representative of the Secret Service, 
selected by the Director of the Secret Service. 
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(F) A representative of the Department of 
State, selected by the Secretary of State. 
(G) A representative of the Department of 
Homeland Security, selected by the Secretary of 
Homeland Security. 
(H) A representative of the Office of Per-
sonnel Management, selected by the Director of 
such Office. 
(I) A representative of the Council for 
Higher Education Accreditation. 
(J) A representative of the American Asso-
ciation of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions 
Officers. 
(K) Two representatives of State degree 
approval agencies, selected by agreement of at 
least 3 of the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Senate Majority Leader, the 
House Minority Leader, and the Senate Minor-
ity Leader. 
(L) Two representatives from regionally 
accredited institutions of higher education, se-
lected by agreement of at least 3 of the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, the Senate 
Majority Leader, the House Minority Leader, 
and the Senate Minority Leader. 
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(M) One representative from a nationally 
accredited institution of higher education, se-
lected by agreement of at least 3 of the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, the Senate 
Majority Leader, the House Minority Leader, 
and the Senate Minority Leader. 
(N) Four individuals from the general pop-
ulation with experience in higher education, the 
detection of fraudulent degrees and degree- 
granting institutions, or law enforcement re-
lated to credential fraud, selected as follows: 
(i) One individual selected by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
(ii) One individual selected by the Mi-
nority Leader of the House of Representa-
tives. 
(iii) One individual selected by the 
Majority Leader of the Senate. 
(iv) One individual selected by the Mi-
nority Leader of the Senate. 
(2) CRITERIA FOR MEMBERSHIP.—All members 
of the Task Force shall be persons who are espe-
cially qualified to serve on the Task Force by virtue 
of their education, training, or experience, particu-
larly in the fields of higher education, accreditation 
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of institutions of higher education, foreign higher 
education standards, State regulation of institutions 
of higher education, immigration, Federal employ-
ment requirements and hiring practices, or fraud 
prevention, detection, or enforcement. 
(3) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed 
for the life of the Task Force. 
(4) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Task Force 
shall be filled in the manner in which the original 
appointment was made. 
(5) CHAIR.—At the first meeting of the Task 
Force, the members of the Task Force shall elect a 
member of the Task Force to serve as Chair. 
(c) DUTIES.— 
(1) GUIDELINES.—The Task Force shall de-
velop guidelines, to be used for the development of 
Federal legislation, to identify degree-granting insti-
tutions as legitimate or fraudulent degree-granting 
institutions for Federal purposes. In developing such 
guidelines, the Task Force shall consider— 
(A) characteristics of degree-granting insti-
tutions that help determine the legitimacy of 
the institution, such as whether an entity— 
(i) offers or confers degrees, diplomas, 
or certificates— 
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(I) for little or no meaningful 
academic work; 
(II) without requiring an appro-
priate level of academic achievement 
for the attainment of such degrees, di-
plomas, or certificates; or 
(III) without imposing academic 
or other requirements for admittance 
into the institutions or programs of-
fering such degrees, diplomas, or cer-
tificates; 
(ii) has fiscal and administrative 
structures and capacity appropriate to the 
specified scale of educational operations; 
(iii) has resources to support claims 
as a degree-granting institution, including 
curricula, qualified faculty, facilities, equip-
ment, and supplies, student support serv-
ices, objectives of the degrees or creden-
tials offered, admissions practices, aca-
demic calendars and catalogs, and a grad-
ing system; and 
(iv) has degree-granting authority 
issued by the States in which degrees, or 
instruction leading to degrees, are offered, 
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the ‘‘Plan’’) to address the sale and use of fraudu-
lent degrees for Federal purposes. The Plan shall in-
clude the following: 
(A) Recommendations to Congress regard-
ing the implementation by Federal agencies of 
the guidelines developed under paragraph (1). 
(B) Recommendations to the Federal 
Trade Commission regarding the application of 
the guidelines developed under paragraph (1) to 
the rulemaking required under section 9 and to 
the enforcement of the rules promulgated under 
such section. 
(3) SUBMISSION OF REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
Not later one year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Task Force shall submit to the ap-
propriate congressional committees a report, includ-
ing— 
(A) the guidelines developed under para-
graph (1); 
(B) the Plan developed under paragraph 
(2); and 
(C) legislative language in the form of a 
qualified bill to effectuate such Plan. 
(4) QUALIFYING
BILL.—For the purposes of 
this section, a ‘‘qualifying bill’’ means a bill— 
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(A) the title of which is the following: ‘‘A 
bill to establish and implement a strategic di-
ploma integrity protection plan to address the 
sale and use of fraudulent degrees for Federal 
purposes.’’; 
(B) the text of which consists of the text 
of the bill included in the report submitted 
under paragraph (3); and 
(C) the provisions of which shall apply to 
applicable Federal agencies not later than the 
date that is 180 days after the date of the en-
actment of such bill. 
(d) EXPEDITED CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION 
OF LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL.— 
(1) INTRODUCTION.—The majority leader of 
each House or his designee shall (by request) intro-
duce a qualified bill as defined in subsection (c)(4) 
not later than the tenth day of session of that House 
after the date of receipt of the report transmitted to 
the Congress under subsection (c)(3). If a qualified 
bill is not introduced as provided in the preceding 
sentence in either House, then, on the eleventh day 
of session of that House after the date of receipt of 
such report, any Member of that House may intro-
duce the qualified bill. 
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(2) REFERRAL AND REPORTING IN THE HOUSE 
OF
REPRESENTATIVES.—Any committee of the 
House of Representatives to which a qualified bill is 
referred shall report it to the House not later than 
the 30th day after the date of its introduction. If a 
committee fails to report the bill within that period 
or the House has adopted a concurrent resolution 
providing for adjournment sine die at the end of a 
Congress, it shall be in order to move that the 
House discharge the committee from further consid-
eration of the bill. Such a motion shall be in order 
only at a time designated by the Speaker in the leg-
islative schedule within two legislative days after the 
day on which the proponent announces his intention 
to offer the motion. Such a motion shall not be in 
order after a committee has reported a qualified bill. 
The previous question shall be considered as ordered 
on the motion to its adoption without intervening 
motion except twenty minutes of debate equally di-
vided and controlled by the proponent and an oppo-
nent. If such a motion is adopted, the House shall 
proceed immediately to consider the qualified bill. 
(e) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall terminate 
60 calendar days after the date on which the Task Force 
submits the report under subsection (c)(3). 
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SEC. 9. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING USE BY 
STATES OF THE FEDERAL PLAN AS GUIDE-
LINES. 
It is the sense of the Congress that— 
(1) each State should implement a strategic di-
ploma integrity plan similar to any such plan en-
acted by Congress in accordance with section 8, to 
the extent practicable and as soon as practicable 
after the date of the enactment of such a plan under 
such section; and 
(2) States may adopt more stringent standards 
than those standards contained in the Federal stra-
tegic diploma integrity plan and used by agencies of 
the United States to identify fraudulent degree- 
granting institutions operating within such State, 
except that State law does not preempt Federal law 
as applied to the employment and hiring practices of 
Federal employees working in such State. 
SEC. 10. UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS AND PRACTICES 
REGARDING DIPLOMAS AND PROFESSIONAL 
CERTIFICATIONS. 
(a) CONDUCT PROHIBITED.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal 
Trade Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to define 
as an unfair and deceptive act or practice under section 
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18 of Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a) the 
following: 
(1) The issuing of a degree, diploma, certificate, 
or any similar document by an entity that is not rec-
ognized as a legitimate degree-granting institution 
by the Secretary of Education, if such degree, di-
ploma, certificate, or similar document misrepre-
sents, directly or indirectly, the subject matter, sub-
stance, or content of the course of study or any 
other material fact concerning the course of study 
for which such degree, diploma, certificate, or simi-
lar document was awarded. 
(2) The offering or conferring of an academic, 
professional, or occupational degree if the entity of-
fering or conferring the degree— 
(A) is not an institution of higher edu-
cation; 
(B) has not been accredited by an accred-
iting agency or association that is recognized 
for any purpose by any appropriate Federal 
agency, or by the Council for Higher Education 
Accreditation; or 
(C) is not recognized by the Secretary of 
Education as an eligible institution under sec-
tion 4(a)(2), 
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