A Wisconsin Senate committee holds a public hearing on a bill to make it a crime to sell fake college degrees, and make it illegal for buyers to use the bogus papers when looking for a job.
State Representative Kim Hixson (D-Whitewater) is co-author of the “diploma mill” legislation in the Assembly, which held a hearing on this issue last week.
This measure would give state officials, including the Department of Justice and the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board, more leverage in regulating these entities than they now have. Education officials say fake credentials are a growing problem, and they hurt the credibility of real colleges. Hixson says it’s a serious issue when the bogus degrees allow unqualified people to acquire positions requiring extensive training.
High positions, he says, including a quality control manager for a nuclear power plant, US general working in the Pentagon, scientist at NASA. Eleven states have laws against it. Supporters of the bill say they don’t want Wisconsin to become a haven for “diploma mills.” Madison Democrat Fred Risser is the senate sponsor.
Jackie Johnson report 1:35