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The entry claims that Cuffari received a PhD from an institution identified by the US GOA as a diploma mill. The problem is, the report doesn’t say that. I realize that media sources claim it did, but it is not the case.
The report provides a definition of “diploma mill” with several criteria. One of those criteria is “unaccredited”. California Coast University Was unaccredited in 2004 (it received accreditation in 2005). It is named in the report not as a diploma mill but as unaccredited. This was important as the federal government improperly gave it funds, despite a requirement for accreditation to receive them.
Unaccredited institutions do deserve scrutiny, but they aren’t automatically diploma mills and the GOA acknowledges this and even talks about “diploma mills and other unaccredited schools”. In particular, the diploma mills don’t require actual academic work such as course work. California Coast University, even before accreditation, required coursework and dissertations, and was regulated by standards of the State of California.
This is not intended as an endorsement or defense of either Cuffari or California Coast University. Rather, I bring it up over the principle of accuracy. The article as currently written is making untrue claim about a specific government report that are easily checked, justified only by sloppy journalism. 2600:1005:B058:A6C4:E0ED:8440:E148:585E (talk) 17:54, 31 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]
