Recent Fraud Undermines Integrity of Entire Academic System

The story is one of those that makes all of society cringe. It is also a tale that undermines everything that the American educational system stands for.

The issue: un-ethical teachers and administrators charged with selling altered college transcripts and fake degrees.

At Touro College in Manhattan, students were apparently able to purchase transcripts that had been manipulated to show higher grades and fake bachelor and masters degrees, including that of physicians’ assistants. Incredibly, the scheme appears to have been in place since at least 2003.

In addition to the horrific possibility that the some people in the public at large have potentially received services from an improperly credentialed physicians’ assistant, at least three city school teachers also reportedly purchased master’s degree transcripts without so much as attending a single class at Touro.

Falsifying such records is a betrayal of trust that undermines the integrity of the academic system as a whole. However, the public should be aware that it was Touro College that brought the matter to the attention of the state’s Attorney General.

As many as ten individuals may have been involved in the scheme. However, authorities still do not know for certain all of the fraudulent records that might be involved. In addition four of the alleged perpetrators are still at large.

A private Jewish College, Touro has more than 23,000 students and offers programming in 29 locations, most of which are in New York. School officials have to be hoping that the record falsification is confined to the Manhattan campus.

We would also guess there are many college presidents discussing the issue with their registrar’s office even as they too hope it is confined to the Touro Manhattan campus. For more details on the allegations, see the Associated Press article.