Beware of high School diploma scams

Friday, February 26, 2016

You never got your high school diploma, but realize now is the right time to go back to school. You find a high school diploma program, work hard studying and taking exams and, finally, get a diploma.

Or so you think. When you go to enroll in college, you find out the diploma you got from the program that advertised “real” high school diplomas isn’t accepted. Which means your diploma doesn’t count.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), that’s what happened to people who enrolled in Stratford Career Institute’s online distance education school. The FTC has announced a lawsuit against the school for making misleading claims that its diploma program would help people get jobs or further their education.

According to the FTC’s complaint, Stratford advertised its high school equivalency program online and in letters, brochures, magazine ads and TV commercials with the tag line “It’s never too late to get your diploma.” People who enrolled paid as much as $989 for the program, which consisted of study packets and exams, and often took people more than two years to complete.

But, according to the FTC, people who completed the program later found out from colleges and employers that Stratford’s diploma wasn’t equivalent to a traditional high school diploma and wouldn’t be accepted.  The FTC’s complaint notes that Stratford’s program doesn’t meet the minimum educational requirements for high school diplomas in many states.

Want to know more about getting a legitimate high school equivalency diploma? Read the FTC’s “High School Diploma Scams.”