Man Bites Dog? New Oregon Law Applies to Job Applicants
A new law in Oregon, just passed by the state, requires job applicants who are listing a degree that is from a non-accredited college to include
a disclaimer that states: “(Name of school) does not have accreditation recognized by the United States De-partment of Education and has not been approved by the Office of Degree Authorization
This law requires that this disclaimer must appear in any resume, letterhead, business card, or advertisement in which the person is claiming or representing to have a degree from this kind of school.
Will similar laws be passed in other states? I don’t know, but it will be interesting. I wonder if it will affect the growth of such schools.
Read the law here.
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Comments
This could really diminish the value of my J.D. from Bushwoods University!
Notwithstanding, I wonder whether this revision will prove of any real value to Oregon employers. The law on the books prohibited applicants from claiming degrees from unaccredited institutions; many did so anyhow and thus the revised language (establishing the disclaimer) was enacted. Now, I suppose, the Oregon Student Assistance Commission has two options to choose from if someone claims an unaccredited degree without the disclaimer: a) issue a cease-and-desist order to the offender and, if s/he persists, go after him/her for making the claim; or b) go after him/her for omitting the disclaimer. Under either option, the civil enforcement by the Commission and its available remedies are the same; the only advantage the new option seems to have over the old is that it does away with the prerequisite of a cease-and-desist letter.
Ultimately, the best guard against employers being taken in by contrived degrees listed on resumes isn’t some government commission with questionable enforcement resources and will to pursue offenders on an individual-by-individual basis; rather, it will be the employers themselves, who need to view applicants’ claims with a healthy dose of skepticism, just as they always have (or should have). Caveat Dominus (”Let the employer beware”, if my Latin is correct).
That is interesting. Why’s it man-bites-dog? Because Oregon never puts restrictions on applicants only on employers? Because Oregon is hospitable to unaccredited schools? Because it’s a law passed by the state? …
I bet I’d know if I read more regularly. :)