False Academic Degrees
In today's tough economic climate, it can often be tempting for an individual to take some course of action designed to give them a little bit of an edge in the job hunt. For instance, an individual may claim to have a degree, such as a bachelor's degree in finance or a doctorate or master's degree of some sort in order to look more appealing to a potential employer. Embellishing a resume in this way is a fairly common occurrence, but many individuals do not know that such behavior is actual illegal.
T.C.A. 39-17-112 provides:
(a) It is an offense for any person to knowingly issue, sell or manufacture a false academic degree. As used in this subsection (a), "person" includes any individual, corporation, firm, company, partnership or association.(b) It is an offense for an individual to knowingly use or claim to have a false academic degree to obtain:
(1) Employment;
(2) A promotion in employment; or
(3) Admission to a college, university or other institution of higher learning.
Such language obviously begs the question of what constitutes a "false academic degree;" a question that is conveniently answered in the next section of the statute.
(c) As used in this section, "false academic degree" shall mean any degree issued that meets one of the following criteria:(1) Issued without requiring any student academic work;
(2) Issued based solely on the student's life experience or portfolio without requiring any post secondary work submitted to and evaluated by faculty with appropriate academic degrees from an institution that is:
(A) Accredited by a regional accrediting agency or other accrediting agency recognized by the United States department of education; and
(B) Authorized to operate in Tennessee pursuant to the provisions of title 49, chapter 7, part 20, relative to the authorization of post secondary institutions, or is exempted from authorization by the provisions of ยง 49-7-2004; or
(3) Issued using more than twenty-five percent (25%) of required credits based on the student's life experience or portfolio.
In essence then, it is illegal to have or claim to have a degree that is not earned by the individual based upon the completion or performance of a satisfactory amount of school work that correlates to the degree possessed. Violation of (a) of this statute is a class A misdemeanor carrying a jail sentence of up to eleven months and twenty-nine days and violation of (b) of the statute is a class C misdemeanor, carrying a sentence of up to thirty days in jail. if you or someone you know has been charged with this offense, contact an experienced East Tennessee criminal defense attorney serving Knox County, Sevier County, Sullivan County, Hamblen County, and surrounding areas for assistance with your case.
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