Degree Revoke

[rlw74]

The variables to answer this question are too many to give an exact answer without specifics.

However, the main thing is, schools don't need a criminal law to revoke a degree. They have written standards that essentially act as a contract between themselves and their students. In addition, if they are accredited they will already have some kind of outside agency providing oversight and reviewing their standards for degree conferral. Fraud, plagiarism, omission on an application for admission - all of these *can* give a university the right to revoke a degree that was earned fraudulently - if its in their written policies. With that said, I highly doubt they police every graduate who walks out their door. However, if they have a student in a residency about to graduate medical school and it comes to their attention that the student didn't actually meet program requirements because they lied or forged their transcripts they most certainly can and will revoke the degree that would have been conferred.

Some industries are highly regulated and given oversight by state or federal agencies. Think medical, law, insurance or real estate where you have to obtain a license. You might not have your degree revoked by any school but your license can be revoked by the state if fraud took place. You can be barred from working in that field in the future.

If in doubt, always best to disclose everything because you never know where it can come up - with an educational institution, with a state licensing agencies or with an employer down the road - any of which may ask for transcripts or run background checks. My husband just took a job last year where he had to provide certified copies of his college transcripts from 20+ years ago. Do you really want to be in a high-profile job decades from now and have to worry about what might show up on a transcript years later? Better to get whatever it is fixed now.