Replies

Mr Bird- How right you are! This is really a big problem which has been all but completely ignored- I found out about it when my wife was looking into going for a Masters degree, and answered some ads for what looked like reputable colleges. They were diploma mills, and I spent some time researching these places (I probably should have written it up at the time and posted it here or on another site).
There are a few good articles on this problem- I recall one from THE ATLANTIC several years back.
By the way, this is also a problem in the military and among teachers, when pay or promotions are tied to having an advanced degree. But Federal Government employees seem to be the biggest offenders- possibly because the chance of being caught, once that piece of paper is in your personnel file, is essentially zero).