Saint Regis University, sometimes styled as St. Regis University, was a diploma mill operation that was one of about 120 connected institutions operated by an American fraud ring from about 1999 until 2005, when it was shut down by U.S. government authorities.[1] The operation was known as "Operation Gold Seal".[2]
The Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization identified Saint Regis University as a diploma mill linked to 18 other front "schools".[3] The school issued degrees based on "life experience" instead of requiring the taking of academic classes or a formal course of study. It sold both college degrees and high school diplomas.
In 2006 the Associated Press reported that "at least 135 federal employees" held bogus degrees from the Saint Regis operation.[4] This included a White House staffer, a State Department employee in Kuwait, and a Department of Justice employee in Spokane, Washington.