Harvard does this too. I see a surprising number of people who put Harvard on their resume or LinkedIn only to find they did like a two week executive meetup there or something and were granted a credential of some sort from the institution.

Isn't this the point of these institutions?

The schools prestige is what they sell since you can learn the material online for free or from a state university.

You are essentially buying into the network and using the name as a status symbol.

Obviously a 2 week or summer or semester credential shouldn't carry the same weight as a 4 year degree at Harvard or MIT

MIT has been particularly egregious at slapping their name onto paid postgraduate programs. I get their ads constantly. Selling out the brand for short term profit isn't just for publicly traded companies anymore.

It works though.

I attended the very first MITx on electronics back in high school.

It got me a job being on my resume

And you bet this is going on those people's linkedin titles as "Ex MIT".

100% I know a few, same with Harvard

“Former” a la Marines

Lex

I mean, that's literally in the first sentence describing the product.

> Just another way for people to game through online courses to attain a credential to be called an "MIT grad"

I know of such a person.

He claims a MicroMasters from MIT. There are actual edX certificates in search results, so I suspect that's true. However, he often presents it without the MicroMasters part.

He created a website for a fake MIT alumni association in his country. He was listed as the president, naturally.

He holds a PhD from Universal Life Church. Yes, that Universal Life Church. He neglects to mention the latter part though.

He ran a political campaign several years ago. He was exposed by the media for fake academic credentials. They also revealed that while he claimed to live abroad he was actually living with his running mate who also happened to be his mother. No, I am not kidding.

He created a website for a fake consulate of a country abroad. The website claimed that he had been knighted by said country and was serving as an honorary consulate in the Caribbean. Neither true.

The website was used in an attempt to get a Wikipedia article created about himself. It was removed. He's a long-term abuser and well-known sock.

The website is currently used to attack the journalists who exposed him. It falsely claims they were all convicted of crimes against him and in absentia.

He briefly worked/volunteered (online sources are not clear) at an online university. The sources claim he was let go for fake academic credentials. He ran an academic cheating service using that connection.

He also runs numerous websites attacking various academic institutions, local politicians, and journalists.

It was pretty wild learning about the guy.