Can I Take It Off My Resume for $435,678?

A recent Philadelphia Inquirer article reported that a federal court awarded a man $435,678 when a man who earned a "Executive Masters in Technology Management" from the University of Pennsylvania which dropped the Wharton tag off the certificate.

It seems a little petty, given that the the plaintiff, Frank Reynolds, already had stated that simply attending classes at the Wharton School had quickly proved its worth, having been recruited on campus by Siemens AG, the German technology conglomerate, and hired as its director of global business development. Reynolds makes clear that simply by being a student at Wharton (albeit a student in a program that didn't award a Wharton degree... confusing, I know), such opportunities were ripe for the taking.

It's not completely surprising that this a big deal. I know many alums who are strongly protective of the prestige of their alma mater, which they believe can be "diluted" by the "over-distribution" of that same degree in the form of part-time and Executive MBA programs, as well as certificate programs. I have friends who are graduates for NYU (Stern) who are particular sensitive to this, and have told me outright that there's a resentment that part-timers - who they feel are of lesser caliber than full-timers - are awarded with the same degree.

At the end of the day, schools are going to happily take people's money while trying to balance the anger of the alumni who have want their degree to maintain a certain aura, prestige and exclusivity. $435,678 is a big chunk of change. I just wonder if Wharton would hand me a check for $435,678 if pledged never to associate myself with the school.