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| ===GAO Investigation=== | ===GAO Investigation=== | ||
| The findings of an investigation by the ] ] (GAO) were presented in 2004 to a ] committee. |
The findings of an investigation by the ] ] (GAO) were presented in 2004 to a ] committee. The report is entitled, "Diploma Mills: Federal Employees Have Obtained Degrees from Diploma Mills and Other Unaccredited Schools, Some at Government | ||
| Expense." As a result of the scrutiny, 463 federal employees were disciplined or terminated. Although Kennedy-Western provided data as requested by the investigation, the university was not invited to testify before the Senate.<ref name="gao"></ref> | |||
| 1. "...to determine whether the federal government has paid for degrees from diploma mills and other unaccredited postsecondary schools. Section 4107 of title 5, U. S. Code, only permits the federal government to pay for the cost of academic degree training provided by a college or university that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting body.<br> | |||
| 2. "...to determine whether federal employees who hold senior-level positions (GS15 or equivalent and above) have degrees from diploma mills and other unaccredited schools. | |||
| "On the second day of the hearings, the panel heard from a former employee of a diploma mill, Kennedy-Western University in California, and a committee investigator who had enrolled to get a master’s degree in environmental engineering from it."<ref>http://www.gcn.com/print/23_11/25894-1.html</ref> The former employee, Andrew Coulombe, testifying to the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, described his feeling that his work there was unethical and summarized it thus: "I can tell you that there is no value to a Kennedy-Western education. Anything you learn there can be learned by buying a book and reading it on your own."<ref></ref> As a result of the scrutiny, 463 federal employees were disciplined or terminated for using dubious degrees that were paid for with Federal tax money.<ref name="gao"></ref> | |||
| Kennedy-Western was not invited to testify before the Senate.<ref name="gao"/> | |||
| The university's Director of Corporate Communications, David Gering, stated to '']'', "We clearly believe that we are not a diploma mill and have an academically rigorous program."<ref>http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/08/05/news/wyoming/843f046c71bb1dfa87256ee60003f34c.txt</ref> Mr. Gering also stated to the ], in response to the GAO report, "...the government report has lumped a legitimate school in with less credible schools."<ref>http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2004/12/03/news/porter_county/725a7c21e7f48dcf86256f5f000adb44.txt</ref> | |||
| === Oregon lawsuit=== | === Oregon lawsuit=== | ||
Revision as of 22:57, 18 September 2007
Warren National University is an American distance learning private university that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It was established in 1984 and was formerly known as Kennedy-Western University.
The institution has administrative offices in Agoura Hills, California, and corporate offices in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is named for Francis E. Warren, the first governor of the state of Wyoming.
Academic programs
Warren National University offers bachelor's and master's degree programs in business administration, computer science, management information systems, and health administration, as well as a doctoral degree in business administration.
Faculty
Warren National states that all faculty members hold degrees from accredited institutions and the majority of faculty hold doctorates.
In 2005 the Christian Science Monitor reported that Kennedy-Western University had become the first college in the country to screen faculty research and course materials with plagiarism-detection software. No faculty members had been found to be plagiarizing.
Campus
Warren National does not have a campus. The university operates primarily out of offices in Agoura Hills, California, while retaining a corporate office in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Over the university's 23 years of operation, it has had mailing addresses in California, Hawaii, Idaho, and Wyoming.
Warren National moved from Idaho after the Idaho State Board of Education refused (in 1998) to renew the university's state license to operate there because it lacked accreditation.
In the case of its move from California, in an online interview University spokesperson David Gering said that California passed a law in 1989 that would have required "so much change to educational model that it would have prevented KWU from providing our students with the degree programs they want." He said that this led the "University's academic headquarters" to voluntarily leave the state, "which, according to new state law, meant we could no longer accept students residing in the state."
Accreditation
Warren National is currently not accredited by any higher education accreditation body recognized in the United States. As such, its degrees and credits might not be acceptable to some employers or other institutions. For example, WNU graduates are not qualified for faculty positions at WNU, at least not based on their WNU degree. Also, use of WNU degree titles may be legally restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions. Jurisdictions that have restricted the use of credentials from unaccredited schools or that specifically restrict WNU credentials include Oregon , California, Utah, Michigan, Maine, North Dakota, New Jersey, Washington, Illinois, Indiana, and Texas..
Licensing
Warren National is licensed by the Wyoming Department of Education under W.S. 21-2-401 through 21-2-407. This licensure allows the university to legally conduct business in the state. However, licensing should not be confused with educational accreditation, which is a voluntary. quality assurance process. As a condition of licensing, Warren National must meet standards contained in Article 4: Private School Licensing. One requirement enacted July 1, 2006, by the state of Wyoming, is that a school must either be accredited, or be in the process of becoming accredited by a higher education accrediting organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. In order to continue operating in Wyoming, Warren National applied for accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the recognized regional accreditation agency serving the state.
Better Business Bureau
Warren National has been a member of the Mountain States Better Business Bureau since 1996. As of August 2007, the Better Business Bureau reported receiving 14 complaints against the school in previous 36 months, including one complaint about advertising, two complaints about billing or collection, three complaints about sales practices, one complaint about "product," and seven complaints about refunds or exchanges. All complaints were addressed by WNU, including two that were resolved to the satisfaction of the complainants.
Controversy and criticism
GAO Investigation
The findings of an investigation by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) were presented in 2004 to a U.S. Senate committee. The report is entitled, "Diploma Mills: Federal Employees Have Obtained Degrees from Diploma Mills and Other Unaccredited Schools, Some at Government Expense." As a result of the scrutiny, 463 federal employees were disciplined or terminated. Although Kennedy-Western provided data as requested by the investigation, the university was not invited to testify before the Senate.
Oregon lawsuit
The State of Oregon passed a law making it illegal for graduates to list Kennedy-Western on résumés, specifically referring to the school as a diploma mill. According to the Indiana Daily Student, "Oregon has one of the strictest résumé laws in the country." Nevertheless, in July 2004, Kennedy-Western filed a lawsuit challenging the law on behalf of three former students. In December 2004, Kennedy-Western and Oregon reached an out-of-court settlement. Under the terms of the settlement, graduates of Kennedy-Western may list the school on a résumé as long as they note in the résumé its unaccredited status. Further, the Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization (ODA) may no longer refer to the school as a diploma mill or substandard; however, the State still does not allow the degrees to be used for governmental employment or for professional licenses because the ODA has determined that WNU does not meet standard academic requirements as specified by Oregon statute ORS 348.609(1).
The university's Director of Corporate Communications, David Gering, stated in a Degreeboard.com interview, "The settlement precludes Oregon officials from making disparaging comments about KWU and from promoting its statutes as a model for other states to emulate."
See also
References
- Warren National University Areas of Study
- ^
- ^ State mulls online learning by the Associated Press, Billings Gazette, January 30, 2005
- Profs who plagiarize: how often? By Susan Llewelyn Leach, The Christian Science Monitor, April 27, 2005
- ^ Moonlighting for an Unaccredited University by Andrea L. Foster, The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 12, 2002
- http://www.degreeboard.com/forums/showthread.php?s=5c83f0ace5fef8b29f69837310aaa1c4&t=967
- U.S. Department of Education, Diploma Mills and Accreditation
- ^ Oregon Office of Degree Authorization: http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.aspx
- ^ http://www.wnuonlinedegrees.com/admission.asp?code=
- http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Non-accreditedSchools_78090_7.pdf
- http://www.maine.gov/education/highered/Non-Accredited/non-accredited.htm
- Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas
- Wyoming Department of Education Private School Licensing Page | http://www.k12.wy.us/F/psl.asp
- http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2006/Summaries/SF0069.htm
- http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04771t.pdf
- ^ Wyoming Department of Education website at: http://www.k12.wy.us/F/psl/degree.html
- Mountain States Better Business Bureau "BBB Reliability Report for Kennedy Western" August 27, 2007
- http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04771t.pdf
- http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=24046
- http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/ArticleNews/story/BWIRE/20041221/20041221005728
- Globe Investor "Oregon Settles Federal Lawsuit Filed by Kennedy Western University" December 21, 2004
- Inside Higher Education,
- http://www.degreeboard.com/forums/showthread.php?s=5c83f0ace5fef8b29f69837310aaa1c4&t=967
External links
- Warren National University, official website
- Office of Degree Authorization - Official State of Oregon website
- Moonlighting for an Unaccredited University, Chronicle of Higher Education, April 12, 2002.
- Regulating Kennedy-Western -- or Not, Chronicle of Higher Education, April 12, 2002.
- Government funds in question
- Andrew Coulombe's statements