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Warnborough College (UK)
Warnborough College (IE)

Type	Private -non-Profit
Established	1973, Oxford
Chairman	John Allen
President	Brenden D. Tempest-Mogg
Vice-president	Julian Ng
Location	Canterbury, Kent, UK Dublin, Ireland

The name Warnborough is associated with several related institutions of higher education existing from 1973 to the present, including Warnborough College Oxford, Warnborough College UK, Warnborough College Ireland and Warnborough University, some of which are no longer in operation. Warnborough College UK provides educational programmes both on-site in Canterbury, England, and by distance learning. Warnborough College Ireland offers distance-learning programmes from Ireland.

History

1973–1996: Oxford

Warnborough College was founded in Oxford, England, in 1973 by Dr Brenden Tempest-Mogg. It offered study abroad programmes and catered largely to American undergraduate and graduate students spending a semester or year abroad as part of their academic programme. Other offerings included Warnborough College International Summer Schools and a venue for summer conferences. It was founded on Warnborough Road in North Oxford and in 1976 moved to Yatscombe Hall at Boars Hill, about four miles south from the city of Oxford. The Boars Hill facilities included a President's Lodge and two Victorian Gothic mansions, used for teaching, administration and accommodations

In 1985, Warnborough College began the Warnborough Australian Studies Programmes for studies in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia. The nine American students who enrolled for the initial semester characterized the program as "excellent" in which they had access to facilities at the University of Sydney and University of Queensland.

In 1995, Warnborough College Oxford enrolled its first group of US students onsite in a four-year US academic programme, which created significant excitement.

1997–2005: London and Canterbury

In 1997 Warnborough University was registered as a limited company in Ireland, directed by Brenden Tempest-Mogg and Kee Guan Ng, a Malaysian national with a registered branch office in the United Kingdom. It initially operated an office in London and later moved to Canterbury in 2001. It offered graduate and undergraduate residential and non-residential degrees in liberal arts, scientific and professional studies. In November 2005 Ireland's Department of Education and Science said that Warnborough University in Ireland was in breach of the Universities Act 1997 by calling itself a university and requested that they not use the word "university". Earlier in 2005, the inclusion of Warnborough and other unauthorized degree providers on a UK Department for Education and Skills (DFES) list of "genuine" education providers was described as an "embarrassment" to DFES.

Affiliates

Saint Theresa's Medical University was a WHO institution in St. Kitts that Oregon Office of Degree Authorization was operated bySTMU.

In the early 2000s Warnborough University generated minor controversy in Australia because neither Warnborough nor any of its consortium partners through which it was offering graduate and undergraduate degree courses were formally accredited. The Australian state of New South Wales included Warnborough on a list of five "unrecognized universities".

Up to October 2012 the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization wrongly named Warnborough in its listing of unaccredited universities, with its then administrator, Alan Contreras, characterising Warnborough College as "a diploma mill"

United Kingdom college

Warnborough College UK is located in Canterbury, Kent. When it was inspected in May 2012 by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) for Private Further Education, it was reported to have 159 students, of which the vast majority were foreign students on Tier 4 Visas, principally from Asia, of which most studied English.

Accreditation

Warnborough College UK is designated by the Accreditation Service for International Colleges as an "ASIC Premier College"., which permits its students to obtain study visas in the UK.

Irish college

Warnborough College Ireland is located in Dublin. From 2006 to 2008, it rented offices from All Hallows College in Drumcondra All Hallows is now closed.

Accreditation

Warnborough College, Ireland is in the final process of being EU accredited.

Warnborough College Ireland courses are recognised by Ireland's Department of Education, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) and the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI). In February 2008, Sean O'Foghlu, chief executive of NQAI told the Irish Independent that because Warnborough College is not yet a recognised as a higher education institution or awarding body the qualifications are "effectively worthless" until then.

In July 2008, HETAC denied the college's application for accreditation. Warnborough sought leave to take judicial review, and damages for the denial and withdrew its appeal in November 2008 after HETAC agreed to permit Warnborough to submit a new accreditation application.

Warnborough College Ireland does not offer degrees in Oregon.

Controversy

Warnborough operated without significant controversy until the 1980s, when it began offering American degree programs. In 1987, BBC Radio broadcast a 25-minute expose, revealing that Warnborough had no authority to issue UK degrees. In the aftermath of the BBC report, enrollment declined, creating a financial crisis that needed more students. In 1995, Warnborough decided to recruit graduating high-school students, as a four-year college.

When the first class of freshman students arrived in 1995 several American students naively believed that Warnborough was affiliated with Oxford University. About six of the new enrollment, withdrew from the college with some intending to sue for refunds. The college denied that it had claimed any association with Oxford University, and no evidence was provided

Although the college continued to deny any misrepresentation, Oxford University threatened Warnborough College with a lawsuit over these alleged misrepresentations and the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board sued Warnborough.But a US awsuit resulted in a judgement against Warnborough College by the Superior Court of King County, Washington of nearly $300,000. Warnborough never paid the restitution ordered by the Court.

On 4 October 1995 the United States Department of Education took emergency action against and then, in 1996, terminated the eligibility of Warnborough College to participate in the federal student financial assistance programmes under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 on the basis that it was not a degree-granting foreign institution; although its credits were freely transferable to eligible US universities. It also fined the college $40,000 for failing to make refunds to students in accord with Title IV,

Hertford College was reported to be pursuing legal action against Warnborough College to recover a disputed rental debt of 6,000 pounds. Other creditors hired a private detective to track down the principals. The Boars Hill properties were sold and its corporate owner, Oxford International Educational Enterprises Ltd, directed by brothers Brenden and Daryl Tempest-Mogg and their mother, Ethel Tempest-Mogg, was wound up by the Inland Revenue. In 1996, Warnborough relocated temporarily to offices rented from the New Road Baptist Church in central Oxford, before moving to London in 1997.

See also

• British Council
• Educational accreditation
• Independent Schools Inspectorate
• UK Visas and Immigration
• Accreditation Service for International Colleges

References

1. Queensland Courier-Mail, 10 November 1993, Residential Property section, p. 35
2. Donner, Suzanne (18 January 1981), "Vacationing at an Overseas University", The New York Times, retrieved 27 May 2010
3. "The Dreaming Spires Awaken", The Guardian, 19 February 1990
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference King was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ Gilje, Shelby (1 October 1995). "Students find Warnborough is not a part of Oxford". The Seattle Times.
6. "Warnborough College Overview". From Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 8 December 2000. Retrieved 27 April 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
7. Kamp, David (September 1992), Europe on Three Credits a Day, Spy
8. ^ Levin, Josh (23 November 2021). "One Year: 1995 Fake Oxford". Slate.
9. ^ Levin, Josh (23 November 2021). "One Year: 1995 Fake Oxford - Transcript". Slate.
10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Phelan-Walsh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
11. Bear, John, Bear's Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, 15th Ed (2003) p.223
12. "Exposed: scandal of the bogus degrees", Irish Independent, 14 November 2005
13. "Embarrassment at DFES over official college list". Times Higher Education. 1 April 2005.
14. ^ "Unaccredited colleges". Oregon Student Assistance Commission, Office of Degree Authorization. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
15. Questions on Notice (3 April 2001)
16. "Lawnham, Patrick, "Authorities plan crackdown on Clayton's Degrees", The Australian, Ed 1 p 31 (13 March 2002)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
17. Brown, George, "Protecting Australia’s Higher Education System: A Proactive versus Reactive Approach in Review (1999–2004), Proceedings of the Australian Universities Quality Forum 2004
18. Contreras, Alan (Winter 2009). "The complexity of international quality control". International Higher Education (54). Archived from the original on 1 August 2012.
19. Contreras, Alan (30 May 2008). "International quality control is no easy task". Chronicle of Higher Education.
20. "Warnborough College Inspection May 2012". UK Independent Schools Inspectorate. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
21. "UK Institution Directory". Accreditation Service for International Schools, Colleges and Universities. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
22. "Affiliations and Credentials". Accreditation Service for International Schools, Colleges and Universities. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
23. O'Sullivan, Sarah, "Authorities refuse to recognize web college", The Sunday Times, 18 July 2008
24. Phelan, Shane and Walshe, John; "Legal war looms in college's battle for approval", Irish Independent, 15 September 2008
25. "College Will Fight on for Recognition", Irish Independent, 11 November 2008.
26. ^ Lyall, Sarah (2 October 1995). "Americans Say a College Near Oxford Duped Them". The New York Times.
27. ^ O'Leary, John; Charter, David (3 October 1995). "US students say college misled them over link with Oxford" (PDF). The Times (London).
28. "News in Brief: State Capitols Roundup". Education Week. 12 March 1997.
29. "In Re Warnborough College, US Dept of Education Docket No 95-146-EA". 6 December 1995.
30. ^ "In Re Warnborough College, US Dept of Education Docket Nos. 95-164-ST, 96-60-SF". 9 August 1996.
31. Susan, Pritikin (31 October 1996). "College? What College?". Cherwell (Oxford, UK). Archived from the original on 22 May 1997.
32. "College that lured U.S. students goes bust", The Times (London), 29 October 1996
33. Phelan, Shane "Chequered history of controversial college" Irish Independent (15 February 2008)

External links

• Warnborough Worldwide
• Warnborough College UK
• Warnborough College Ireland
• Warnborough Worldwide Alumni Association

• Distance education institutions based in the United Kingdom
• Unaccredited institutions of higher learning
• Educational institutions established in 1973
• Distance education institutions based in the Republic of Ireland