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Kennedy-Western University is a correspondence school that offers degrees through the Ph.D. level, its major areas of study being in engineering.
It is unaccredited but licensed by the State of Wyoming. It was established in 1984. Kennedy-Western does not award degrees to residents of Oregon or California.
Diploma Mill allegations and counter arguments
Critics have charged that Kennedy-Western University is a diploma mill, a charge the school denies. The term "diploma mill" refers to an institution which requires little or no work on the part of the student. Kennedy-Western officials state that thier institution, by contrast, does require students to undergo extensive work and then to take exams, usually online.
Kennedy-Western University was one of the unaccredited schools figuring in the hearings of the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs on May 11 and 12, 2004. A former employee, Andrew Coulombe, testifying to the committee, 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." This is of course true of many Universities, so not a reliable source of information. Critics claim that this employee was at odds with KWU.
It is no longer characterized as a diploma mill in the list of unaccredited institutions of the (ODA)Office of Degree Authorization of the state of Oregon. It may no longer be classified as a diploma mill in Oregon because this University successfully sued the ODA on constitutional grounds. It is listed as an unaccredited institution.
The State of Oregon made an unsuccessful attempt to make it unlawful for graduates to list Kennedy-Western on resumes. The State was sued by Kennedy-Western and after a settlement the prohibition was dropped.
"We clearly believe that we are not a diploma mill and have an academically rigorous program," said David Gering, Kennedy-Western's director of corporate communications. "And if you ask our students and alumni, they would agree."
External links
- Kennedy-Western University, official website