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Warnborough College

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The name Warnborough is associated with several related institutions of higher education existing in the period between 1973 and the present, including Warnborough College Oxford, Warnborough University, Warnborough College, and Warnborough College Ireland. Warnborough offers non-accredited distance-learning education from the United Kingdom and Ireland.

1973-1996 Warnborough College Oxford

Warnborough College at Oxford was founded in Oxford, England, in 1973 by Brenden Tempest-Mogg, an Australian., who had attended Hertford College in 1970. . It offered study abroad programs and catered largely to American undergraduate and graduate students who would spend a semester or year abroad as part of their academic program. Other offerings included Warnborough College International Summer Schools and a venue for summer conferences. It was founded on Warnborough Road in North Oxford in 1973, and moved to Yatscombe Hall, former home to the Greek scholar Gilbert Murray and Lord Shawcross, at Boars Hill, about four miles from the city of Oxford, in 1976. The Boars Hill facilities included a lodge for the teaching staff and two Victorian Gothic mansions, one used as the women's dorm and one used as a men's dorm and for classes.

In 1995 Warnborough enrolled its first group of students on-site in a four-year academic program. Warnborough generated controversy for allegedly representing itself as being related to Oxford University and was sued by the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board. In 1996, the United States Department of Education terminated the eligibility of Warnborough College UK to participate in the federal student financial assistance programs and fined the college for misrepresenting itself to students and to the Department of Education as a degree-granting institution. Due to resulting financial problems, the Boars Hill properties were repossessed by creditors, and its corporate owner, Oxford International Educational Enterprises Ltd, directed by brothers Brenden and Daryl Tempest-Mogg and Ethel Tempest-Mogg wound up on a petition by Inland Revenue. In the Summer of 1996, Warnborough relocated temporarily to offices rented from New Road Baptist Church in Central Oxford. The Tempest-Moggs returned to Australia in July 1996, and the New Road office closed in August 1996. In October 1996 Warnborough went into liquidation.

1997-present: Distance education programs

In 1997 Warnborough University registered as a limited company in Ireland, directed by Brenden Tempest-Mogg and Kee Guan Ng, a Malaysian national. Warnborough shifted its focus to distance education, offering BA, MA, and PhD diplomas and degrees, as well as certificate, training, and professional development programs worldwide. According to the Warnborough web site, Warnborough partners with a number of other institutions in offering various programs of study. Students can begin study on the first of any month, and some programs offered allow students the opportunity to customize them according to their needs.

In November 2005, the 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" to describe themselves. In January 2006 Warnborough in Ireland registered as Warnborough College.

Warnborough College Ireland is currently based in rented offices at All Hallows College in Dublin, Ireland, and Warnborough College UK is based in Canterbury, Kent. In February 2008, the Irish Independent reported that All Hallows officials were concerned that Warnborough had falsely represented itself as linked to All Hallows, and, as a result, that All Hallows had decided not to renew its rental agreement with Warnborough after August 2008. John Joe Spring, vice president of All Hallows, told the Independent that his institution had no involvement in the academic programs or arrangements of Warnborough College.

Short courses

Warnborough College U.K. offers a range of short courses in affiliation with ACS Distance Education that focus on specific career skills. Its distance-education bookkeeping courses lead to Level 1 and Level 2 certification from the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.

Accreditation

Warnborough does not have the educational accreditation necessary to be a chartered university in the U.K., and does not offer recognized British degrees. Warnborough has applied for recognition in Ireland through the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC). Warnborough courses are not currently recognized by Ireland's Department of Education, HETAC, or 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 a recognised higher education institution or awarding body, the qualifications are "effectively worthless." The article quoted Gabriel Byrne, adjunct faculty at the Smurfit Business School and consultant to Warnborough, as saying that a lot of work is involved in getting a Warnborough degree and that he hoped the college would soon be approved by HETAC. Warnborough degrees are not accepted in Texas, Oregon,, by Michigan civil service , Maine or in Australia. According to the Warnborough web site, over 200 colleges and universities have accepted transfer credit from Warnborough College.

Additionally, Warnborough is listed as "recognized" by and a member of the International Accreditation and Recognition Council (IARC). IARC is not a recognized education accreditation organization; the organization expressly states that its recognition of an institution "does not guarantee any sort of acceptance by any particular country or government" and "should not be seen as a replacement to any National system (of accreditation) presently existing, but as an adjunct to it."

ISO certification

The Warnborough College website states that the institution has ISO 9001 (quality management systems) certification through The United Kingdom Accreditation Service, which is an accreditor of UK certification, testing, inspection and calibration services.

Former students

Notable former students include book author Becky Garrison, eye surgeon Dr. Raymond Gailitis , consultant Dr. Audrey Nelson , attorney Polly McNeil, former surgeon and businessman Kneeland Youngblood and international trade policy analyst P. Welles Orr.

References

  1. ^ College charges €18,000 fees for 'useless' degrees, by Shane Phelan and John Walshe, Irish Independent, February 15 2008
  2. Oxford College Sued in US is Repossessed, by Tim King The Daily Telegraph(UK),October 25, 1996
  3. Queensland Courier-Mail, November 10, 1993, Residential Property section, p. 35
  4. Notes; VACATIONING AT AN OVERSEAS UNIVERSITY, The New York Times, January 18, 1981
  5. The Guardian, February 19, 1990
  6. Oxford College Sued in US is Repossessed, by Tim King The Daily Telegraph(UK),October 25, 1996
  7. ^ Students Find Warnborough Is Not A Part Of Oxford, Seattle Times, October 1, 1995
  8. Americans Say a College Near Oxford Duped Them, New York Times, October 2, 1995
  9. In the Matter of Warnborough College, Docket Nos. 95-164-ST and 96-60-SF, Student Financial Assistance Termination and Fine Proceedings, US Dept. of Education, August 9, 1996
  10. Oxford College Sued in US is Repossessed, by Tim King The Daily Telegraph(UK),October 25, 1996
  11. "College that lured U.S. students goes bust," The Times (London), October 29, 1996
  12. Exposed: scandal of the bogus degrees, Irish Independent, November 14 2005
  13. http://www.warnborough.ie, Accessed February 21st, 2008
  14. http://www.warnborough.ac.uk
  15. http://www.acsedu.co.uk
  16. http://www.book-keepers.org/where_to_study/distance_learning
  17. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Hearings and Appeals, In the Matter of Warnborough College, Docket Nos. 95-164-ST and 96- 60-SF, Student Financial Assistance, Termination and Fine Proceedings, August 9, 1996
  18. Montell, Gabriela (2000-10-13). "What You Need To Know Before You Work Abroad". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  19. Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas
  20. Unaccredited Colleges, Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization
  21. "Colleges and Universities Not Accredited by CHEA" http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Non-accreditedSchools_78090_7.pdf
  22. Maine state law restricts the use of false academic credentials, including those granted by unaccredited institutions; Warnborough appears on the state's list of unaccredited instutions.
  23. IARC Directory of members (accessed January 25, 2008)
  24. http://www.iarcedu.com/default.aspx
  25. http://www.iarcedu.com/mission.aspx
  26. About Accreditation, United Kingdom Accreditation Service website (accessed October 21, 2007)
  27. Ophthalmology Consultants (Margate, Florida) website
  28. Audrey Nelson biography, Nelson Communication website
  29. Polly L. McNeill, Summit Law Group website
  30. Dr. Kneeland Youngblood Biography (interviewed on October 28, 2004), The HistoryMakers website
  31. P. Welles Orr, Miller & Chevalier website

See also

External links

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