Kennedy-Western University

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Kennedy-Western University is a Wyoming-Based, unaccredited, American distance education/correspondence school that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. The university has administrative offices in Agoura Hills, CA and corporate offices Cheyenne, WY. The university was established in 1984 and has a regisrered status with the Wyoming Department of Education.^[1] However, the university does not award degrees to residents of Oregon or California. It has been a member of the Mountain States Better Business Bureau since 1996.^[2]

1 Academics
2 Controversy and criticism
3 State of Oregon Lawsuit
4 See also
5 Footnotes
6 External links

[edit] Academics

Kennedy-Western offers courses in 20 areas of study, including: business administration, engineering, computer science, e-business, finance, quality control, management information systems, management and leadership, human resources management, and health administration.

[edit] Controversy and criticism

It was implied that Kennedy-Western University is a diploma mill by the United States federal government in 2004. [1] Kennedy-Western officials, however, assert that students are required to undergo extensive work and take examinations, with the Undergraduate and the Masters exams usually taken online, and Doctorate exams given only by Proctor.

From a 2004 federal investigation, a 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."[2]

As a result of the scrunity, 463 federal employees were disciplined or terminated for using dubious degrees that were paid for with Federal tax money.[3]

Though Kennedy-Western was not invited to testify before the Senate, the school's director of corporate communications, David Gering, stated to The Oregonian, "We clearly believe that we are not a diploma mill and have an academically rigorous program, and if you ask our students and alumni, they would agree."

The Seattle Times noted in an article, that included Kennedy-Western, that some believe KWU has an address in Wyoming because it has "become a haven for diploma mills."[4]

Another criticism of Kennedy-Western Univeristy is that they operate primarily out of California but use a mailing address in Wyoming. Their mailing addresses in the past have included California, Hawaii, Idaho, and Wyoming. It appears that they have moved their mailing address to a new state as the old state strengthens the laws against substandard schools. This arrangement of having the primary operation in one state with the mailing address in a different state is uncommon for legitimate academic institutions but common for diploma mills.

"It's not clear who has jurisdiction When the school itself has a presence (or an apparent presence) in more than one location [...] Such operations fall through the cracks, until finally some federal agency that operates across state lines (typically the FBI, the Postal Service, the Federal Trade Commision, and/or the Internal Revenue Service) finally takes action." page 34, Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, 15th edition, 2003, John Bear, Ph.D. & Mariah P. Bear, M.A.

KWU is listed on the Texas state government's webpage for "Fraudulent and Substandard Institutions".

"Wyoming has jurisdiction

Kennedy Western University operates legally from the state of Wyoming. The university has to have an application for accreditation with the State of Wyoming under Wyo. Stat §§21-2-401 through 21-2-407, but neither the Department of Education nor the Wyoming State Board of Education has accredited or endorsed any course of study being offered by Kennedy-Western University. Such oversight requires Kennedy-Western to meet the standards as indicated within Article 4: Private School Licensing. All applicable Wyoming State statutes on licensing can be accessed at:

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2006/Summaries/SF0069.htm.

Kennedy Western University filed an application for accreditation with the HLC of the NCA prior to July 1, 2006 under the name of Warren National University to comply with the changes in Wyoming Statute required of all post secondary institutions operating within that state.

[edit] State of Oregon Lawsuit

The State of Oregon passed a law making it illegal for graduates to list Kennedy-Western on resumes, specifically referring to the school as a diploma mill. In July 2004, the school 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 resume as long as they note its unaccreditted status. Further, the Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization 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.^[3]