Diploma mill Kennedy Western going legit?

I am on the mailing list for KWU and a couple other "universities" for the entertainment value. Got the following message directly from KWU. The second paragraph seems to imply they are moving forward with their plan to attempt accreditation under a different name (Warren National).

"I'm not sure if you're aware but our average student spends only an hour a day on their coursework. This type of flexible study format usually fits with the schedule of busy professionals like you. If you think you could devote at least that much time towards earning your degree, then I suggest taking the next step.

In addition, I want to make you aware of the fact that there are some changes on the horizon at Kennedy-Western. These changes may have a significant affect on our curriculum which will cause our programs to become increasingly lengthier and academically demanding. I can share more information with you by phone.

If you are seriously interested in earning your degree, contact me today and I will assist you with enrollment process."

Thought I would throw that out there for some expert analysis. I might call the admissions counselor and get the scoop, but if anyone wants the contact info, drop me a personal message.

 

Is the a particular reason you chose not to disclose the relevant contact information in the original posting?

 

Re: Re: Diploma mill Kennedy Western going legit?

Wasn't sure if that would be appropriate to post or not, but here it is.

I received the mass mailing mentioned from:

Kristin Kleban
Admissions Counselor
Kennedy-Western University
Tel: (800) 635-2900 x222
[email protected]

 

There's a fair amount of information on the KWU Wikipedia site about the application for accreditation. Especially in the discussion section

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy-Western_University

If KWU is serious about going through with the accreditation effort they had better make huge changes to their programs very quickly or I don't think they have a prayer at becoming a candidate. Based on the Senate hearings, they are apparently grossly substandard at this point in time.

 

If you compare the advertised degree programs at the "old" KWU site vs. the "new" WNU site, it's apparent that there are differences. For example, WNU apparently does not plan to offer engineering degrees, which have historically been among the more popular options at KWU.

The unaccredited KW engineering degrees have traditionally been a lightning rod for criticism, because there is no question that such degrees have credibility issues. For engineering degrees, even regional accreditation is not enough; you really need ABET accreditation, which is even harder to get. From a legal standpoint, unaccredited KW degrees are considered (at best) substandard or (at worst) totally unacceptable for engineering licensure in every US state (Wyoming included).

Apparently WNU has concluded that they cannot offer credible engineering distance degrees, and so they have dropped this part of the KWU curriculum. The engineering degrees were probably a fairly significant chunk of KWU's business, so this appears to be a pretty large change already.

 

Here are the links to the new website and catalog.

http://www.warren-national-university.com/

http://www.warren-national-university.com/download/WNU_Catalog_200610.pdf

 

Interesting Wiki link, seems to be the last bastion of KWU "students" still in denial.

 

Thanks for the links, A real list of graduation requirements!!!! Wow, maybe the old fraudster running this place really is trying to go legit. (I mean that in the most endearing way, of course.) If so, I really wish him the best. I think that future developments could get very interesting.

Thanks again,

 

I took a look thru the Warren National Catalog, and just wanted to point out the interesting parts:

1. Page 2

"Faculty who have appropriate credentials and have teaching responsibilities at regionally accredited universities throughout the United States"

*Obvious attempt to piggyback on the name of established schools.

2. Page 2

"That business employers accept and acknowledge... by hiring or promoting graduates"

*The classic tactic that KWU uses. Since General Motors paid for one class, we'll list them and call them huge supporters of all things KWU.

3. Page 5

"Since inception in 1984..."

*Really? Would this be technically true if KWU disbands? Then I can see it, otherwise sorry, but it's 2006.

4. Page 6-7

"Blackboard Learning Management System" "Online chat system" "Proctored exams"

*Kudos, can't beat Blackboard.

5. Page 8

"Licensure" "over 50% of students... receive tuition reimbursement from their employers"

*Standard BS about how the US does not have a centralized system of accreditation. Reference to Wyoming state license. Did they get a separate one? Again, using the logic that if BIG COMPANIES pay for a course, they have fully reviewed it and support it unconditionally.

6. Page 14

"Degrees offered - Doctorate of Business Administration"

*If they're serious, this means regional accreditation or speculation on what DETC-status will be able to offer in the near future.

7. Page 40-41

"Doctorate of Business Administration"

*A dissertation! 9 credits.

8. Page 58

"Faculty"

*Faculty! All the KWU regulars. I suppose if you've been in the catalog of a school dragged before a congressional hearing on diploma mills, this is an upgrade? Interesting play on other universities names in 2 ways. - 1 by listing the granting university for their degree and the other by listing the university they teach for primarily. The first is pretty common (Seems to be a real focus on big state schools), but I've never seen faculty list other universities they teach for. I also thought many big Universities had non-competes or similar restrictions.

The guy with a Harvard doctorate teaching at Warren National / KWU reminds me of the Dilbert cartoon when Dilbert takes his mom to see his workplace and she says "you did go to college? you did go to class?"

9. Page 68

"Comprehensive Tuition Program"

*All U Can Eat credits for 18-month or 30-month blocks. I thought this caused problems with financial aid, but I may be wrong.

10. Page 71

"General Credit Transfer Policies"

*Couple of warning signs here. Will accept credits from "any degree-granting college or university that is state-licensed OR accredited...". "Credit for prior learning - Warren National will consider awarding credit for work-related learning when presented in a portfolio containing all the necessary information".

11. Page 72 - More on transfers

"Courses from OTHER regionally accredited institutions..."
"Prior Learning Assessments"

*Appears to again refer to gaining regional accreditation., BUT, the prior learning assessment (PLA) is the term KWU uses for randomly assigning "credits", so they might be looking to grandfather in those "credits"/students?

12. Page 73 - Credit for prior learning

"Non-collegiate learning may be considered for transfer if such work is documented and submitted by means of a portfolio... Academic credit for non-collegiate learning is restricted to verifiable learning. Students interested in submitting a portfolio should review the specific information located under the Prior Learning Assessments section of approved courses".

*This doesn't sound Regionally Accredited to me, but I'm sure others here know more than me.

13. Page 76-77 - FAQ's

"Questions on online learning and quality of education"

*Many responses start with "our faculty, who also teach at regionally accredited universities..." No reference to accreditation. Can't tell if a student can actually contact a faculty member.

14. Page 78-79

"Corporate Support Nationwide" "The following is a partial listing of organizations that have reimbursed all or a portion of students' tuition. Organizations encourage their employees to enroll and complete degree programs at Warren National University because the companies' evaluation of the programs strongly suggest a benefit to the organization and the employees." Lists 2 pages of companies, including 3M and some big ones.

*Wow!! I'm skeptical. First of all, this is pretty much the exact KWU list used in KWU catalogs. so I am assuming these payments were made to KWU, not Warren National. Second, I wonder if these organizations know their names are being used here for paying for KWU classes (or Warren). Third, would a knowing company really put themselves on a list supporting an unaccredited school? Especially school districts after some of the recent snafus of teacher getting fired over unaccredited degrees. (Stanley-Boyd district in Wisconsin and Northside Christian School in Florida are listed). All the cities and counties listed here make me think of all the issues that local officials and law enforcers had when their unaccredited degrees were looked at.

*So it's presented as a State-Licensed school with many references to their regionally accredited faculty. Seems to be gearing towards regional accreditation, but sprinkled with a few odd components (prior learning) and mishmashed with KWU. Can't decide if KWU will go away and this will replace it or if they're gearing towards 2 revenue streams. Seems they would have to replace all the KWU "faculty" if they are coming over to Warren.

Comments welcome, just thought I would point out the interesting portions.

 

Regarding KWU's credit for prior learning assessment, I'm really not sure what this means since KWU does not list the credits required to graduate from any of their specific programs. At least I've never found any list of specific course graduation requirements for any specific KWU degrees. It would seem that it would cramp the KWU sales department's flexibility to much for such lists to be allowed.

It is an interesting thought about how KWU and KWU student records will fall out of the change to Warren. Of course if Warren is turned down flat by RA then I'd assume that they would apply to DETC. I would guess that they are attempting RA first for two reasons. First that RA takes longer so perhaps they can milk more out of the application process elapsed time. Second, they probably would love to offer large amounts of PLA because their current KWU bussiness model counts on that very heavily. DETC significantly restricts the PLA and credits transfering in.

Assuming that Warren receives either RA or DETC accreditation then an interesting question is what will become of KWU and the KWU student records. If KWU continues to exist then I'd assume that KWU would have to flee to its fifth mailing address. This could be a record for the same diploma mill using the same name to use five different mailing addresses! If the accreditor of Warren allows them mingle KWU student records in with accredited degreed students then the accreditor will be encouraging academic fraud, IMHO. I don't see that being allowed by RA. (One "diploma mill" owner had to sale his diploma mill in order for another of his start-ups to receive RA. Note: the term diploma mill in this sentence really means unaccrediated and apparently only slightly substandard.) I would sincerely hope that DETC wouldn't allow it either.

 

KWU Catalog - Busted once before

I thought I remembered that KWU got busted for it's marketing practices in its' catalog, so I looked back at the Senate Diploma Mill Hearing info and found this:

"The second panel will focus on Kennedy-Western University, an unaccredited school with academic requirements that fail to meet the standards of legitimate institutions. The Committee became interested in Kennedy-Western because its catalog boasted that a number of federal agencies had paid for their employees’ education at the school. The poster now on display is a page from the Kennedy-Western catalog. Highlighted in yellow are more than a dozen different federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Justice, Energy, Agriculture, Transportation, and Health and Human Services, that purportedly paid for their employees’ coursework at Kennedy-Western.

The General Accounting Office found that federal agencies had paid for 50 employees to enroll at Kennedy-Western. GAO did not find payments from all of the agencies listed in the business’ brochure. But it is important to remember that GAO was only able to capture direct payments from agencies to unaccredited schools. It had no way of looking at the payments agencies make to reimburse employees who initially paid diploma mill tuition themselves."