World Trade Center University

A plan to build a new 9000 student postgraduate university in the Palm Springs, CA, area was anounced this week. Quote "The Washington, DC based university works with 13 campuses worldwide, including Columbia, Harvard and U of Paris. The school expects to be fully accredited by the time the campus is completed."
I found WTCU at http://www.wtcu.org and it seems they offer several DL doctorates in colaboration with other schools.

 

I'd be interested in reading Dr. Bear's comments on this one.

In reviewing the website, I couldn't determine what school actually awards the degree.

I also noticed they accept transfer credit from California approved school including up to 50% of the PhD requirements. Certainly not the norm for a school seeking accreditation.

 

California based?

Ian, which URL/page specifically mentions its plans for California? I can't wade through all these sales pitches.

I notice that there's a California business license (on file since 1997) for World Trade Center University, Inc. in Los Angeles.

 

Ian,

Where did you hear about this? I live in the Palm Springs area and am an adjunct faculty at the Palm Springs area campus of California State University (which is in the process of constructing a multi-million dollar permanent campus in the area to accommodate about 2,000 students). None of the local higher ed folks seem to be aware of the 9,000 student campus that you mention.

The only thing that comes close here is the "Palm Springs Virtual University" which is a bit of a misnomer, since it is not a degree granting institution. It is actually a videoconference room in the Palm Springs Public Library that offers a few DL courses from some universities and mostly offers community education/extension courses.

If you could shed some light on this Palm Springs WTU campus, I will be happy to investigate it.

Tony Pina
BA, MEd BYU
EdD La Sierra U. (dissertation in progress)

 

See the "Desert Sun", page A11, dated 2/28/02. I correct my first message - forget the 9000 student figure.
After reading this story I researched WTCU on the web. To find more visit WTCU web page and click on the square " WTCU" button.
BTW I'm glad to see yor CSUSB/UCR campus being built here in Palm Desert.

 

Looks like they offer no classes of their own just programs that you could enter on your own like University Alliance. I have to admit I think WTCU is a even worse name than Excelsior and Argosy. Thanks for pointing it out Ian it is interesting.

 

They used the name well before 9/11/01 but now they have a Catch 22. If they keep the name, it will always be a distraction from their real focus. But changing the name might be seen as disrespectful.

 

I agree with Gert. Keeping the name will always distract from their real focus.

Christian

 

WTCU

Hello, Although the name of this school is extremely upsetting I found they take an exceptional amount of credit toward an undergraduate degree. I've e-mailed an information request but hope one of the experts( kindly meant) will update the forum on the status of this school. Many thanks. Hille

 

I think changing the name is the lesser of two evils. When I first saw the WTCU name, I thought it was some sort of sick joke.


Bruce

 

I have looked into this a bit and it appears legit. The plans were announced just a few days ago, which is why none of us local folks had heard about it (thanks for the "heads up" Ian).

There are plans to develop a 9,000 acre planned community with a high tech industry park, 7,000 houses several golf courses and, yes, a post-graduate university. Apparently, this will be WTU's first brick & mortar campus, but will be heavily into DL as well. I found the address for their local headquarters (just down the street from College of the Desert, our local community college) and I'll go down and talk to them. If anything looks promising for DL, I'll post it here. Since the proposed location is in a rural area that borders the Coachella Valley Fringe-Toed Lizard Preserve, some local environmentalists are less-than-thrilled about the project.

Tony Pina