Columbia Pacific closes. Columbia Commonwealth moves from Montana to Wyoming.

Word this week from Dr. Les Carr, president of Columbia Pacific University, is that it has closed.

Carr explains that there is no legal connection whatever between Columbia Pacific and Columbia Commonwealth University, the latter being a nonprofit company, with Carr as president.

Because of a declared intention to pursue regional accreditation, and a stated wish to be in a region that has been more flexible in its procedures, Columbia Commonwealth University has moved its campus from Missoula, Montana to Jackson, Wyoming, where the address is a Mail Boxes Etc. box rental service.

CCU still claims its accreditation from the African Republic of Malawi. Their website (www.ccwu.edu) lists a 14-member board of trustees, 12 of them in Malawi, including two justices of the high court and other government officials with impressive titles.

 

Columbia Commonwealth University

I do not understand the sudden urge to go legit.

Columbia Pacific University appeared to be a very successful California approved school. Had Dr. Carr decided to upgrade the school and seek accreditation 10 years ago, perhaps he could have had another University of Phoenix, that now seems to be everywhere. Not all the cash is in unaccredited programs. I suspect the real cash is in accredited programs.

One would suspect that the Malawi connection is mutually beneficial. Malawi is in tough shape and post secondary education is needed, while Columbia Commonwealth needs legitimacy.

Does Malawi give more credibility than the British Virgin Islands or Norfolk Island? I would doubt it. Bouncing accross state lines doesn't help.

I suspect that any application for accreditation will have a long review period. History has created doubts and these doubts must be overcome

 

One hopes that Columbia Commonwealth will move to a campus larger than their Mail Boxes Etc. box before the accreditation visitation.

But seriously, as I've mentioned elsewhere, Les Carr shepherded the successful regional accreditation processes at the two now-RA schools of which he was president (Lewis U, New College), and so he understands the process better than most. And that makes it even stranger, to me, that no attempt was ever made with Columbia Pacific and WASC, although it was talked about there even during the time of my consultancy (late 70s, early 80s).