Pacific Western University

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by robine55, Oct 14, 2004.

Loading...
  1. robine55

    robine55 New Member

    Need more information about this university.
    Is it an accredited university or a diploma mill?
    Thanks for your help!
     
  2. Khan

    Khan New Member

  3. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

  4. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Yes a degree mill. But many are using it for teaching purposes.

    Fernando Fernandez is a full professor at "Universidad de Monterrey" with a PhD from PWU

    http://www.udem.edu.mx/posgrado/profesorado/


    The degree might be bogus but some universities are unaware of this.
     
  5. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    They are not accredited.

    Their webpage says that they are a member of AACSB and then talks about how AACSB is a member of CHEA, but that's misleading, probably intentionally so. Membership in AACSB is available to anyone who pays the membership fee and is not the same thing as accreditation by AACSB.

    http://www.pwu-ca.edu/pages/home.asp

    Here's a link to an earlier thread on PWU. It has a link to a KCBS TV story that reports that the president of PWU made some damaging admissions about the school to an undercover reporter.

    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13686

    PWU is something from the underside of the CA-approved rock where all the slimy things crawl around.

    I would certainly avoid it.

    Editorial addition: Wow. My Degreeinfo colleagues certainly aren't asleep. There were no replies, so I pounded out a response and hit 'return', only to find that Khan, Bill Huffman and RFValve already beat me to it.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 14, 2004
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Pacific Western is not accredited.

    When California had a 3-tier system for degree-granting schools, the lowest was "Authorized." Schools at this level only had to submit an application addressing 13 areas and claim $50,000 in assets (which wasn't checked carefully). Later, they had to state that they offered at least some form of instruction, but this was never evaluated by the state.

    The second level was "Approved," where the state would evaluate one or more of a school's degree programs and approve them. This carried a bit more weight, and at least had some semblance of evaluation and oversight.

    The third was "Accredited."

    Pacific Western always operated at the "Authorized" level. It was never "Approved." When California changed its law, eliminating the "Authorized" category, the state required schools to become approved or close. Some closed, some moved (or, at least, moved their licenses, even if they didn't actually move the school), and a few got approved.

    Pacific Western did two of these. They got one set of programs approved, then "moved" the rest under Hawaii's much more lenient laws. (PWU never actually moved, of course, and it is interesting that California puts up with this flim-flam.)

    Whether or not Pacific Western is a diploma mill is in the eye of the beholder. But it is not recognized as a university by any competent educational authority, except for its few California-Approved programs.
     
  7. robine55

    robine55 New Member

    Re: Re: Pacific Western University

     
  8. mercsd

    mercsd New Member

    Everything that Rich Douglas says is 100% accurate. Back in 1995, Stephen Forte (son of the PWU president) hired me to create 2 web sites for them. One each for Pacific Western University Hawaii (close by the state of Hawaii in May 2006 for years of non-compliance) and Pacific Western University California. I stopped doing business with them shortly there after as I didn't like the way that they do business (defrauding their customers/students).

    While in Westwood, they had no campus. Just an office that was shared by Stephen Forte's shady cellular rental business. You now, the kind that charges you $2-4/min domestically, and $10/min for international. Anywho, I was checking to see where they stood today and was appalled to learn that they moved down here to San Diego. The California Department of Education is now investigating them under their new name, California Miramar University.
     
  9. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    There should be an old thread on PWU. IIRC, it said that PWU (California) in 2006 was sold to a chiropractor from either Texas or Florida. (I forget which.) He then changed the name to California Miramar University after toying with the idea of using the name California University. He changed that plan after the University of California system threatened to sue. I have looked at their campus from Miramar Road while I drove by. It is very near the 15 freeway. To be fair, I don't think that it is as slimy now as when PWU (Hawaii) was around. Not that it means much unless they are approved, but, they did apply for DETC accreditation.
     
  10. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 13, 2009
  11. Junior1

    Junior1 member

    Trotsky held the ketchup bottle in his hand and dispensed some of the thick sticky red paste into the bend of his plate, before picking a fire, dipping it in the tamato ketchup and plucking it into his mouth, while saying:
     
  12. Migara

    Migara member

    But if Pacific Western University is now California Miramar University (CMU) is accredited by both ACICS and DETC. How is it possible to obtain accreditation if California Department of Education is investigating them?
    CMU faculty has few members with PhD's from unaccredited Universities.

    Migara
     
  13. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Probably with a time machine. (Look at the dates of the relevant posts in this thread. PWU's days are apparently over.)
     
  14. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    Yes, CMU is now accredited by DETC.

    I suspect that many graduates of PWU think that their alma mater became accredited but are mistaken. PWU apparently kept internal track as to whether the degree was bestowed through PWU (Hawaii) or PWU (California) and they must have felt more secure in internally listing the degrees as coming from Hawaii but weren't typically up front with their customers as to which entity they got their degree from. CMU has apparently always insisted that they had nothing to do with the PWU (Hawaii) organization.
     
  15. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    And DETC accredited that mess. Ouch. I hope they've truly gotten it untangled, and that CMU has nothing at all to do with the Hawaii "thang."
     
  16. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    It is an extremely ugly historical mess. CMU is located very near me, although I've never done anything except drive by.

    I go to lunch on Fridays with a few long time friends. They are bemused (but mostly bored) with my strange inexplicable facination with unaccredited schools. So on Fridays when it was my turn to drive I would sometimes suggest (threaten) that we all spend our lunch visiting CMU to see if they would sell us a doctorate or two. Which gave my friends the perfectly reasonable opportunity to question my sanity.
     
  17. cosac

    cosac New Member

    Bill Huffman: For a long time, you have been criticizing and degrading Pacific Western University, now California Miramar University. Since you are very closed to their location, why don't you just stop by there, confront them, and proudly tell that you are extremely intelligent as compared to all alumni of this university. I think it will show that you are a real man rather than keep posting your ugly comments here behind this forum.
     
  18. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Hi Bill - We won't be hearing from our little friend cosac anymore.
     
  19. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    CMU is fully accredited by DETC. If I had visited CMU and tried to purchase a degree, my assumption is that my attempts would have ended in failure. My opinion is that PWU was a silly diploma mill. If I'd visited PWU in LA and tried to buy a degree, I probably would have been successful. Are those ugly comments?

    Listen Cosac, since CMU became accredited, I don't have a problem with CMU except for the ugly diploma mill history. If you're associated with PWU then I've probably already spent more time on this than it's worth. If you're associated with CMU then lighten up dude. CMU has an ugly history that in my opinion is a very fair target for jokes and a laugh or two.
     
  20. major56

    major56 Active Member

    According to their website, CMU holds dual accreditation from two legitimate and recognized national accrediting agencies, e.g., DETC and ACICS http://www.calmu.edu/main-navigation/about/accreditation.html. Bill as a San Diego resident who lives in close proximity to CMU and occasional drive-by – why not just check out CMU’s operation in-person? Perhaps after an observational stop-in /visit, you would be willing to further share some additional insights and/or conclusions with other board participants. Just a thought …
     

Share This Page