Washington International University

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Washington International University is an unaccredited institution of higher education founded in 1994 and currently incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. It describes itself as a "university without borders", serving clients from around the world via distance education. The university website states that WIU's graduates have come from 112 countries.

The name "Washington International University" is used in promotional materials for other unaccredited distance learning institutions. There are no known accredited institutions by this name, but at least three accredited Washington Universities exist: the University of Washington, Washington University and George Washington University (see "Similarity of names" section, below).

Contents

[edit] Academic programs

The school offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in business, liberal arts and engineering.[1]

The school offers "traditional" and "accelerated" degree programs. The traditional programs require students to complete just 10 courses for a bachelor's degree and eight for a master's, along with a senior research project.[2] The accelerated degree program allows completion of any degree within one year. For the accelerated program, according to the university's website, "There are no textbooks to read, curriculum to follow or formal exams to take." For either a bachelor's or a master's degree, a student must submit three book reports on books selected by the student's advisor and a research paper on a topic related to the student's field of study. For the doctorate, students must complete a thesis under the guidance of an instructor. [3]

The university points out on its Web site that its course materials "use simple language so that an average person can understand what is written."[4]

The school's website lists six faculty members, including two with doctorates, three with master's degrees and one with a J.D. degree.[5] According to a newspaper report in 2002, Karademir called the faculty "advisers", not "professors".[6]

[edit] Accreditation status

The university has not sought educational accreditation [7] and does not have a campus.

The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization stated that "[WIU is] operating illegally in Pennsylvania according to PA Department of Education. WIU is forbidden to advertise or offer its programs in Australia".[8]

[edit] History and locations

The school was founded in the mid-1990s and, as of 1998, was incorporated in Hawaii and the British Virgin Islands, although it was based in Pennsylvania and owned by Yil Karademir, of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, who ran the university with his wife. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Hawaii location was meant for forwarding mail and telephone calls to the school's location on the mainland. As of 1998 a building pictured on WIU's website was "where the head of Washington University receives mail and messages", but a two-story house on a residential street in Bryn Mawr was the school's registrar's office where a staff of four took calls from students. Karademir explained to the Inquirer that we "We are entrepreneurs, we are not educators."[9]

The institution's incorporation in Hawaii was dissolved March 1, 2000.[10] Earlier, the state of Hawaii had brought legal action against the school, alleging that it had deceived consumers by failing to disclose its lack of accreditation.[11] The parties settled the case in 1999; one of the requirements of the settlement was that Washington International dissolve its Hawaii corporation and not promote itself as being incorporated in or registered by the state of Hawaii.[12]

According to Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, Washington International started listing a South Dakota mailing address in mid-2000.[13] In 2002 the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, South Dakota reported that the school had a "small, broom closet-sized office" in that city but no employees. The school used a local secretarial service to answer the telephone and forward mail, and a local lawyer as an agent.[6] For some period thereafter, the institution used a mailing address in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. [14]

As of February 2008, the university lists a mailing address in Wilmington, Delaware, and states that it is incorporated in British Virgin Islands.[15]

[edit] Prominent graduates

[edit] Similarity of names

The university is not to be confused with Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Before 1998, the institution now called "Washington International University" used the name "Washington University," but Karademir added "International" to the name in June 1998 as part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by Washington University in St. Louis. [18] Lawyers from the latter institution had accused Washington International of being "nothing more than a diploma mill",[9] but Mr. Karademir of Washington International University disputed this characterization.[18]

According to Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, a different institution calling itself Washington International University, stated to be registered in Delaware but using an address in Kowloon, Hong Kong, marketed itself on the Internet beginning in 2002. [13]

Another Washington International University, based in Encino, California, advertises itself on the Internet as a distance education provider, offering associate's, bachelor's, and MBA programs, all in the field of business.[19] Its website domain, losangelessoftware.com, does not match the institution name and is not on the .edu TLD.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Web page titled "Degree Programs Offered & Tuition" Washington International University website. Retrieved February 24, 2008
  2. ^ "Degree Programs - Self Study", Washington International University website. Retrieved February 24, 2008
  3. ^ "Degree Programs - Accelerated", Washington International University website. Retrieved February 24, 2008
  4. ^ Web page titled "Why Choose Washington International University?" Washington International University website. Retrieved February 24, 2008
  5. ^ Web page titled "The Faculty", Washington International University website. Retrieved February 24, 2008
  6. ^ a b Williams, Lee, "Degree-for-a-fee Web colleges have connections to Sioux Falls", Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, June 16, 2002, page 1
  7. ^ Degree Granting Authority, Washington International University website (accessed February 22, 2008). "WIU has never applied for, nor ever used any government funds or seek any accreditation."
  8. ^ Unaccredited Colleges, Oregon Student Assistance Commission, [Office of Degree Authorization (accessed September 21, 2007)
  9. ^ a b Raghavan, Sudarsan, "College by mail told: Stop cribbing name / Washington University in Missouri sues unaccredited namesake in Bryn Mawr", Philadelphia Inquirer, page 1. As archived online at www.newsbank.com, March 31, 1998. Retrieved from Newsbank website February 24, 2007 (subscription required)
  10. ^ Washington International University, Hawaii Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs (accessed February 21, 2008)
  11. ^ Complaint and Summons, State of Hawaii vs. Washington International University, Hawaii Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs, January 25, 1999
  12. ^ Stipulated Permanent Injunction and Final Judgment Against Defendant Washington International University, Inc. fka Washington University, Inc., Circuit Court of the First Circuit, State of Hawaii, November 23, 1999
  13. ^ a b Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, By John Bear and Mariah P. Bear, 2003, Ten Speed Press, ISBN 1580084311, page 223
  14. ^ Washington International University application form, archived June 16, 2004
  15. ^ Application, Washington International University (accessed February 21, 2008)
  16. ^ Kabila's official biographies list a bachelor's degree in international studies and diplomacy from Washington International University (see DRC: Key Figures in Congo's Electoral Process, IRIN Africa, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 28 June 2006)
  17. ^ Leah Janzen, "Tory candidate's PhD comes under scrutiny", Winnipeg Free Press, 14 January 2006, A15.
  18. ^ a b Technology: Easy Degrees Proliferate on the Web, by David Koeppel, The New York Times, August 2, 1998
  19. ^ Washington International University (California) website

[edit] External links

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