University of the Nations

University of the Nations
Motto	To Know God and to Make Him Known
Established	1978
Type	Private
President	Markus Steffen [1]
Provost	Thomas A Bloomer [2]
Students	approx. 20,000 worldwide[3]
Location	Global, 600 campuses in 142 countries[4]
Affiliations	YWAM
Website	www.uofn.edu

The University of the Nations (U of N) is a university with branches in 600 locations in 142 countries, providing programs in over 100 languages around the world.^[4] Its largest locations are in Kona, Hawaii (USA), Jeju, South Korea, and Perth, Australia. The University of the Nations operates under the umbrella organization of the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) network.

History

The institution was founded in 1978 as Pacific & Asia Christian University (PACU) by Howard Malmstadt and Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth with a Mission, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. As other locations were established around the world, PACU was renamed the University of the Nations in 1989.

Education

The U of N offers Associate's degrees, Bachelor's degrees, Graduate Diplomas and Master's degrees from its seven colleges. These colleges are the College of the Arts and Sports, College of Christian Ministries, College of Communication, College of Counseling and Health Care, College of Education, College of Humanities and International Studies, and the College of Science and Technology. There are also five interdisciplinary centers: the Community Development Center; the Center for Discipleship Training Schools; the Family Resource Center; the Student Mobilization Center; and the GENESIS Center. Its core program is the Discipleship Training School (DTS), which is required for all the secondary training programs. The DTS format of three months of lectures with weekly speakers followed by two-month outreach is adhered to by all the secondary training programs.

Accreditation

University of the Nations is not accredited by any recognized accreditation body. As such, its degrees and credits might not be acceptable to employers or other institutions, and use of degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions.^[5]

University of the Nations justifies its lack of accreditation by stating that "validation by an accrediting agency in one nation could be limiting. With the U of N, students may begin their education in South America, continue it in the United States and complete their U of N degree requirements in Europe. This type of international scope is a challenge for accrediting agencies to validate."^[6] Additionally, since the school does not pay staff, "the lack of salaries for staff could preclude accreditation."^[6] University of the Nations asserts that other institutions have accepted and continue to accept transfer credits,^[6] including Houghton College,^[7]and the South African Theological Seminary.

Australia's higher education and training system lists University of the Nations' affiliated Institute for the Nations and Youth With A Mission programs in five locations as registered training organisations authorized to provide certificates and diplomas in several specified fields.^[8]

Notable people

Alumni

• David L. Cunningham, son of university founder, filmmaker and part-time faculty

Visiting faculty

• David Aikman, Author and former senior correspondent for Time Magazine
• Forrest Mims, Electronics author and amateur atmospheric scientist
• Darrow Miller co-founder^[9] of the Disciple Nations Alliance, author^[10] and past Vice President^[11] of Food For the Hungry International

• David Newberry, Senior Public Health Advisor, CARE- Primary Health Care Unit, Member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Global Smallpox Eradication Team - Ghana & Nigeria,^[12][13] Faculty at Johns Hopkins University, Research Associate in the Department of International Health Private Voluntary Organization Child Survival Support Program^[14]
• Dan Fountain,^[15] medical missionary for 35 years in Zaire (DR Congo), recognized authority on the treatment of persons with AIDS, faculty of the Christian Medical & Dental Association’s Continuing Medical Education Program and as an Assistant Professor at King College and Director of their Global Health Care Center masters degree program, International speaker and author of numerous books in English and French on community health and primary health care

Commendation

State Proclamation of YWAM Day issued by Hawaii Lt. Governor Duke Aiona on Nov 29, 2010

See also

• List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning

References

External links

• University of the Nations International web site
• University of the Nations, Kona web site