Columbus University is an unaccredited

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

institution that has been based at different times in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. The institution initially operated in Louisiana under a provision of state law that exempted tax-exempt nonprofit entities from licensing requirements. In November 1998, ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' discussed Columbus in an article, "A dirty dozen - 12 famous diploma mills". After state legislation was revised to require licensing, Columbus University was issued a state license in September 2000, conditioned on seeking accreditation. When Columbus failed to apply for accreditation, its license was revoked and the school was closed down by the state of Louisiana as an illegal

diploma mill A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fake ...

Defense defends appointee who has unaccredited grad degree
, '' Government Computer News'', July 7, 2003.Jaime Holguin
Top Officials Hold Fake Degrees
CBS Evening News, May 10, 2004Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas
Subsequently, Columbus relocated to

. It is listed by Mississippi authorities as a "non-approved" entity. In 2008 it was reported that the

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Department of Postsecondary Education had revoked a license previously granted to Columbus University. In May 2010,

WWL-TV WWL-TV (channel 4) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Slidell-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WUPL (channel 54). Both stations share studios on Rampart St ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

reported that the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

was investigating Columbus University as a diploma mill, and had recently raided the Columbus operations located in a duplex in New Orleans. Columbus has been accredited by the World Association of Universities and Colleges (WAUC), although this body is not recognized by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...

. In 2003 and 2004, U.S. news media reported that Charles Abell, an Assistant Secretary in the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

, listed a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from Columbus University in his official biography and his Senate confirmation statement. Media reports identified Columbus as a

. The Office of the Secretary of Defense was quoted as defending Abell with the following statement:

In 1998, while working on the
Senate Armed Services Committee The Committee on Armed Services (sometimes abbreviated SASC for ''Senate Armed Services Committee'') is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Def ...
, Abell chose to pursue higher education to expand his knowledge of human resource management. His goal was to find a program that allowed him to study while working, and the Columbus University program met his objective. He did ask the university about its accreditation and was told they were accredited. Abell has always been forthcoming about his credentials and has clearly demonstrated his commitment and ability to serve in federal government. The Defense Department stands by his service.

Although Abell's case was cited in connection with a

General Accounting Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal gover ...

investigation of federal employees with degrees from diploma mills Abell remained in his position. Abell continued in his Defense Department job until August 2005, when he joined the staff of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, where he remained until 2007. In testimony before the

House Oversight Committee The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...

relating to the

Mitchell Report The ''Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball'', informally known as the Mitchell Report, is the res ...

and

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

Brian McNamee confirmed that his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in behavioral sciences was from Columbus University. He said that he took courses "electronically" and submitted a written dissertation.''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''
Live Analysis: House Panel Questions Clemens and McNamee
February 13, 2008. Representative Tom Davis asked him if Columbus University was a diploma mill, and McNamee responded, "As I found out later on, it appears it is." Columbus University is on the

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is an agency of the U.S. state of Texas's government that oversees all public post-secondary education in the state. It is headquartered at 1801 North Congress Avenue in Austin. THECB det ...

's list of institutions whose degrees are illegal to use in Texas, because degrees from such institutions have been found to be "fraudulent or substandard".Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas
(accessed 2013-01-24).

References

External links

Columbus University website
{{authority control Distance education institutions based in the United States Educational institutions in the United States with year of establishment missing Private universities and colleges in Mississippi Universities and colleges in New Orleans Private universities and colleges in Louisiana Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in the United States