The University of NorthWest is an unaccredited

degree 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 ...

based in the United States. Originally established in 2001 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the University provides

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 ...

courses that lead to

academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...

s in several fields. Its website states that it offers classes at 'learning centers' in Canada, China, Bangladesh, Ireland, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom. In the summer of 2010, the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization reported that the University of NorthWest was actively engaged in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Accreditation status

NorthWest's promotional materials state that it is incorporated in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, but that it is "not accredited by an accreditation agency approved by the US Department of Education" Allen Ezell's 2007 book ''Accreditation Mills'' discusses the institution as an example of a '

'. It is listed as an

unaccredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

institution by the education agencies in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. In addition to being unaccredited, it is illegal to use its degrees in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. In 2009, it was listed as registered with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

References

External links

* {{coord, 40.70290, -73.99041, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-NY, display=title Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in the United States Distance education institutions based in the United States For-profit universities and colleges in the United States Educational institutions established in 2001 2001 establishments in New York City