Columbia Pacific University

Columbia Pacific University (CPU) is a now-defunct nontraditional distance learning school in California,[1]. It was founded in 1978 by Richard Crews, M.D.,[2], a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, and Lester Carr, Ph.D., a former president of Lewis University, [3]. CPU was closed by California court order in 2000[4]. The court also ruled that CPU degrees granted between 1978 and mid-1997 are legally valid for use within the state of California,[5] but several other states restrict the use of CPU degrees as credentials. However, graduates of CPU while it was a state approved university are eligible to take the state psychology and other professional licensing examinations in California, [6]. The California Department of Consumer Affairs confirms that the licensing examination eligibility of “students who received degrees or credentials from CPU prior to June 25, 1997 should not be affected as the school had legal approval to operate until that date”, [7].

Lester Carr subsequently reorganized the school in Montana, Wyoming, and the Republic of Malawi as "Columbia Commonwealth University". CPU alumni acquired all rights to the CPU name and registered a "Columbia Pacific University" non-profit organization in Delaware.[8]. The CPU Press continues its publication program [9].

History

Initial licensing in California

In 1983, after four years of operating under a basic licensing, CPU's programs in Administration and Management received Institutional Approval from the California Department of Education. On June 2, 1986, the California Department of Education granted all of CPU's programs Full Institutional Approval for a 3-year period, ruling that CPU's curricula met California Education Code Section 94310(b)'s statutory requirement of being "consistent in quality with curricula offered by appropriate established accredited institutions which are recognized by the United States Department of Education".[10]

Changes to California licensing law

In 1989 the State passed the Private Postsecondary Education Act, changing State regulations for approved schools in 1989. CPU received re-approval in 1991 after passing a site visit from several State and Re-approval Committee representatives. Regulations changed further and the president of CPU began reporting difficulty keeping up with them under the new California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE). Under the BPPVE, the State's definition of "Approval" was changed to reflect basic compliance with the new regulations.

Site visits and CPU's response, 1994-1995

In 1994 Marin County inspectors discovered eight permitless dormitories on CPU founder Les Carr's property. Marin County officials cited Carr for "multiple zoning, safety, and health violations". Carr was forced to remove the dormitories, as well as to remove references to the property as "a retreat center on a beautiful 14-acre ranch in northern Marin county" in CPU's promotional literature.[11]

An August 1995 site visit committee of the Council for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education found that CPU had not met the new regulations. It failed the 1995 visit on the basis of 88 points. The Council's review of CPU listed numerous violations of academic standards, including:

• "One master's-degree student was given credit for "a learning contract describing how he would continue taking dance lessons and watch dance demonstrations in order to improve his skills as a Country Western dancer.""
• "A Ph.D. dissertation written in Spanish was approved by four faculty who cannot speak the language."
• "One dissertation "had no hypothesis, no data collection, and no statistical analysis. A member of the visiting committee characterized the work as more like a project paper at the college freshman level." The dissertation, The Complete Guide to Glass Collecting, was 61 pages long."
• "At least nine students who received the Ph.D. degree in 1994 had been enrolled less than 20 months, four of them less than 12." [12]

On November 15, 1995, CPU submitted a response challenging the CPPVE findings. CPU's response argued that the CPPVE's August report “is grossly in error in most details, as documented in the 86 errors of fact enumerated”, and therefore argued that the CPPVE report was "utterly unreliable as an objective and thorough evaluation of CPU”.[13]

CPU's response argued that the CPPVE Visiting Committee’s review of CPU dissertations was based on superficial judgments. In “Error of Fact No. 27”, for example, CPU's response says that the complaint about the lack of “evidence of competency in statistical research” was erroneous because “many dissertations do not require statistical analysis”. In "Error of Fact No. 28" and "Error of Fact No. 31", regarding CPPVE's finding that a PhD dissertation was submitted in Spanish and reviewed by faculty who could not speak the language, CPU responded that the indicated student "provided an authenticated English translation" and had been working with a Spanish-fluent mentor who then resided in Venezuela.[14]

Closure and appeals, 1995-2000

CPPVE director Kenneth Miller issued CPU a Denial of Application for Approval in December 1995.

CPU administrators appealed the decision to close the school, but an administrative court judge ruled against the appeal on June 10, 1997. Among other items, the administrative appeals judge found that CPU:

• awarded excessive credit for prior experiential learning to many students;
• failed to employ duly qualified faculty; and
• failed to meet various requirements for issuing Ph.D. degrees. [15] [16]

In the state's 1997 suit to compel CPU to close, California Deputy Attorney General Asher Rubin called the correspondence school "a diploma mill which has been preying on California consumers for too many years" and "a consumer fraud, a complete scam." The suit also referred to Columbia Pacific University as a "phony operation" offering "totally worthless [degrees]...to enrich its unprincipled promoters."[17]

On December 2, 1999, Judge Lynn Duryee ordered the school be shut down, also levying $10,000 in fines against CPU for its "deceptive and unfair practices" in operating without authorization, and failing to disclose its status to prospective students, during the appeals process. Judge Duryee noted in her decision that "The decision is not whether or not the students are dissatisfied... I mean that is not the test. It's like saying, you know, that prostitution should not be illegal because the customers are satisfied. It's not the test."[18]

This appeal was lost in 2000 and CPU was ordered to close.

Reorganization as Columbia Commonwealth University, 2000-present

Soon after CPU's closure in California, founder Les Carr relocated the school to Missoula, Montana and subsequently changed its name to "Columbia Commonwealth University" (CCWU).[19][20][21] As Columbia Commonwealth University, the school obtained approval from the Republic of Malawi to operate as an educational institution in the African nation.[22][23] [24] In 2001 CCWU moved to Jackson, Wyoming,[25] and is currently based in Rock Springs, Wyoming. CPU founder Les Carr still serves as president of CCWU.[26] [27]

Legal status of CPU and CCWU degrees

California

California recognizes CPU degrees earned before June 25, 1997 as "legally valid" for use in the state. CPU degrees earned on or after June 25, 1997 are "not legally valid" for use in California.[28]

Michigan

Michigan, for state civil service jobs, does not accept degrees from either CPU or CCWU "as satisfying any educational requirements indicated on job specifications".[29]

Oregon

Oregon lists degrees from both CPU and CCWU as "unaccredited degrees", and thus prohibited for various uses under Oregon law. The use of "unaccredited degrees" in violation of this prohibition is a Class B misdemeanor in Oregon.[30]

Texas

Texas lists degrees from both CPU and CCWU as "fraudulent or substandard", and thus prohibited for various uses under Texas law. The use of "fraudulent or substandard" degrees in violation of this prohibition is a Class B misdemeanor in Texas.[31]

Notable alumni

• Jerry Bergman, young earth creationist
• Mark Staff Brandl, artist and critic
• Roger J. Geronimo, economist, opera singer, CPU president
• John Gray, author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
• David R. Hawkins, author of Power Vs. Force
• Beth Hedva, psychologist
• Rochelle Holt, poet, novelist, and publisher
• Anodea Judith, therapist, author of Wheels of Life
• Wallace W. Rhodes, environmental engineer
• William T. Rogers, neuroscientist, inventor
• Brian Tracy, author, founder of Brian Tracy College at Andrew Jackson University

References

• Bears Guide to Nontraditional Education, 1982 Edition
• California Department of Education Approval Document, 1983
• California Department of Education Approval Document, 1986
• California CPPVE Re-approval Document, 1991
• Independent Educational Consultant's Review of CPPVE Re-approval Process, 1995
• Report of the CPPVE Committee Site Visit, 1990
• Report of the CPPVE Committee Site Visit, 1995
• Schevitz, Tanya. 1999. "Marin Judge Orders University in Novato To Cease Operations". San Francisco Chronicle, December 25, p. A21.
• Stewart, David W., and Henry A. Spille. 1988. Diploma Mills: Degrees of Fraud. New York, NY: American Council on Education and Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Testimony of Dr. Betty Dow: Court of Appeal of the State of California, First Appellate District, Division One. The Appeal # is AO 89826, in reference to Marin Superior Court Case No. 172634

See also

• Diploma mill
• List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning

External links

• Columbia Commonwealth University
• Columbia Commonwealth University-London, a division of CCWU
• Columbia Pacific University, alumni nonprofit organization
• Alumni of Columbia Pacific University