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Warnborough College

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Warnborough College UK
Warnborough College Ireland
TypePrivate
Established1973, 1997, 2006
ChairmanDaryl Tempest-Mogg
PresidentBrenden D. Tempest-Mogg
Vice-presidentJulian Ng
ProvostBrenden D. Tempest-Mogg
Location
Canterbury, Kent, UK
Dublin, Ireland
File:Warnborough ie logo.gif

Warnborough College UK provides a variety of educational programmes, both on-site in Canterbury, England, and by distance learning. Warnborough College Ireland offers distance-learning programmess from Ireland. The name Warnborough is also associated with several related institutions of higher education existing from 1973 to the present, including Warnborough College Oxford and Warnborough University.

History

1973–1996: Oxford

Warnborough College was founded in Oxford, England, in 1973 by Brenden Tempest-Mogg, an Australian[1] who had attended Hertford College University of Oxford in 1970.[2] Warnborough College was not affiliated with the University of Oxford. It offered study abroad programmes and catered largely to American undergraduate and graduate students who would spend a semester or year abroad as part of their academic programme.[3] Other offerings included Warnborough College International Summer Schools[4] and a venue for summer conferences.[5] It was founded on Warnborough Road in North Oxford in 1973 and moved to Yatscombe Hall, former home to the Greek scholar Gilbert Murray and Lord Shawcross, at Boars Hill about four miles south from the city of Oxford in 1976.[2] The Boars Hill facilities included a lodge for the teaching staff and two Victorian Gothic mansions, one used as the women's dorm and one used as a men's dorm and for classes.[6]

In 1985, Warnborough College began offering a study abroad programme in Sydney, Australia and later expanded to Brisbane.[7]

In 1995 Warnborough College enrolled its first group of students onsite in a four-year academic programme. It has been alleged that Warnborough misrepresented itself as being related to Oxford University. When some of the students discovered that Warnborough had no connection with Oxford University they withdrew from the college and demanded refunds. The college denied that it had represented itself as being formally associated with Oxford University.[8]

Although the college continued to deny any misrepresentation, Oxford University threatened Warnborough College with a lawsuit over these alleged misrepresentations[9] and the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board and former students sued Warnborough, its president, and Mark Huck, its recruiting co-ordinator in Seattle.[6][10] The lawsuit by former students resulted in a judgement against Warnborough College by the Superior Court of King County, Washington of nearly $300,000.[11] In October 1995 the United States Department of Education suspended[12] and then, in 1996, terminated the eligibility of Warnborough College to participate in the federal student financial assistance programmes under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 on the basis that (i) it was not a degree-granting institution, (ii) its credits were not freely transferable; and (iii) it had no eligible vocational programmes. It also fined the college for (i) failing to make refunds to students in accord with Title IV and Warnborough's own refund policies; and (ii) responsibility for misrepresentations to students that it was a part of Oxford University and had degree-granting authority.[13]

These events created significant financial problems for Warnborough College. Hertford College was reported to be pursuing legal action against Warnborough College to recover a property rental debt of 6,000 pounds. Other creditors who were owed tens of thousands of pounds hired a private detective to track down the principals after they abruptly returned to Australia.[2][14][15][16] The Boars Hill properties were repossessed by creditors and its corporate owner, Oxford International Educational Enterprises Ltd, directed by brothers Brenden and Daryl Tempest-Mogg and their mother, Ethel Tempest-Mogg, was wound up on a petition by the Inland Revenue. In the summer of 1996, Warnborough relocated temporarily to offices rented from New Road Baptist Church in central Oxford. The Tempest-Moggs returned to Australia in July 1996 and the New Road office closed in August 1996.[2] In October 1996 Warnborough went into liquidation.[15]

Notable former students of Warnborough College Oxford include former surgeon and businessman Kneeland Youngblood.[17]

1997-2005: London and Canterbury

In 1997 Warnborough University was registered as a limited company in Ireland, directed by Brenden Tempest-Mogg and Kee Guan Ng, a Malaysian national[1] and registered a branch office in the United Kingdom. It initially operated an office in London and later moved to Canterbury in 2001. It offered graduate and undergraduate residential and non-residential degrees in liberal arts, scientific and professional studies.[18] In November 2005 the Department of Education and Science said that Warnborough University in Ireland was in breach of the Universities Act 1997 by calling itself a university and requested that they not use the word "university" to describe themselves.[19]

In the early 2000s Warnborough University generated controversy by issuing graduate and undergraduate degrees in Australia because neither Warnborough nor any of its consortium partners through which it was offering degrees were authorised or accredited to do so.[20][21] The Australian state of New South Wales included Warnborough on a list of five “unrecognized universities”.[22]

The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, in its listing of unaccredited universities, comments in its notes about Warnborough (under the former name of Warnborough University): "Also (known as) Warnborough College. 'Warnborough University is not a recognized institution in Ireland' - National Qualifications Authority of Ireland 'Not a UK degree-granter. Appearance on UK registry of training providers does not confer or represent authorization to issue degrees' - British Higher Education Governance office. [23] On its website, Warnborough College Ireland claims that its degrees are legal even though not accredited.[24]

United Kingdom college

Warnborough College UK is located in Canterbury, Kent.

Offerings

Warnborough College UK offers various British degree pathway qualifications which are awarded by the Association of Business Executives[25]. Students may complete their final year and graduate at a recognised British university with these qualifications. Also, it offers English language courses, National Vocational Qualifications, and short-course vocational and personal enrichment subjects.[26]

According to its website[27] university foundation programmes are offered in the areas of:

  • marketing
  • business management
  • human resources management
  • travel, tourism and hospitality

English language courses[28] are offered year-round.

Distance learning courses are currently offered in the following 15 general areas:

  • agriculture
  • business and management
  • ecotourism and adventure activities
  • education, training and research
  • environmental studies
  • health, fitness and recreation
  • horticulture
  • hospitality and tourism
  • information technology
  • landscaping
  • permaculture and self-sufficiency
  • photography
  • psychology and counselling
  • science
  • writing and journalism

Accreditation

According to its website, Warnborough College UK became accredited in 2008 by the Accreditation Service for International Colleges and is designated as an "ASIC Premier College".[29] Warnborough UK is an accredited training provider for distance-education and onsite bookkeeping courses leading to Level 1 and Level 2 certification from the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.[30] Warnborough College UK is an accredited training provider for the Association of Business Executives (ABE) and offers certificate and diploma tuition services by distance-learning or onsite covering business management and tourism and hospitality.[31] In April 2012, Warnborough UK was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) for Private Further Education reporting to the UK Department of Education and the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) that it "met expectations for the quality of education".[32] Warnborough College is licensed by the UKBA to sponsor overseas students to study in the United Kingdom.[33] In 2012, Warnborough College was accredited by the British Council for the teaching of English.[34]

Irish college

Warnborough College Ireland is located in Dublin. From 2006 to 2008, it rented offices from All Hallows College in Drumcondra. In February 2008, the Irish Independent reported that All Hallows officials were concerned that the college had falsely represented itself as linked to All Hallows, which had no involvement in its academic programmes or arrangements. At All Hallow's request, Warnborough removed photographs of All Hallows from its website. All Hallows said that it would not renew Warnborough's lease after August 2008.[1]

Offerings

The college offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in a variety of disciplines, principally by distance learning. According to its website[35] it offers the following degrees:

Bachelors Masters Doctoral
Arts Arts Arts
Applied Science
Business Business Business
Fine Arts Fine Arts
Philosophy
Science

Accreditation issues

Warnborough College Ireland courses are not recognised by Ireland's Department of Education, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) or the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI). In February 2008, Sean O'Foghlu, chief executive of NQAI told the Irish Independent that because Warnborough College is not a recognised higher education institution or awarding body the qualifications are "effectively worthless".[1]

In July 2008, HETAC denied the college's application for accreditation because it had failed to agree to quality-control procedures, which were the first step in the accreditation process.[36] Warnborough sought leave to take judicial review of the denial[37] but withdrew its appeal in November 2008 after HETAC agreed to permit Warnborough to submit a new accreditation application.[38]

In the United States, Warnborough College Ireland degrees are not accepted in Oregon.[23] A Warnborough degree is not accepted in South Korea for purposes of obtaining an E-2 Visa.[39]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Phelan, Shane (15 February 2008), "College charges €18,000 fees for 'useless' degrees", Irish Independent {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d King, Tim (25 October 1996). "Oxford College Sued in US is Repossessed". The Daily Telegraph.
  3. ^ Queensland Courier-Mail, 10 November 1993, Residential Property section, p. 35
  4. ^ Donner, Suzanne (18 January 1981), "Vacationing at an Overseas University", The New York Times, retrieved 27 May 2010
  5. ^ The Guardian, 19 February 1990 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ a b "Students find Warnborough is not a part of Oxford", Seattle Times, 11 October 1995
  7. ^ Warnborough College Overview (From Internet Archive)
  8. ^ The New York Times, "Americans Say a College Near Oxford Duped Them", 2 October 1995
  9. ^ O'Leary, John and Charter, David, "US students say college misled them over link with Oxford", The Times (London) (3 October 1995)
  10. ^ "Americans Say a College Near Oxford Duped Them", The New York Times, 2 October 1995 [dead link]
  11. ^ "News In Brief: State Capitols Roundup", Education Week (12 March 1997)
  12. ^ In Re Warnborough College, US Dept of Education Docket No 95-146-EA (6 Dec 1995)
  13. ^ In Re Warnborough College, US Dept of Education Docket Nos. 95-164-ST, 96-60-SF (9 August 1996)
  14. ^ Pritikin, Susan (1996-10-31) "College? What College?" Cherwell(Oxford, UK)
  15. ^ a b "College that lured U.S. students goes bust", The Times (London), 29 October 1996
  16. ^ Phelan, Shane "Chequered history of controversial college" Irish Independent (15 February 2008)
  17. ^ Kneeland Youngblood Biography (interviewed on 2004-10-28, The HistoryMakers website)
  18. ^ Bear, John, Bear's Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, 15th Ed (2003) p.223
  19. ^ "Exposed: scandal of the bogus degrees", Irish Independent, 14 November 2005
  20. ^ Questions on Notice (3 April 2001)
  21. ^ Lawnham, Patrick, “Authorities plan crackdown on Clayton’s Degrees”, The Australian, Ed 1 p 31 (13 March 2002)
  22. ^ Brown, George, “Protecting Australia’s Higher Education System: A Proactive versus Reactive Approach in Review (1999-2004), Proceedings of the Australian Universities Quality Forum 2004
  23. ^ a b Unaccredited Colleges Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization
  24. ^ Warnborough College Ireland website, "Degrees in Ireland"
  25. ^ [1]
  26. ^ [2]
  27. ^ University Foundation Courses Warnborough College UK
  28. ^ [3]
  29. ^ Accreditation Service for International Colleges Directory
  30. ^ Recommended Bookkeeping Courses
  31. ^ Association of Business Executives (UK) Short courses
  32. ^ [4]
  33. ^ [5]
  34. ^ [6]
  35. ^ Degree Programs, Warnborough College (IE)
  36. ^ O'Sullivan, Sarah, "Authorities refuse to recognize web college", The Sunday Times, 18 July 2008
  37. ^ Phelan, Shane and Walshe, John; "Legal war looms in college's battle for approval", Irish Independent, 15 September 2008
  38. ^ "College Will Fight on for Recognition", Irish Independent, 11 November 2008
  39. ^ ::Koreapot::
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