University of NorthWest, established in 2001, is a provider of distance education

Distance education

Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...

 that offers academic degree

Academic degree

An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...

s in several fields. Additionally, 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 "selling invalid degrees" in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

.

History

According to John Bear

John Bear

John Bjorn Bear is an American authority on distance education and a writer of creative reference works. Bear holds bachelor and master degrees from University of California, Berkeley and a doctorate from Michigan State University...

's distance learning guide, the "University of Northwest" first appeared on the Internet some time in 2002. As of 2003, it was using addresses in Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...

 and Manama, Bahrain. At that time, it advertised affiliations with institutions named American Coastline University and Pennington University. Also, it claimed accreditation from the Accreditation Governing Commission, Virtual University Accrediting Association, and International University Accrediting Association, none of which was recognized as an accreditor by United States federal government authorities.

Accreditation status

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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, 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 'degree mill

Diploma mill

A diploma mill is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. The purchaser can then claim to hold an academic degree, and the organization is motivated by making a profit...

'. It is listed as an unaccredited

Educational accreditation

Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...

 institution by the education agencies in Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 and Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

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

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.