University Business's Job of the Day is for the position of Chief Academic Officer at Kennedy-Western University, an unaccredited, distance education institution:

"Kennedy-Western University, a provider of online degree programs, seeks a chief academic officer. The candidate must be able to develop financial budgets. Seven years of experience are required. The CAO is based in the Cheyenne, Wyo., office. To learn more visit the university's web site. "

Irony, irony, irony: I wonder if applicants with unaccredited degrees may be considered for this job. Tee hee!

[Kennedy-Western University, as well as Columbia State University, Hamilton University, and California Coast University, came under scrutiny during a U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee investigation into diploma mills in May 2004. While it should be said that an unaccredited school should NOT automatically or categorically be considered a diploma mill (keep in mind that all new institutions start off as being unaccredited), KWU does have a checkered past. Writes Andrea Foster, in the Chronicle of Higher Education article, "Moonlighting for an Unaccredited University",

"... many educators hold Kennedy-Western in low regard, troubled by the institution's secrecy and slick marketing, decision to avoid oversight by accrediting agencies, awarding of academic credit for work experience, and attempted moves to different states. The institution is barred from enrolling California residents, because it lacks a license from the state agency that certifies private colleges, and people can be criminally prosecuted in Oregon if they attempt to use a Kennedy-Western degree to apply for a job. The Idaho State Board of Education rejected the university's effort, in 1998, to renew its license to operate there because it lacked accreditation. Kennedy-Western then turned its attention to Wyoming."

IMHO, on the continuum of unaccredited institutions, with outright, fraudulent "Send $299 and we'll award you an M.B.A., even if you're a cat" (true story) diploma mills on one end and geniuine, legitimate, non-traditional schools on the other, KWU leans towards the "questionable" end. I'd be hesitant about going to a school that is not allowed to enroll students in the very state where their "administrative offices" are located and has subsequently moved their "campus" to Idaho and then Hawaii and now Wyoming, all states that are generally thought to have weak laws with regards to school licensing. That's just me.]

Interested in online education, but unsure how an online degree it will be regarded in the workplace? One way to combat any kind of skepticism is to ensure that the school in which you enroll is properly accredited. Only two entities in the U.S. are authorized to recognize accreditation agencies: the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). All the degree programs in the eLearners search engine are accredited by an agency recognized by either U.S. DOE and/or CHEA. Begin your search today!