Washington International University is an online unaccredited institution of higher education founded in 1994 and currently incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
The traditional programs require students to complete just ten courses for a bachelor's degree and eight for a master's, along with a senior research project.
[3] The university's advanced degree programs take into account academic credit for work experience, which is similar to that given by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
For instance, the Michigan Civil Service Commission lists WIU among unaccredited institutions "from which degrees will not be accepted [...] to satisfy educational requirements indicated on job specifications.
As of 1998 a building pictured on WIU's website was "where the head of Washington University receives mail and messages", but a two-story house on a residential street in Bryn Mawr was the school's registrar's office where a staff of four took calls from students.
[15] Earlier, the state of Hawaii had brought legal action against the school, alleging that it had deceived consumers by failing to disclose its lack of accreditation.
[18] In 2002 the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, South Dakota reported that the school had a "small, broom closet-sized office" in that city but no employees.
[22] According to Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, a different institution calling itself Washington International University, stated to be registered in Delaware but using an address in Kowloon, Hong Kong, marketed itself on the Internet beginning in 2002.