Type For-Profit Location Pinole, California, US Founded 1976 | Established 1976 Campus Distance education | |
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President Dr. David Oxenhandler, PHD Website www.capacificuniversity.education Motto Tradition With An Independent Spirit Headquarters Pinole, California, United States Similar University of Northern California, Lincoln University, National Hispanic University, Bethany University, Humphreys College | ||
California Pacific University or Cal Pacific University is a university dedicated to the instruction of all aspects of business at the Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral levels, based in the city of Pinole in Contra Costa County, of Northern California,. The university is aimed at working professionals in business and management.
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Establishment and history
CPU was founded by Dr N. Charles Dalton, Ph.D in 1976 and incorporated on July 19, 1976. in Escondido California. For over four decades, California Pacific University has provided alternative educational programs for adults wishing to obtain bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees and to provide a solid and complete business education 100% off campus. It has been reported to have had a staff of 7 and an annual revenue of $430,000.00. California Pacific University once had an affiliation with Alabama A&M University, in a partnership to host Alabama A & M University's evening MBA program in San Diego California.
The university was the first collegiate institution to be approved under the qualitative standards mandated by the State of California Educational Reform Act of 1977. Moreover, it was the first institution approved by the State of California to offer academic degree programs by distance study without residency requirements. In a 1989 report protecting the integrity of California degrees to the Governor and to the California Legislature, the California Postsecondary Education Commission cited California Pacific University’s quality programs as follows:
“California Pacific University … was established in 1976 to train professional managers who are capable of exercising leadership in a variety of settings -- public as well as private,who are skilled in the theoretical, analytical, and human resources areas of management, and who respect the dignity and worth of the individuals with whom they work. It offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees only in its particular area of expertise -- business and management-- rather than trying to cover a wide variety of fields, as do some other State approved universities.”.
Charles Dalton was instrumental in helping to get the Assembly Bill 1993 amended. On June 21, 1990, Charles Dalton appeared and gave a public testimony on behalf of California Pacific University alongside representatives of many other state-approved institutions expressing concerns as to multiple Articles of the (Assembly Bill 1993) and new regulations for California State oversight of private colleges, universities, and vocational schools. After review of all oral testimonies by individuals representing Postsecondary institutions, a Public Testimony Regarding the Preliminary Draft Regulations to Implement the Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform Act of 1989 was issued by the California Postsecondary Education Commission in October of 1990. This was in response to the Assembly Bill 1993 (Chapter 1324,Statutes of 1989). In 1991, the California Postsecondary Education Commission found that the state's standards relating to institutional stability, institutional integrity, and consumer protection, were more stringent than those required by the accrediting agencies. The Commission, therefore, advised against the state's relying directly on regional and national accrediting agency processes in lieu of the State's licensure processes. .
Programs Offered
The University's Master of Arts (MA) in Management and Human Behavior is California's oldest California State Approved distance learning degree program. Students are enrolled in programs designed for the achievement of personal, professional, and career goals.
According to CPU’s Catalog, There are two Proctored Comprehensive Examinations in each of its programs to assure that the student earning the degree or credit, is indeed, the person who completed the course work. The courses are administered in the student’s own community by a qualified credentialed (proctor) who's nominated and approved by the University. Students study on a course by course basis, studying one course at a time, building upon their personal experiences prior to entry in the program and daily application of what is learned in the program to their own business careers. Upon completion of all courses, credits and passing scores on the Five Part College Level Examination Program(CLEP) Test, students are conferred a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree. Masters of Business Administration are awarded when the candidate has completed fifty (50) quarter hours in a ten course outline with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. There are two doctorate level programs, a Ph.D. degree in Philosophy, and a D.B.A. in Business Administration for business professionals. Candidates for Doctoral degrees are required to have completed a minimum of 125 quarter hours of post baccalaureate credits, complete all required courses and prepare a proposal for a Dissertation and complete the Final Doctoral Dissertation or Project of original research to be presented and approved by the Faculty. The University’s doctoral programs are designed to provide advanced courses in management for the successful executive in business, government, labor unions, the military, and non-profit organizations. They are not designed for the pursuit of a career in teaching. Candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy in Management complete the same courses as candidates for the for the D.B.A. degree. The final product, the Proposal and the Dissertation are significantly different in that the Dissertation requires original research on a topic in business or management.
Approval and Authority
California Pacific University was California state approved by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education. However, the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education ceased operation on July 1, 2007. Since 1986, California Pacific University had been approved by the California Postsecondary Education Commission a division of the California Department of Education and coordinating agency of the Federal government of the United States. The California Postsecondary Education Commission closed its doors on November 18, 2011. A new agency, the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, contracted by the California Department of Consumer Affairs was created to replace the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education in order to continue regulating private postsecondary educational institution's operating in the state of California. Under the new agency regulations, California Pacific maintained California state approval (California School Code #3701571) to grant Bachelors of Business Administration, Masters of Business Administration, Masters of Arts in Management, Health Care, and Human Behavior, Doctor of Business Administration and Doctor of Philosophy (PHD) in Management Degrees, pursuant to the California Code of Regulations section 71660 and California Education Code section 94893, 94894, Title 5 and 66900-66906