University of Northern Virginia
Encyclopedia
The University of Northern Virginia or UNVA is an unaccredited
for-profit
private undergraduate and graduate university located in Northern Virginia
. Founded in 1998, the university offers bachelors, Masters
and doctoral degrees
. The school's Virginia locations include Annandale
, Manassas
, and Springfield
. UNVA also has a campus in Prague
. Although UNVA is not well known within the United States, it calls itself the most popular American
university for students from India
.
UNVA has received government scrutiny and media coverage for its academic and immigration practices. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
agents raided UNVA offices and informed school officials on July 28, 2011, that the government was ending UNVA's authorization to admit foreign students. Kapil Sibal
, a minister in India's current cabinet, compared UNVA to a "sham university," stating UNVA does not have acceptable accreditation. Although media sources in India speculated that UNVA would close permanently in 2011, the university remains open.
who owns Super Q Mart International Food, which operates three grocery store
s in the Washington, DC, area. It is headed by a chancellor. Chancellor David V. Lee resigned on August 19, 2011, stating that "discussions of my personal life have become a distraction for students and friends of UNVA." His resignation came after The Smoking Gun
reported that Lee was involved with sadomasochistic sexual activities. Habib Khan took his place as chancellor.
compared UNVA's enrollment practices and business model to those of Tri-Valley University
, a California institution that was forced to close after facing an investigation for visa fraud
. The Chronicle article states that UNVA enrolls Indian students who work full-time in "internships," without being required to attend actual classes.
UNVA was authorized by the United States government to enroll non-immigrant alien students. On July 28, 2011, when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raided the university offices, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement suspended UNVA's SEVP approval and informed UNVA of the intent to revoke the SEVP approval.
(SCHEV) as a non-accredited institution.
UNVA was formerly accredited
by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
, but this accreditation was revoked for unspecified reasons on August 6, 2008. The revocation of UNVA's accredition led the Singaporean Ministry of Education to stop organizations in the country offering UNVA courses, affecting about 270 students. Singaporean educators and students called for more rigorous checking of academic standards. As of January 2010, the university was an applicant for Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
(SACS) accreditation. As of August 2011, UNVA was not included on the SACS list of accredited, candidate, and applicant institutions.
It currently claims accreditation by the American University Accreditation Council, which is not a recognized accreditation agency in the United States. The accreditor lists its address as the same as the site of a car repair shop owned by the Chairman of the university, while the listed phone number has an answering machine recorded message saying "This is D'Angelo, so get at me back."
UNVA currently claims to have received full accreditation from an EU accreditation body for its Prague branch, but a closer examination of the accreditation certificate shows that the Swiss accreditation agency EduQua only accredited the MBA program of the Prague branch of the Swiss institution Victoria University, which apparently is offered in cooperation with UNVA's Prague branch.
. In 2008, Shines College students were reported to be confused and unsure how they would be affected by news that UNVA had lost accreditation in the United States.
UNVA also has subsidiary locations, such as its UNVA Prague campus. This campus was founded in 2004, it offers American four-year bachelor degree programs in business and MBA programs.
, allowing that financially troubled non-profit school to continue operating. It was alleged that UNVA Properties wanted to acquire Myers University's regional accreditation
for for-profit use.
In October 2009 it was reported that UNVA had sued
Tiffin University
, a private university based in Ohio
, alleging that Tiffin had unlawfully attempted to "divert" students from UNVA's Prague school to Tiffin's newly established school there. Tiffin denied the claims.
One of the university's former accountant
s pleaded guilty, in May 2010, to stealing more than $225,000 from the university.
On July 28 2011, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security raided the university, hauling away computers and boxes of paperwork and notifying the university that it may lose its ability to accept foreign students. UNVA, which had been authorized to issue 50 I-20 forms documenting that students were engaged in full-time study, had 2400 students on their books, 90% from India.
Higher education accreditation
Higher education accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of post-secondary educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...
for-profit
For-Profit School
For-profit education refers to educational institutions operated by private, profit-seeking businesses....
private undergraduate and graduate university located in Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
. Founded in 1998, the university offers bachelors, Masters
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
and doctoral degrees
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...
. The school's Virginia locations include Annandale
Annandale, Virginia
Annandale is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 41,008 at the 2010 census, down from 54,994 in 2000 due to the splitting off of the western part of it to form Wakefield and Woodburn CDP's.-Geography:...
, Manassas
Manassas, Virginia
The City of Manassas is an independent city surrounded by Prince William County and the independent city of Manassas Park in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Its population was 37,821 as of 2010. Manassas also surrounds the county seat for Prince William County but that county...
, and Springfield
Springfield, Virginia
Springfield is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States and a suburb of Washington, D.C. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs including North Springfield,...
. UNVA also has a campus in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. Although UNVA is not well known within the United States, it calls itself the most popular American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
university for students from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
UNVA has received government scrutiny and media coverage for its academic and immigration practices. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security...
agents raided UNVA offices and informed school officials on July 28, 2011, that the government was ending UNVA's authorization to admit foreign students. Kapil Sibal
Kapil Sibal
Kapil Sibal is an Indian politician and lawyer. He is currently the Minister of Communications and Information Technology. He also held the two ministries Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences in the First Manmohan Singh Cabinet...
, a minister in India's current cabinet, compared UNVA to a "sham university," stating UNVA does not have acceptable accreditation. Although media sources in India speculated that UNVA would close permanently in 2011, the university remains open.
Ownership and governance
UNVA's founder and majority owner is Daniel Ho, an entrepreneurEntrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who owns Super Q Mart International Food, which operates three grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
s in the Washington, DC, area. It is headed by a chancellor. Chancellor David V. Lee resigned on August 19, 2011, stating that "discussions of my personal life have become a distraction for students and friends of UNVA." His resignation came after The Smoking Gun
The Smoking Gun
The Smoking Gun is a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis. The intent is to bring to the public light information that is damning, shocking, outrageous, or amazing, yet also somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources...
reported that Lee was involved with sadomasochistic sexual activities. Habib Khan took his place as chancellor.
Enrollment
A March 2011 article in The Chronicle of Higher EducationThe Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty, staff members and administrators....
compared UNVA's enrollment practices and business model to those of Tri-Valley University
Tri-Valley University
Tri-Valley University was an unaccredited university located in Pleasanton, California. According to its website, the school "is a Christian higher education institution offerring quality academic programs in Engineering, Business, Ministry, Law and Medicine at a Christian learning environment." ...
, a California institution that was forced to close after facing an investigation for visa fraud
Visa fraud
Visa Fraud has different criteria in various parts of the world, but the commonly accepted points are the sale, provision, or transfer of otherwise legitimate visas, misrepresentation of reasons for traveling and forgery or alteration of a visa....
. The Chronicle article states that UNVA enrolls Indian students who work full-time in "internships," without being required to attend actual classes.
UNVA was authorized by the United States government to enroll non-immigrant alien students. On July 28, 2011, when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raided the university offices, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement suspended UNVA's SEVP approval and informed UNVA of the intent to revoke the SEVP approval.
Accreditation
The University of Northern Virginia is unaccredited. No accrediting body that is recognized by U.S. authorities has accredited this university. The University of Northern Virginia is certified to operate by the State Council of Higher Education for VirginiaState Council of Higher Education for Virginia
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is the Commonwealth's coordinating body for higher education. SCHEV was established by the Governor and General Assembly in 1956...
(SCHEV) as a non-accredited institution.
UNVA was formerly accredited
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...
by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools is a non-profit education corporation recognized by both the United States Secretary of Education and Council for Higher Education Accreditation as an independent and autonomous national accrediting body that accredits institutions of...
, but this accreditation was revoked for unspecified reasons on August 6, 2008. The revocation of UNVA's accredition led the Singaporean Ministry of Education to stop organizations in the country offering UNVA courses, affecting about 270 students. Singaporean educators and students called for more rigorous checking of academic standards. As of January 2010, the university was an applicant for Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
(SACS) accreditation. As of August 2011, UNVA was not included on the SACS list of accredited, candidate, and applicant institutions.
It currently claims accreditation by the American University Accreditation Council, which is not a recognized accreditation agency in the United States. The accreditor lists its address as the same as the site of a car repair shop owned by the Chairman of the university, while the listed phone number has an answering machine recorded message saying "This is D'Angelo, so get at me back."
UNVA currently claims to have received full accreditation from an EU accreditation body for its Prague branch, but a closer examination of the accreditation certificate shows that the Swiss accreditation agency EduQua only accredited the MBA program of the Prague branch of the Swiss institution Victoria University, which apparently is offered in cooperation with UNVA's Prague branch.
Affiliation
Four to twenty partner institutions grant UNVA degrees and allow students to enroll in UNVA courses. For example, students can enroll in UNVA business courses at Shines College in SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. In 2008, Shines College students were reported to be confused and unsure how they would be affected by news that UNVA had lost accreditation in the United States.
UNVA also has subsidiary locations, such as its UNVA Prague campus. This campus was founded in 2004, it offers American four-year bachelor degree programs in business and MBA programs.
History
In 2007, UNVA Properties, an investment group associated with UNVA, provided financing to Myers University (subsequently renamed Chancellor University) in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, allowing that financially troubled non-profit school to continue operating. It was alleged that UNVA Properties wanted to acquire Myers University's regional accreditation
Regional accreditation
Regional accreditation is a term used in the United States to refer to educational accreditation conducted by any of several accreditation bodies established to serve six defined geographic areas of the country for accreditation of schools, colleges, and universities...
for for-profit use.
In October 2009 it was reported that UNVA had sued
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
Tiffin University
Tiffin University
Tiffin University is a university in Tiffin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1888, Tiffin University enrolls over 4,900 students in undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered at the Tiffin campus in Tiffin, Ohio, at the University of Bucharest in Romania, and at several locations in Ohio,...
, a private university based in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, alleging that Tiffin had unlawfully attempted to "divert" students from UNVA's Prague school to Tiffin's newly established school there. Tiffin denied the claims.
One of the university's former accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
s pleaded guilty, in May 2010, to stealing more than $225,000 from the university.
On July 28 2011, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security raided the university, hauling away computers and boxes of paperwork and notifying the university that it may lose its ability to accept foreign students. UNVA, which had been authorized to issue 50 I-20 forms documenting that students were engaged in full-time study, had 2400 students on their books, 90% from India.
See Also
- Diploma millDiploma millA 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...
- List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
- List of unrecognized accreditation associations of higher learning