| University of Northern Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1998 |
| Type | For-profit/Not accredited |
| Chancellor | K.Habib Khan |
| Location | Annandale, Virginia, United States |
| Colors | Yellow and green |
| Website | www.unva.edu |
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.[1] UNVA also has a campus in Prague.[2] Although UNVA is not well known within the United States, it calls itself the most popular American university for students from India.[3][4]
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.[4] Kapil Sibal, a minister in India's current cabinet, compared UNVA to a "sham university," stating UNVA does not have acceptable accreditation.[5] Although media sources in India speculated that UNVA would close permanently in 2011,[6] the university remains open.[7]
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UNVA's founder and majority owner is Daniel Ho, an entrepreneur who owns Super Q Mart International Food, which operates three grocery stores in the Washington, DC, area. It is headed by a chancellor.[3] 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."[8] His resignation came after The Smoking Gun reported that Lee was involved with sadomasochistic sexual activities.[9][10] Habib Khan took his place as chancellor.[8]
A March 2011 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education 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.[3] The Chronicle article states that UNVA enrolls Indian students who work full-time in "internships," without being required to attend actual classes.[3]
UNVA was authorized by the United States government to enroll non-immigrant alien students.[11] 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.[12]
The University of Northern Virginia is unaccredited.[13] 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 Virginia (SCHEV) as a non-accredited institution.[13]
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.[3][14][15] 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.[16] As of January 2010, the university was an applicant for Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation.[17] As of August 2011, UNVA was not included on the SACS list of accredited, candidate, and applicant institutions.[18]
It currently claims accreditation[19] by the American University Accreditation Council, which is not a recognized accreditation agency in the United States.[3] 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."[12]
UNVA currently claims to have received full accreditation from an EU accreditation body for its Prague branch,[20] but a closer examination of the accreditation certificate[21] shows that the Swiss accreditation agency EduQua only accredited the MBA program of the Prague branch of the Swiss institution Victoria University,[22] which apparently is offered in cooperation with UNVA's Prague branch.[23]
Four to twenty partner institutions grant UNVA degrees and allow students to enroll in UNVA courses.[3] For example, students can enroll in UNVA business courses at Shines College in Singapore. 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.[24]
UNVA also has subsidiary locations, such as its UNVA Prague campus.[25] This campus was founded in 2004, it offers American four-year bachelor degree programs in business and MBA programs.
In 2007, UNVA Properties, an investment group associated with UNVA, provided financing to Myers University (subsequently renamed Chancellor University) in Cleveland, Ohio, allowing that financially troubled non-profit school to continue operating.[26][27] It was alleged that UNVA Properties wanted to acquire Myers University's regional accreditation for for-profit use.[14][27]
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.[28]
One of the university's former accountants pleaded guilty, in May 2010, to stealing more than $225,000 from the university.[29]
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.[12] 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.[30]
