![Unva3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Unva3.jpg)
The University of Northern Virginia (UNVA) was an
unaccredited for-profit private undergraduate and graduate university in
Annandale, Virginia
Annandale () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia.[bachelors
A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". ().
Etymo ...]
, Masters and
doctoral degrees. Although UNVA was not well known within the United States, it called itself the most popular American university for students from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
UNVA has received government scrutiny and media coverage for its academic and immigration practices.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
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 (born 8 August 1948) is an Indian lawyer and politician. Sibal has represented several high-profile cases in the Supreme Court of India and is widely regarded as one of the famous lawyers of India. He is a Member of Parliament, in Ra ...
, 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 remained open and moved to South Dakota in 2013 when the Commonwealth of Virginia revoked its license to operate in that state. On October 1, 2013,
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
ended UNVA's authorization to admit foreign students.
In October 2013, UNVA announced its move to
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...
.
At its new location, UNVA is facing scrutiny as well. UNVA is investigated by the South Dakota Attorney General's office, and its office suite sits empty.
As of March 6, 2014, UNVA has removed the references to their new location in South Dakota from their website.
Ownership and governance
UNVA's founder and majority owner is Daniel Ho, an entrepreneur who owns Super Q Mart International Food, which operates three
grocery store
A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...
s in the Washington, D.C., 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 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 somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources. Most ...
reported that Lee was involved with sadomasochistic
Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...
sexual activities. Habib Khan took his place as chancellor.[Lee Resignation letter]
, August 19, 2011, UNVA official website (accessed August 19, 2011) On August 9, 2012, Habib Khan resigned as chancellor. The new chancellor is the former academic dean of UNVA, Ali Dastmalchi. Ho is the registered agent.[
]
Enrollment
A March 2011 article in ''The 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 and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to re ...
'' 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
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.
...
.[Tom Bartlett, Karin Fischer, and Josh Keller]
Little-Known Colleges Exploit Visa Loopholes to Make Millions Off Foreign Students
''The Chronicle of Higher Education'', March 20, 2011 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.[Tom Bartlett, Karin Fischer, and Josh Keller]
Federal Agents Raid Virginia Institution That Draws Many Students From India
''The Chronicle of Higher Education'', July 29, 2011 The school, however, maintained SEVP approval after the raid. Students are required to show they are attending classes and stayed in status for their visa.
Accreditation
UNVA was formerly accredited
Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) is a non-profit education corporation that was recognized until 2021 by the United States Department of Education as an independent and autonomous national accrediting body.
...
, but this accreditation was revoked for unspecified reasons on August 6, 2008. The revocation of UNVA's accreditation 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. The University of Northern Virginia was certified to operate by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is the Commonwealth's coordinating body for higher education. SCHEV was established by the Governor and General Assembly in 1956. Its mission, which is outlined in the Code of Virginia§2 ...
(SCHEV) as a non-accredited institution.[Private & Out-of-State Colleges & Universities Certified to Operate in Virginia]
, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia website, accessed July 5, 2010
In the past, UNVA claimed 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 also claimed to have received full accreditation from an EU accreditation body for its Prague branch, but a closer examination of the accreditation certificate showed that the Swiss accreditation agency EduQua had only accredited the MBA program of the Prague branch of the Swiss institution Victoria University.
At one time, UNVA published a website admitting that it is not accredited.
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 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.
History
In 2007, UNVA Properties, an investment group associated with UNVA, provided financing to Myers University (subsequently renamed Chancellor University) in Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Ohio, allowing that financially troubled non-profit school to continue operating.[Marilyn H. Karfeld]
Court, others struggle to save Myers University
''Cleveland Jewish News'', January 31, 2008 It was alleged that UNVA Properties wanted to acquire Myers University's regional accreditation for -profit use.[Andy Guess]
"Rescue Mission or Hostile Takeover?"
'' Inside Higher Ed'', December 17, 2007.[
In October 2009 it was reported that UNVA had ]sued
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil acti ...
Tiffin University
Tiffin University is a private university in Tiffin, Ohio. It was founded in 1888 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the main campus in Tiffin, Ohio; the Unive ...
, a private university based in Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, 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 accountants pleaded guilty
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...
, 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.
On July 16, 2013, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia revoked UNVA's license to operate because the institution was not accredited by a recognized accreditor, forcing the institution to close. The university subsequently moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where it reincorporated on August 23, 2013.
On October 1, 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
ended UNVA's authorization to admit foreign students.
On August 4, 2014, UNVA was sued by the state of South Dakota and Minnehaha county for violating a SD state law that prohibits universities from operating in SD without accreditation.
See also
* Diploma mill
A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fake ...
* List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
This is a list of colleges, seminaries, and universities that do not have educational accreditation. In many countries, accreditation is defined as a governmental designation.
Degrees or other qualifications from unaccredited institutions may n ...
*
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Former for-profit universities and colleges in the United States
Defunct private universities and colleges in South Dakota
Defunct private universities and colleges in Virginia
Northern Virginia
Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in the United States
Educational institutions established in 1988
Educational institutions disestablished in 2014
1988 establishments in Virginia
2014 disestablishments in Virginia