Independence University (IU, formerly California College for Health Sciences) was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

career college A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

headquartered in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. It was the online branch of Stevens–Henager College, and operated four schools: the School of Healthcare, the School of Business, the School of Technology, and the School of Graphic Arts. IU was founded by Carl Barney and owned and operated by the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE). Independence university was

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 Commission of Career Schools and Colleges The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States that provides national accreditation to Private school, private post-secondary educational institutions. It is re ...

but the accreditor has begun withdrawing its accreditation because the university allegedly "failed to demonstrate successful student achievement by maintaining acceptable rates of student graduation and employment." In 2021, IU canceled classes scheduled to start May 10. On August 1, 2021, Independence University closed its doors permanently.

History

In 1978, the school began to offer education at a distance and operated as California College for Health Sciences. In 2005, it was renamed Independence University in order to reflect the institution's broader range of programs and its claimed philosophy that education should lead to greater independence. In 2010, Independence University merged with its affiliated institution, Stevens-Henager College, becoming a branch of Stevens-Henager's main campus in Ogden/ West Haven,

. Stevens-Henager was started in 1891. In 2012, Carl Barney, its owner, turned the school into a non-profit.

Decline

In 2020, Carl Barney was fined $3 million by the State of Colorado for defrauding students at CEHE schools. Following the judgement, the U.S. Department of Education suspended CEHE President Eric Juhlin from "participating in contracts or other programs of the federal government." Shortly thereafter, IU's accreditor, the

, began the process of withdrawing the university accreditation. In July 2021, Independence University management announced that the school had been placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring and had not received any cash from the US Department of Education since May 2020. Management told workers that most of them would be laid off in the next few months.

Academics

Independence University was an open enrollment institution. It offered programs in the fields of

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

graphic arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

. Students attending the university may receive an

associate's degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

, a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

, or a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

. The university did not function on a typical college schedule and did not have semesters or quarters. Instead, classes started each month and generally ran for 4 weeks. According to the US Department of Education College Navigator, Independence University has a 45 to 1 student to teacher ratio.

Student body

According to the US Department of Education, 90 percent of IU's students were low-income individuals. The student body was 25 percent white, 14 percent black, 4 percent Hispanic, 0 percent Asian, and 45 percent unknown.

Military assistance

More than 500 students were attending under the

GI Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, but the te ...

. Independence University participated in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill that allowed approved institutions of higher learning and the Department of Veterans Affairs to partially or fully fund tuition and fee expenses that exceeded the established thresholds under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Accreditation

Independence University was nationally accredited by the

(ACCSC). Independence University was placed on probation in September 2018 due to ACCSC's concerns that "the inputs, resources, and processes of CEHE schools are designed and implemented in a manner that is not designed for student success." In April 2021 the school faced revocation of its accreditation status effective May 31, 2021.

Student outcomes

According to the College Scorecard, Independence University had a 45 percent 8-year graduation rate. According to the College Navigator it had a graduation rate of 12 percent for students pursuing a bachelors degree. People who attended Independence University had a 20 percent student loan repayment rate, and a 31 percent graduation rate. Median salary after attending was $28,800, ranging from $18,298 (Design and Applied Arts AA) to $66,240 (Allied Health, BS). Typical debt after graduation was $27,139. For those in student loan repayment, 34 percent were in forbearance, 25 percent not making progress, 16 defaulted, 10 percent were delinquent, 8 percent were in deferment, 4 percent were making progress, 1 percent were discharged, and 1 percent were paid in full.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Distance education institutions based in the United States Education in Salt Lake City Educational institutions established in 1978 Private universities and colleges in Utah 1978 establishments in Utah Educational institutions disestablished in 2021 2021 disestablishments in Utah