American Central University
American Central University (ACU) is an unaccredited distance learning private, for-profit[1] university licensed by the state of Wyoming in 2004.[2][3] The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization states that the institution may be run from Malaysia.[4]
Controversy
According to the Associated Press, "For not having even one qualified instructor in Wyoming, the agency prepared last fall [2004] to pull the school's license—only to have the process bog down while state attorneys deliberate how to do that."[3]
American Central University is being investigated for offering students false degrees from state universities, through their online courses.
The Associated Press noted, "Wyoming licensed a Laramie-based online school last year even as its owner helped direct a Hawaii online school that was offering illegal medical degrees and was later shut down by a judge."[3] The article further explained, "The owner of American Central University, Adalat Khan, was the Malaysian regional director for American University of Hawaii, a fact that Wyoming education officials concede they overlooked in the documents Khan provided on his background."[3]
In July 2006 Wyoming passed a law requiring all schools to either have accreditation or be a candidate for it.[5] ACU applied for accreditation one day prior to the deadline, July 1, 2006, after which the law gives schools five years to get the accreditation.
Affiliations
American Central University is affiliated with the Mina Resource/Mina Management Institute in Malaysia.[3][6] Adalat Khan is the director/president of Mina Management Institute.[6]
It has been reported that "Khan runs a school in Perak, Malaysia, called the Mina Management Institute. For a time, American Central and American University of Hawaii were listed next to each other on the Mina Management Institute Web site as "distinguished partners" of the institute."[3][7] Adalat Khan's doctorate was bestowed in 1999 by the now defunct American University of Hawaii.[3]
The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization at one time said that "A web site called International DETC that recently emerged as part of an unaccredited entity called American Central University, is a fraudulent attempt to hijack the genuine DETC name and school list in order to advance the goals of a diploma mill. The diploma mill is probably operating out of Wyoming and/or Malaysia."[4][8]
Accreditation status
ACU is not accredited by any organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or the United States Department of Education. The use of unaccredited degree titles may be legally restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions.[9] Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include Oregon,[10][11] Michigan,[12] Maine,[13] North Dakota,[11] New Jersey,[11][14] Washington,[10][15] Nevada,[10][16] Illinois,[10] Indiana,[10] Texas[17][18] and Korea.[19] Many other states are also considering restrictions on the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions.[20]
See also
- American City University
- Newport International University
- Preston University (United States)
- Rutherford University
- Warren National University
- List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
References
- ↑ Profit Corporation - Domestic, ACU filing at Secretary of State's Office, Wyoming. Retrieved 16 January 2008
- ↑ "Private School Registration". Wyoming Department of Education. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mead Gruver (March 12, 2005). "Tie to illegal degrees doesn't block Wyo. school licensing". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
- 1 2 Warning - fake DETC web site:, Oregon Office of Degree Authorization Archived October 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Schools seek accreditation, by Mead Gruver, Casper Star Tribune, July 03, 2006
- 1 2 Mina Institute Approvals page
- ↑ About Us, Archive of MINA Management Institute web page,
- ↑ http://idetc.org/accredited_institution.htm
- ↑ Diploma Mills and Accreditation, U.S. Department of Education
- 1 2 3 4 5 Unaccredited Colleges Archived July 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., Oregon Office of Degree Authorization
- 1 2 3 State mulls online learning by the Associated Press, Billings Gazette, January 30, 2005
- ↑ Colleges and Universities not accredited by CHEA, Michigan Education and Children's Services
- ↑ Accredited and Non-Accredited Colleges and Universities, Maine's List of Non-Accredited Post-Secondary Schools
- ↑ Disputed degrees spur state changes, The New Jersey Star-Ledger, September 4, 2008
- ↑ Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, Washington Consumer Information
- ↑ Use of False or Misleading Degrees Nevada statute NRS 394.700
- ↑ Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
- ↑ Two less doctors in the house - Hebert, Wilson back away from Ph.D.'s issued by ‘diploma mills', by Stephen Palkot, Fort Bend Herald, September 28, 2007
- ↑ Guide to teaching English in Korea Koreapot.com
- ↑ Is Oregon the only state that disallows use of unaccredited degrees? Oregon Office of Degree Authorization
External links
- American Central University website