American Central University
Encyclopedia
American Central University (ACU) is an unaccredited
distance learning private, for-profit university licensed by the state of Wyoming
in 2004. The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization states that the institution may be run from Malaysia.
, "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."
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." 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.
"
In July 2006 Wyoming passed a law requiring all schools to either have accreditation or be a candidate for it. 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.
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." Adalat Khan's doctorate was bestowed in 1999 by the now defunct American University of Hawaii.
The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization says, "http://idetc.org/accredited_institution.htm - 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."
or the United States Department of Education
. The use of unaccredited degree titles may be legally restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions. Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include Oregon
, Michigan
, Maine
, North Dakota
, New Jersey
, Washington, Nevada
, Illinois
, Indiana
, Texas
and Korea
. Many other states are also considering restrictions on the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions.
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...
distance learning private, for-profit university licensed by the state of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
in 2004. The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization states that the institution may be run from Malaysia.
Controversy
According to the Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, "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."
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." 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.
"
In July 2006 Wyoming passed a law requiring all schools to either have accreditation or be a candidate for it. 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. Dr. Adalat Khan is the director/president of Mina Management Institute.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." Adalat Khan's doctorate was bestowed in 1999 by the now defunct American University of Hawaii.
The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization says, "http://idetc.org/accredited_institution.htm - 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."
Accreditation status
ACU is not accredited by any organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education AccreditationCouncil for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
or the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
. The use of unaccredited degree titles may be legally restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions. Jurisdictions that have restricted or made illegal the use of credentials from unaccredited schools include Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Washington, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. Many other states are also considering restrictions on the use of degrees from unaccredited institutions.
See also
- American City UniversityAmerican City UniversityAmerican City University is a private unaccredited offeror of higher education via distance education operating from Los Angeles and Fresno, California. The same name was formerly used by a similar institution that operated from Cheyenne, Wyoming....
- Newport International UniversityNewport International UniversityNewport International University is a non-accredited for-profit educational institution incorporated in Wyoming and operating from Hayward in Northern California....
- Preston UniversityPreston UniversityPreston University is the first private university of Pakistan with campuses in Karachi, Kohat, Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad and Ajman...
- Rutherford UniversityRutherford UniversityRutherford University, also known as Senior University International and Stratford International University, was an unaccredited private institution that offered degrees online...
- Warren National UniversityWarren National UniversityWarren National University was a post-secondary, distance learning, unaccredited private university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in the United States, based in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Until December 14, 2007, its administrative offices were located in Agoura Hills, California...
See also
- List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
- Educational accreditationEducational accreditationEducational 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...