University of Fairfax is an unaccredited

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...

 non-profit institution of higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

 headquartered in Vienna, Virginia

Vienna, Virginia

Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,687. Significantly more people live in zip codes with the Vienna postal addresses bordered approximately by Interstate 66 on the south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to...

. The University of Fairfax is also the DBA

Doing business as

The phrase "doing business as" is a legal term used in the United States, meaning that the trade name, or fictitious business name, under which the business or operation is conducted and presented to the world is not the legal name of the legal person who actually own it and are responsible for it...

 name of the Potomac Education Foundation.

The University of Fairfax offers online instruction

Distance education

Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...

 and issues graduate degrees (Master of Science, Doctor of Science, and Doctor of Information Assurance) and graduate certificates in Information Systems.

History

The university was established by Victor Berlin

Victor Berlin

Victor Berlin is an American educator specializing in information security who has founded and led several post secondary institutions, including Potomac College and the University of Fairfax. His tenure as president of the University of Fairfax ended in 2010....

, an educator who earlier had operated or established three other post-secondary educational institutions and is currently headed by David Oxenhandler.
The University of Fairfax was founded as an arm of the non-profit Potomac Education Foundation after the required divestiture of Potomac College

Potomac College

Potomac College is a for-profit higher education institution in Washington, DC, and Herndon, Virginia. The school offers Associate of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting, international business, government contract management, management, and information systems, with more than 40...

 by Maryland state officials. The university was established for the purpose of assuring a supply of qualified information security

Information security

Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....

 personnel; consistent with that purpose, its motto is "Secure Your Future" .

The institution received approval from Virginia authorities in 2002 and started classes in 2003. Virginia regulations allow new institutions to operate for up to 10 years while seeking accreditation with an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

The university considered relocating to Jefferson County, West Virginia

Jefferson County, West Virginia

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 53,498. Its county seat is Charles Town...

, but in March 2005 the West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

 Higher Education Policy Commission announced that Fairfax had withdrawn its request to relocate.

In November 2007 Fairfax announced that beginning in January 2008 it would collaborate with Jones International University's School of Business to offer a dual degree program leading to both a master's or doctoral degree from Fairfax and a Master of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration

The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...

 in Information Security Management from Jones International.

Accreditation and approval status

The University of Fairfax is not accredited by any accrediting body that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. It has approval to operate from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is the Commonwealth's coordinating body for higher education. SCHEV was established by the Governor and General Assembly in 1956...

 as a non-accredited university, and the Indiana Commission on Proprietary Education. In 2010, the Distance Education and Training Council

Distance Education and Training Council

The Distance Education and Training Council is a non-profit national educational accreditation agency in the United States specializing in the accreditation of distance education institutions.- History :...

listed the school as an applicant for accreditation.

External links

• University of Fairfax, official website