Community Corner

Annandale's University of Northern Virginia Forced to Shut Down

The Annandale campus of the University of Northern Virginia (UNVA) was forced to shut down after the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV) revoked the school's operating license Tuesday.

The for-profit university, located at 7601 Little River Turnpike, failed four audits by SCHEV and has been unable to regain its accreditation for about five years, according to the Washington Post.

Calls to the university for comment on Tuesday were not returned. The school’s official website also made no mention of the SCHEV decision.

UNVA, which has a campus abroad in the Czech Republic and classrooms in Springfield and Manassas, describes itself as a major international university that provides "American-style educational programs at the undergraduate, master and doctoral levels" on its website

This isn't the first time the university has raised red flags for the SCHEV, which makes higher education public policy recommendations to the Governor of Virginia and General Assembly. SCHEV audited the school back in 2007 and found “items of non-compliance," the Post reported.

The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools revoked UNVA's accreditation in 2008. The university has since operated without accreditation, which is required by Virginia law. 

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement also raided the university back in 2011 after the Chronicle of Higher Education as part of an investigation into whether the school was providing foreign students with student visas as a way to enter and stay in the U.S. The school briefly stopped admitting foreign students, but no charges were filed after the raid.

Read the full story by Washington Post here.

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