ACICS and Reagan International University

Sounds like a visa mill in the making:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/02/15/college-accreditation-department-education-betsy-devos-south-dakota-sioux-falls/4746906002/

 

Indeed it does. Sounds like an airport, too. I'm not surprised to hear about ACICS involvement. About seven years ago, there was a sudden spate of three or so unaccredited schools opening in South Dakota - at least one of them in Sioux City and at least one of them started by a person with a Chinese name. I'm going to go looking for them and see what happened and if I can find any connection with Reagan International. I remember one was a purchase / takeover of a previously Native American run school that had lost its accreditation. I believe the other two were new startups.

Some years prior to those three schools, South Dakota was once a haven for unaccredited schools, but the State laws changed - I think around 2006 - and I was wondering about those three schools which didn't appear, to my inexpert eye, to be in conformity with the new legislation.

Interesting...

 

Oh yeah -- this was the thread. Gotta run now. I'll get back into this later ...

https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/2-new-universities-in-south-dakota.49265/page-2#post-486483

 

Correct, Si Tanka University.

Si Tanka University:

Reagan International University:

https://web.archive.org/web/20190725142441/http://rnu.edu/index.php/profile/about-si-tanka-university

Web site not archived but someone left Si Tanka in the URL

 

ACICS lost all credibility in my mind when we found that one of their accredited schools was, essentially, selling "honorary" doctorates and ACICS seemed to be OK with that.

 

South Dakota seems to enjoy making interesting laws that bring in money to their state... they still remain one of the worlds best locations for... not necessarily good things.

 

I read this story yesterday and decided to look up ACICS...they are about as credible as a politician.

 

Si Tanka had close ties to a couple of other schools. City University of Sioux Falls (unaccredited) and Lincoln University of Management in California. CUSB was also affiliated with California International Business University, San Diego, which is/was ACICS accredited. Affiliation with an accredited school allowed Si Tanka to operate in SD. All 4 somewhat related -- and now a fifth appears - Reagan International.

It figures.

 

IIRC, the elusive (and probably nonexistent) Harold Harris, named as the President of Reagan International, was also head honcho of one of the other South Dakota mystery schools - maybe the taken-over Si Tanka, I forget. Just a bit of further evidence of a connection. I remember doing a whois enquiry on all the school web sites and coming up with an individual who was the site registrant on at least two - a person of Chinese origin who not only appeared to have established two of the new SD schools, but also may well have had at least some prior experience at the game.

 

I looked this up. I had details slightly wrong. The person I remembered was Dr. Dai Xulong who established City University of Sioux Falls. At the time he owned Victoria University in Neuchatel Switzerland and had recently become President of Oxford Academy (not the 800+ year-old Oxford). Oxford Academy site is dead now. IIRC, Victoria University is/was strongly oriented toward Asian markets.

Here's an article about the wife of the Governor of Sarawak getting an Honorary Doctorate from Victoria U. presented by Dr. Dai Xulong. I believe he has since renamed his school as Victoria School of Business. (You can no longer just call any school a university in Switzerland.) https://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2013/11/17/tyts-wife-receives-honorary-doctorate-from-swiss-university/

 

City University of Sioux Falls appears to be defunct. Website no longer works. You have to be careful - there is a site for the unrelated University of Sioux Falls - an RA school. I have found nothing to tie Dr. Dai Xulong with Reagan International U. That could be because there is nothing.

 

President, from 25 March 2010 to 7 November 2016. After that, Si Tanka became Reagan National.

https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_sd/DB055240

 

Thanks Mbwa. Nice work! So - Dr. Dai established City University of Sioux Falls, then became Pres. of Si Tanka - that became Reagan National. Bingo! USA today seems to have missed that - although they did find a name or two that tie Reagan International to a closed visa mill in Virginia. This whole thing is getting to be quite a tangle of octopi. I was still looking for Xianhua Fan, who signed State business applications for a couple of these outfits. I did find the Xianhua Electric Fan Co., but that doesn't count. Maybe Harold Harris (who likely doesn't exist either) could tell me.

 

To what extent can we say, "This is a DeVos thing."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/devos-allowed-group-to-accredit-college-with-e2-80-98no-students-no-faculty-and-no-classrooms-e2-80-99/ar-BB105Q5f

 

DeVos can be held accountable for ACICS being brought back from the coma, but she can't be held responsible for every action ACICS takes. That said, it feels to me like ACICS was doing some kind of shady business here with this Reagan situation and got caught. I put ACICS into it because they accredited this school and had to know it wasn't actually operating. This is just plain ridiculous.

The "school" website is now "down for maintenance" (yeah, right!) and they've voluntary withdrawn their accreditation.

 

OK, that's good. Because we've heard some stories about people in the Trump administration doing some questionable things for their own profit and I'd hate to think that DeVos made some questionable decisions because anything like payoffs to a numbered account in the Caymans were made by a non-school in return for continued accreditation by an agency that really shouldn't exist anymore. I'm glad there's nothing like that happening. I feel better now.

 

Bleh. I prefer tastier snark... and proof.

 

While you may not agree with the Brookings Institute on all things, I imagine that you do have a respect for many of their reports. This may be an interesting read.
Even if we declare to have conservative values, one would be really hard pressed to see anything about accountability, due process, fiscal conservatism, or if I were to elaborate... a logical rationale for the actions taken by DeVos. Many.. many.. years ago, I was active in Republican politics in her home state of Michigan... and she was considered a whack job even than by those active in conservative politics. Sigh... while it may be subjective, I've yet to hear anyone make a logical defense for her actions as secretary of education. One, or at least I, would think that Johnson's resignation would have been a wake up call... but no...

 

That's just it, I'm not defending nor do I have any desire to defend DeVos, ACICS or the actions of either. I couldn't care less what happens to them outside of me just getting information about the matter. My position is, some claims of impropriety can be taken for what they are but when it comes to others--particularly those that are or could be criminal--it's fair to be cautious on what to take as confirmed fact when it hasn't been decided in a court of law.

 

Well clearly there's no evidence of impropriety, at least none as far as I know. Maybe there's evidence of incompetence but that's not necessarily against the law. But even if there was some evidence that the law has been broken, what difference would it make? You'd just have the Attorney General reduce the charges and let the offender walk free, right? That's the formula. Or you could move to a Presidential pardon if necessary. But I have an idea. Let's do a little thought experiment. DeVos' brother, Erik Prince is a good friend of the President and he's in some hot water right now. How good are the chances that Barr is going to intervene and let him off the hook? My guess is the chances quickly approach 100%.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/doj-nears-decision-on-whether-to-charge-blackwater-founder-erik-prince-11581442121