Northwestern Polytechnic University

a visa mill?

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mollyhensleyclancy/inside-the-school-that-abolished-the-f-and-raked-in-the-cash?utm_term=.wdEOBBVAel#.ecMwppOXEZ

 

Wow, that's a scathing story!

I've been vaguely aware of Northwestern Polytechnic since the 1990s. At that time it seemed to be almost 100% Chinese, in Silicon Valley physically, but seemingly not of it. It had no academic reputation to speak of, and no locals that I knew paid any attention to it.

There are a number of "universities" superficially similar to it in the area (one is mentioned in the story), typically run by immigrants and filled almost 100% with foreigners hoping to make it big and get rich in America. It seems to work for the schools' owners who do get rich, but maybe not so much for their students.

 

ACICS, again.

 

more confirmation of Visa mill status

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mollyhensleyclancy/inside-the-school-that-abolished-the-f-and-raked-in-the-cash?utm_term=.pndGDJknP#.iqj5Vr9AP

 

I think I've mentioned it before, but I used to teach for an ACICS school, and I would have put the academic rigor and expectations right on par for a RA school for whom I was also teaching. However, I believe the school changed owners, and while the academics stayed the same, the quality of students started to nosedive. The school went bankrupt not long after.

 

I'm sure not all of ACICS' schools are bad quality, maybe only a few would qualify as bad quality, it's just that amidst the questions about ACICS' quality this is just one more question, what with the claim of how lax they were with NPU.

 

Right, I think one of the problems with ACICS is that they accredit so many schools, they can't adequately keep track of them once they're accredited. As a result, schools with ulterior motives are attracted to them, and sometimes are accredited by them. For the school I taught at, it was a naked money grab, while with NPU, it seems to be the visa guarantee for foreign students.

 

I don't claim to know all or even most ACICS schools but the ones in my area are pretty dire. They're the kind of schools that advertise on afternoon and late-night TV for the unemployed and the unemployable. They admit anyone who applies regardless of their likelihood of successfully completing the program and encourage the poor saps to take out massive loans. Those who manage to graduate rarely pass their state professional exam. It's a trap for the poor trying to escape from poverty.