Preston University

Preston University is a private for-profit institution without educational accreditation that offers a variety of academic degree programs by distance learning. Based in Wyoming until 2007 and later based in Alabama, Preston currently identifies Los Angeles, California as its base of operations.

Preston University is owned by Abdul Basit, who lives in Pakistan.

Preston lists about 30 affiliated campuses throughout the world. A number of degree programs ranging from Associate to Ph.D. in a variety of disciplines are offered.

History

Preston University states that it was established in 1984 and that its first United States campus was established in 1994.

As of 2001, Preston’s chancellor, Jerry Haenisch, told the Chronicle of Higher Education that Preston had 30 “affiliated” campuses in 19 countries and about 8,000 students, mostly in Pakistan. About 18 students were reported to be taking classes at what was then Preston’s official main campus in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

In 2001, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that it had randomly selected two of Preston University’s listed faculty members and inquired about their relationship with the university. They both said that they weren’t associated with Preston University and didn’t know that they were on the school’s faculty list. A Preston official acknowledged that only 15 out of 49 listed faculty actually worked for the university. Haenisch explained that over half of the faculty on their list had applied for jobs at Preston but had never actually been employed. They were listed in case a student was interested in the discipline the professor specialized in. Haenisch admitted that the practice was misleading and would be discontinued. Currently Preston faculty are listed on the school’s web site and in its online catalog.

In 2007, the state of Wyoming started requiring that higher education institutions operating in the state must be accredited. Because Preston remained unaccredited, it moved its operations to Alabama.

On February 2008 the Preston University website listed at least 30 affiliated campuses.

In August 2008, The Straits Times reported that Preston University is a degree mill with some leading businessmen in Singapore owning PhD’s from Preston. The Straits Times’ assertions that the University was a diploma mill were strongly disputed by Dr Jerry Haenisch, Preston’s chancellor, who confirmed that the university had no accreditation from any US Department of Education approved body – “but, a degree mill, absolutely not”. Dr Haenisch demanded apologies from The Straits Times for writing articles that were based on superficial research and simply repeated erroneous assumptions and untrue innuendo from other writers. He said that the University was “legally licensed and authorized to operate by the state of Alabama”. Finally he took issue with the Straits Times statement that the move from Wyoming to Alabama was any sign of disrepute. He said the move was made because Alabama is more populated than Wyoming and has much greater support resources. He also pointed out that the US Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation both state the voluntary nature of accreditation in the country, and caution that a school’s accreditation status should never be the sole criteria for assessing its quality or validity. The Straits Times responded, “The Straits Times on Friday made it clear that it was not about to apologise to Preston University for telling its readers the truth about its credentials – or rather, its lack of. Said Editor Han Fook Kwang: ‘We stand by our story and am satisfied that our journalist was accurate in her reporting of Preston University’.”

Preston University’s license to operate legally in Alabama expired on 12/1/2008. On February 6, 2009 Preston University was ordered to cease and desist operations by the State of Alabama for failing many of the standards enacted for educational institutions in Alabama. The rules set by the Alabama Chancellor of Education, effective on October 1, 2008 require all private schools to become accredited. Section IV, B, 3, a, 4. states: “All privately licensed degree granting, post-secondary educational institutions must be accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE), the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), be a candidate for accreditation or in process of application for accreditation as determined and monitored by the Department. This requirement becomes effective beginning October 1, 2008 for any degree granting institutions applying for initial or renewal licensure.” The Alabama Department of PostSecondary Education rejection letter to Preston states that “during the on-site visits, it was determined that the location for the institution is based out of a virtual office setting which is not staffed properly nor has operating equipment.” Also, “The admissions policies are not rigorous and are unacceptable. ” Also, “All assessment decisions are based on a fee for diploma rather than class attendance , lecture participation and projects…”, and finally “Evidence has been received by the Department that Preston University issues Honorary Degrees for a fee.” The letter did not mention what evidence had actually been received and appears to be in contradiction with Preston University’s website which states that the Academic Program Coordinator will recommend award of the appropriate degree only when the following requirements have been met:

• satisfactory completion of all course work;
• completion of an approved project, thesis or dissertation, if required;
• full payment of all tuition, fees and costs;
• written approval of the supervising professor; (Doctoral degrees only)

Since 2009 Preston University has been using a Los Angeles address for its world headquarters. In April 2009 the Cheyenne Herald described the headquarters as an unoccupied office suite.

Miscellaneous

In 2007 the Associated Press reported that a new school, Fairmount International University, would offer an online business program from Preston’s former Cheyenne offices. According to the Associated Press, Preston and Fairmount would both be owned by Abdul Basit, who served as president of both institutions, and that Jerry Haenisch would serve as chancellor of both. However, Fairmount International University was not established and does not operate in Wyoming.

In 2008 Preston University in Pakistan in association with Life Savers Foundation put on a workshop on disaster response.

On March 31, 2009 when Warren National University ceased operations, it announced that Preston would act as the registrar of record for WNU alumni.