The Preston University Fraud/Scam

All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education. - Sir Walter Scott

I've resided in the United Arab Emirates since my birth. I've seen it develop from a deserted town to a concrete jungle full of skyscrapers. I've also studied here; I completed my schooling as well as my undergraduate studies in Sharjah itself.

I've been acquainted with Preston University since its inception in the United Arab Emirates. Its initial avatar here was an institute known as the Academy of Technologies that had been set up in a building that had previously housed the Center of American Education in Deira. I visited it after completing my O-Levels & was impressed by its initial offering of programs (I was interested in the BSIT program) and requested my mother to enrol me; My mom refused outright......She said I had to do my A-Levels first.

In the meanwhile, the Academy of Technologies underwent some upheavals; It was shifted to Ajman and it's name was "officially" changed to Preston University, Ajman. It gained prominence surprisingly from the launch of its Bachelors in Islamic Studies Program (BAIS) which was then headed by Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. Other prominent scholars such as Riad Ansari, Abdul Qayyum Bastawi and Abdul Majeed Alee Hasan Bapu were also part of its faculty for a while. The department declined after all of these scholars left for various reasons. The head of the department is now Dr. Waseem Ahmed who is regarded by his students as an authority on Tafsir.

The United States of America require that public and private universities acquire accreditation from one of the following bodies (These have been pasted from Wikipedia):
Middle States Association of Colleges & Schools - Commission on Higher Education
New England Association of Schools & Colleges - Commission on Institutions of Higher Education
North Central Association of Colleges & Schools - Higher Learning Commission
Northwest Commission on Colleges & Universities
Southern Association of Colleges & Schools - Commission on Colleges
Western Association of Schools & Colleges

Preston is not accredited by ANY of these bodies. If you visit their "official" website, they claim the following:

Preston University is dedicated to delivery of the highest quality educational experience to each of its enrolled students around the world. However, Preston is not accredited by a United States Department of Education recognized accrediting body. The following statements reflect Preston's present legal and academic status.

1. State governments have full authority to control academic institutions and to authorize schools to issue academic degrees and certificates. This control is implemented through the state licensing process. The United States federal government does not authorize nor control degree-granting schools in any way. Preston University is legally licensed by the State of Alabama and is officially authorized to award all levels of post-secondary academic degrees. Those degrees may be recognized at the discretion of employers, governments or other academic institutions, as they deem appropriate.

Well the basic recognition for U.S. Undergraduate degrees is regional accreditation. Apparently. Preston do not have this.

2. In the United States, post-secondary academic institutions have established private associations with the intention to create organizational and procedural standards to ensure consistent delivery of academic programs. These private associations of member schools administer the "accreditation" process in the U.S. Accreditation is a fully voluntary, non-governmental process. All accredited institutions conform to the standards of the accrediting body, thus simplifying the evaluation and acceptance of credits among member schools. The U.S. Department of Education certifies selected accrediting associations to identify the member schools as acceptable for award of federal financial assistance. The federal government itself does not accredit schools, nor does it evaluate the quality of schools.

Accreditation is important since it insures quality and adherence to academic standards. It is also important for the acceptance and transfer of college credit and is also a prerequisite for many graduate programs.

3. Because Preston University is not accredited by a post-secondary school association, many U.S. schools may not immediately accept Preston credits or degrees for transfer into their programs. Aside from academic institutions, most U.S. businesses and many state and local governments will accept the academic credentials of Preston students and graduates.

We’ll see more regarding this later.

4. The Preston University degree is valid and official. The State of Alabama authorizes Preston to issue the degrees, and the state evaluators conduct periodic inspections of the university to ensure Preston adheres to all applicable state laws.

It depends on what they mean by valid and official……..And let’s see what they mean by the authorization of the State of Alabama.