What American InterContinental University-Atlanta is like

What it's like

American InterContinental University (AIU) is a for-profit institution with open admissions, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The Atlanta campus underwent significant renovation following a 2009 consolidation and now houses specialized labs and design studios. However, AIU operates within a heavily scrutinized sector marked by regulatory oversight and reputational challenges stemming from documented controversies in admissions and educational quality.

Academic feel

AIU offers associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees across business, IT, criminal justice, healthcare management, education, and media production. Many instructors draw from real-world professional experience. The institution has invested in educational technology, introducing the M.U.S.E. web-based learning tool in 2009 and the intellipath adaptive learning platform in 2013, which tailors lessons to individual student needs. The Atlanta campus features industry-current forensics and firearms training simulation labs, drawing and writing studios, and dedicated fashion design, media production, visual communications, and interior design facilities.

Strengths

• Specialized laboratory and studio facilities at the Atlanta campus, including forensics labs, virtual firearms training simulator, and dedicated design studios for fashion, media production, visual communications, and interior design.[1]
• Use of adaptive learning technology (intellipath) to personalize instruction based on student understanding and learning needs, introduced system-wide starting in 2013.[1]
• Instructors are professionals in their fields who integrate real-world experience into classroom instruction and career training.[1]

Weaknesses

• History of regulatory investigations and controversies including allegations of misrepresenting programs, admitting students without high school diplomas, and including non-attending students in enrollment numbers.[1]
• Founder Steve Bostic criticized management in 2005 for sacrificing educational quality in favor of enrollment growth, resulting in high student attrition rates.[1]
• Department of Veterans Affairs suspended G.I. Bill reimbursement eligibility in March 2020 due to erroneous, deceptive, or misleading enrollment and advertising practices.[1]
• Receives approximately 96% of funding from the U.S. government and has been sued for defrauding the federal government by taking federal funding while providing substandard education.[1]
• As of 2017, was under heightened cash monitoring by the U.S. Department of Education for additional oversight of cash management.[1]