Stratford University
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Stratford University was a
private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...
based in Virginia. On September 26, 2022, it announced it would close, including both the campus-based and online components, at the end of the Fall 2022 semester. Founded in 1976, Stratford delivers
online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" ...
,
classroom A classroom or schoolroom is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other places where education ...
, and blended online/classroom programs. Stratford University had campuses in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
(
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, Woodbridge,) Maryland (
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
), and India (
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...
). The majority of the student body is non-traditional and works full-time while attending school. Stratford's
international student International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying. In 2019, there were over 6 million internati ...
body represents over thirty countries. Approximately 20 percent of the student body is international and 20 percent is military. The Stratford campus in India was a joint venture with the Modi Group, created to offer residential American degrees in India. The legal name of the Indian joint venture is Modi Stratford Education Management (MSEM), Pvt. Ltd. The Modi Stratford Foundation, a wholly owned non-profit subsidiary of MSEM, delivers the academic programs in India as an unaccredited campus of Stratford University. Stratford had been for-profit and in 2015, it converted to a public benefit corporation The university announced on September 26, 2022, that it would close at the end of the semester due to loss of its accreditation.


History

Stratford University signed a letter of intent for an affiliation with
Baltimore International College The Baltimore International College (BIC), founded in 1972, was a private, non-profit college located in Baltimore, Maryland. It offered specialized degree programs in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management. The college was taken over by Stra ...
(BIC) on August 12, 2011. The university received approval from the Maryland Higher Education Commission and Baltimore officially became an additional location of Stratford University on December 1, 2011. Stratford University signed a memorandum of understanding with Sojourner-Douglass College (SDC) on April 2, 2015. The memorandum outlined which SDC programs would transition to Stratford after June 30, 2015, the date that SDC would lose its accreditation. This location was renamed the ''Sojourner-Douglass Center at Stratford University''. Stratford University received the Virginia V3 Perseverando Award for both 2015 and 2016. The awards were presented to Stratford by Virginia Governor
Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...
of at the Annual Chamber of Commerce Workforce Conference in Richmond. In 2016, U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Penny Pritzker Penny Sue Pritzker (born May 2, 1959) is an American billionaire businesswoman and civic leader who served as the 38th United States secretary of commerce in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. She was confirmed by a Senate vote of 97 ...
presented Stratford University with the ''President’s "E" Award for Exports''. It is the highest recognition any U.S. entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports. The 'E' Awards noted Stratford University's dedication to providing quality education to students around the world, particularly its investment in language training programs. In 2019, Stratford announced that it would be closing three of its campuses in Virginia, including campuses in
Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...
and
Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous ci ...
. Noting Stratford's problems with its accreditor, The
Center for Immigration Studies The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is an anti-immigration think tank and a SPLC designated hate group. It favors far lower immigration numbers, and produces analyses to further those views. The CIS was founded by historian Otis L. Graha ...
labeled the school as a "marginal university." In 2020, Stratford's accreditor, the
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) is a non-profit education corporation that was recognized until 2021 by the United States Department of Education as an independent and autonomous national accrediting body. ...
, was investigating the school for allegedly operating an unapproved program in Irbil, Iraq. On September 26, 2022, the
Virginia Department of Education The Virginia Department of Education is the state education agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is headquartered in the James Monroe Building in Richmond. The department is headed by the Secretary of Education (currently Aimee Guidera), w ...
decertified Stratford's accreditor, causing the university to announce that it would cease operations following the end of the Fall 2022 term.


Academics

Stratford awards graduate and
undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...
degrees in a number of disciplines including
business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
,
computer information systems An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people, ...
,
health sciences The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences are those sciences which focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple a ...
,
nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
,
culinary arts Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs ...
, and
hotel management ''Hotel Management'' magazine is a trade publication produced by Questex, LLC. History and profile The magazine ''Hotel Management'' was established in New York in 1922 by Ahrens Publishers. It absorbed or merged with various other hotel manage ...
. Online, residential, and blended programs are available. All online and blended courses use the Stratford online
Moodle Moodle is a free and open-source learning management system written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. Moodle is used for blended learning, distance education, flipped classroom and other online learning projects in ...
platform hosted in Stratford's data center. Stratford has established programs to help US military and former-US military personnel complete their education and is recognized by the Veterans Administration as a member of the Yellow Ribbon Program. Stratford offers non-credit continuing education and professional development courses like ''Event Management Certificate Program'', ''Culinary Workshops'' and Certification Courses including
Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ...
, MSCE,
.Net Framework The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...
,
Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
,
Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, whi ...
, and
computer security Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, t ...
-related topics for students and IT professionals. Stratford's Language Institute offers an academic English as Second Language (ESL) program to help international students enter a degree program.


Student outcomes

According to the College Scorecard, Stratford has a graduation rate of 34 percent. Salary after attending ranges from $22,485 to $65,238. Two years after completion, student debtors had the following status: 30% in forbearance, 24% not making progress, 17% defaulted, 11% in deferment, 9% delinquent, 6% making progress, 2% paid in full, and 1% discharged.


Rankings

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alternat ...
ranks Stratford number 605 out of 614 masters-level universities in social mobility.


Accreditation and affiliations

Stratford University was accredited by the discredited
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) is a non-profit education corporation that was recognized until 2021 by the United States Department of Education as an independent and autonomous national accrediting body. ...
(ACICS) to award through master's degrees. Stratford University is exempt from requirements of oversight to grant Associate, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees by
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is the Commonwealth's coordinating body for higher education. SCHEV was established by the Governor and General Assembly in 1956. Its mission, which is outlined in the Code of Virginia§2 ...
(SCHEV). Stratford's nursing program is approved by the Virginia Board of Nursing and accredited by the
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) is a nursing education accrediting agency in the United States. The CCNE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. CCNE accreditation is a voluntary, self-regulatory process, and t ...
. The university's medical assisting program is accredited by the
Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools The Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) is a recognized higher education accreditation organization in the United States specializing in the institutional accreditation of private, postsecondary institutions that offer allied hea ...
and its Language Institute is accredited by the
Commission on English Language Program Accreditation The Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA) is a specialized accrediting agency that accredits post-secondary English language training programs. CEA states that its purpose is to provide a systematic approach by which programs ...
. Stratford's culinary programs have received programmatic accreditation from the
American Culinary Federation The American Culinary Federation (ACF) was established in 1929 in New York City and is the largest professional chefs' organization in North America. It was the progeny of the combined visions of three chefs' associations in New York City, the Soc ...
(ACF). Stratford is a member of the
International Association of Culinary Professionals The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) is a United States-based not-for-profit professional association whose members work in culinary education, communication, or the preparation of food and beverage. History The organizati ...
.


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control Private universities and colleges in Virginia Distance education institutions Colleges accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools Private universities and colleges in Washington, D.C. Universities in Delhi Educational institutions established in 1976 Education in Falls Church, Virginia Education in Prince William County, Virginia Education in Richmond, Virginia 1976 establishments in Virginia Education in Alexandria, Virginia Education in Newport News, Virginia Education in Virginia Beach, Virginia Universities and colleges in Baltimore