AP students suffer as US varsity is subjected to probe

Many students from Andhra Pradesh face an uncertain future with yet another university in the US being investigated for fraudulent practices.

In the third such incident in the last year and a half, chief executive officer Jerry Wang of the Herguan University in Sunnyvale in California was arrested by US federal agents on 15 counts including submission of false documents and false transfer letters.

Many of the students who suffered when two other US universities -- Tri-Valley University in California and University of Vriginia at Annandale -- were hauled up for similar practices last year were also from AP.

In the case of Herguan University, most of the 450 students enrolled in its MSCS (Masters in Computer Science) and MBA (Masters in Business Administration) programmes hail from Andhra Pradesh.

Herguan has been served a notice of intent by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to withdraw its Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP) certification and access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

The institute was granted approval to accept foreign students in 2008.

However, only its MBA programme is accredited by the Bureau for Private Post-Secondary Education (BPPE) in California.

Neither the MSCS nor the MBA course are accredited by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), the national body for granting the status.

Most of the university’s students work part-time while taking more than one online course per semester. This is a clear violation of their F1 visa status.

After an expose last year by a local newspaper, the Herguan management reportedly sent out e-mails to students asking them to return to campus within a week to attend classes in person.

Many of the students were employed outside California. The latest episode raises a question on the immigration status of the university students.