Graduate School USA
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| Type | Private University |
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| Established | 1921 |
| President | Jack Maykoski (interim) |
| Location | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Website | www |
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Graduate School USA, formerly referred to as the Graduate School, USDA, is a private non-profit educational institution headquartered in Washington, DC with regional campuses around the United States.
Its stated mission is to "develop people and to make government more efficient and effective by offering a wide variety of classes and programs, ranging from government-based specialties such as governmental accounting and auditing, human capital management and acquisition to foreign languages, economics, leadership and landscape design." The school has approximately 200,000 participants per year with over 600 courses, including 300 evening and weekend courses.
The Graduate School was created in 1921 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide adult continuing education. The Graduate School remained a part of the USDA as a Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentality (NAFI) until February 2009. At that time the school severed ties with the Department of Agriculture and became a private, nonprofit institution. Following the privatization, the school announced it would seek accreditation that would allow it to award bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Nearby Southeastern University began seeking proposals for a merger in summer 2008. Southeastern was facing financial difficulties and a possible loss of accreditation. In March 2009, Southeastern announced that it would be purchased by Graduate School USA. Southeastern asked the Middle States Commission on Higher Education to delay any adverse action on accreditation pending the merger with Graduate School USA. The request was denied, and Southeastern was stripped of its accreditation for a number of administrative failures, including a lack of strategic planning, financial resources, and data systems. There was a delay in the purchase until Southeastern made a final agreement with Federal officials for fines the university had incurred. The asset purchase was completed in March 2010.
In March 2011, Graduate School USA announced plans to open a new campus in a planned redevelopment of Washington DC's Southwest waterfront. Plans called for the school to be a major anchor in the redevelopment known as The Wharf, with the school leasing 190,000 square feet of space at the corner of Maine Avenue and Ninth Street SW for its new campus. In October 2013, the school announced it would pull out of the new campus project "due to government cutbacks and budget uncertainty."
In October 2013, Graduate School USA's presidential search committee began accepting nominations and applications to fill the position of president and CEO, which was vacated when Dr. Jerry Ice retired on September 13, 2013 after more than ten years as president. Jack Maykoski was appointed to interim President and CEO in March 2016.
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