University of Atlanta
| Type | Private, for-profit, distance education |
|---|---|
| Established | 1991 |
| Location | U.S. |
| Website | www.uofa.edu |
The University of Atlanta, formerly known as Barrington University, is a private for-profit distance education institution authorized by the State of Georgia's Nonpublic Post Secondary Education Commission. Until June 30, 2013, the University of Atlanta was accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council.
The University of Atlanta was founded as Barrington University (not to be confused with Barrington College) in the early 1990s by Robert and Steven Bettinger. Barrington University, was incorporated, licensed and headquartered in Mobile, Alabama offering $4,450 degrees granting considerable credit for life experiences. Barrington operated as a subsidiary of Boca Raton-based Virtual Academics.
The company's literature claimed that its chairman had a doctorate and a master's degree; an investigation showed that he had neither. Barrington also claimed accreditation by the International Association of Universities and Schools Inc. (IAUS). However, a 2003 investigation by the South Florida Business Journal revealed this was a for-profit corporation set up in Florida (not Switzerland or Washington, D.C., as claimed) by Virtual Academics' chairman, Robert Bettinger, and the owner of another for-profit college in 1998. According to the New York Post, they did this to avoid further problems due to their schools' lack of accreditation. The IAUS' charter was subsequently dissolved by the State of Florida for failure to pay annual registration fees. The South Florida Business Journal also reported that Barrington was paying professors and schools in China commissions to sell Barrington degrees to Chinese students; this revelation caused a major drop in Chinese enrollments and a resulting decline in revenues.
In 2000, school began having problems with the State of Alabama. The state threatened to revoke its operating license. State investigators determined that Barrington had been operating out of the offices of a secretarial and answering service.
A General Accounting Office investigation found that Barrington was offering degrees for a fee based solely on life experience and requiring no classroom experience. By 2008, the State of Alabama was conducting a crackdown on such schools operating in Alabama, requiring that all be accredited or actively seeking accreditation by October.
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