AIU London

Because American University in Dubai claims US accreditation through its US parent, American Intercontinental University, I have followed the accreditation probation of AIU closely. What I missed until today, was that over a year ago, the London campus also came under the scrutiny of accreditors:

Quality watchdogs have privately delivered their first vote of "no confidence" in the academic standards of an entire university following a routine audit.

The Times Higher [Education Supplement] has learnt that the American InterContinental University in London (AIU London) has been informed by the Quality Assurance Agency that it has failed an audit carried out by a team of inspectors last year [2005].
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It is understood that the judgment is being disputed by the private London institution, which is led by Geoffrey Alderman, an outspoken critic of the QAA [link added]. Thus the official verdict may not be made public for months and could be changed before publication.
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Professor Alderman is a former QAA inspector himself. So he will have known what was at stake when he put the AIU forward to be audited by the inspectors. An approval from the inspectors would have provided a powerful marketing tool for the university.

A negative judgment would come as a major personal blow to Professor Alderman. As senior vice-president of AIU London, he led the audit process.
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AIU is understood to be considering legal action against the OUVS, blaming it for the damaging judgment. Its lawyers were due to meet OU officials this week. An OU spokesman said it had written to AIU London in December "advising it of our intention to end the accreditation agreements".
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As a private institution, AIU London is not obliged by law to submit to QAA inspection. It is understood that this voluntary status could form the basis of its dispute with the QAA.

More: American Intercontinental first to fail new QAA audit April, 2006 (subscription required).
The QAA audit of AIUL is here.

This google result for "AIU London QAA" is revealing and amusing:

[PDF] AMERICAN INTERCONTINENTAL UNIVERSITY File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML AIU-London is the. first American institution of higher education to be admitted to QAA membership. Whereas. British taxpayer-funded universities have to be ...www.aiustudyabroad.com/pdf/Grading_Procedures.pdf - Similar pages