Atlantic International University


Atlantic International University, Inc. is a private for-profit distance learning university based in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was founded in December 1998 as Atlantic University, Inc.
Founded out of the desire in the 1980s of a group of businesses to provide continuing education to employees, AIU offers undergraduate and graduate degrees including doctorates.
Although it is based in the United States, it is not accredited by a recognized United States accreditation agency, so its course credits and diplomas are not recognized by many U.S. universities and other institutions. It is accredited by the U.K. Accreditation Service for International Schools, Colleges and Universities, a for-profit private regulatory agency with no official status. Atlantic International University is not listed in the International Association of Universities's global register of accredited universities, the World Higher Education Database. The WHED is generally regarded as the most important database of legitimate universities, as it is compiled in association with UNESCO from national regulatory returns.
Atlantic International University was formerly accredited by the non-recognized Accrediting Commission International. It has also been listed as a non-recognized university in other countries including Ghana, Nigeria, and Oman. It has been characterized as a degree mill, and its degrees have been widely dismissed as "fake".
Atlantic International University has been prosecuted by the Office of Consumer Protection of the State of Hawaii for fraudulently claiming to be an accredited institution. In a 2002 case, the state alleged that "AIU is not now and never has been accredited by a recognized accrediting agency or association recognized by the United States Secretary of Education...AIU has failed to properly and adequately disclose in its promotional materials, specifically its agents' advertising, the fact that it is not fully accredited by any nationally recognized accrediting agency or association listed by the United States Secretary of Education in violation of Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 446E-2."

Notable alumni