American InterContinental University

For profit university based in Schaumburg, Illinois, US

AIU's parent company, Career Education Corporation (now named Perdoceo Education Corporation) has been investigated by the U. S. Departments of Justice and Education and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Allegations specific to AIU include reports that the Los Angeles campus misrepresented its programs and classes, made a practice of admitting students who had not graduated from high school, and included in its enrollment numbers students who had never attended class. A CEC representative stated in July 2007 that the issues at AIU's Los Angeles campus "have been addressed and most have long been resolved." One of the most outspoken critics of AIU and CEC has been AIU's founder Steve Bostic, who alleged in 2005 that "CECO's Board has allowed management to lose sight of the Company's primary mission of providing quality education services; under these directors, CECO management has sacrificed the quality of student programs, resulting in the severe escalation of student attrition all for the sake of a 'top line growth strategy' that cannot be sustained." On June 21, 2005, the U. S. Department of Education put a freeze on approving CEC's new applications for additional campuses or acquisitions while it examined the company's financial records and compliance with federal student aid regulations. This restriction was lifted in January 2007. In 2009, AIU whistleblowers alleged that AIU enrolled students who were illiterate and did not possess high school degrees. In Diallo versus American Intercontinental University, students filed a class action lawsuit claiming that the school had defrauded them. The Georgia Appellate Court denied the class action, stating that each student must file a separate claim. As of 2017, American Intercontinental University was under heightened cash monitoring by the US Department of Education "to provide additional oversight of cash management." On March 9, 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs suspended G. I. Bill reimbursement eligibility for American InterContinental University and several other for profit schools due to what the V. A. said were "erroneous, deceptive, or misleading enrollment and advertising practices", giving the schools 60 days to take "corrective action". The VA withdrew its threat of sanctions in July 2020.

AIU receives approximately 96% of all funds from the US government, including about $29 million from G. I. Bill funds. It has been sued for defrauding the federal government by taking federal funding while providing substandard education.

AIU currently has two campuses in the United States, one in Atlanta and one in Houston. Following the June 2009 consolidation of the AIU Buckhead and AIU Dunwoody campuses into AIU Atlanta, the new campus underwent a significant renovation. AIU Atlanta's campus now features an industry current forensics lab; a virtual firearms training simulator (FATS) lab; drawing studio; dedicated math, science and writing labs; and newly redesigned studios for fashion design, media production, visual communications and interior design. The AIU Houston building was severely damaged by Hurricane Ike in September 2008. It was remodeled, and a grand re opening celebration occurred in February 2009.

The online program began in 2001, but was recognized as a separate campus in 2002. John Kline currently serves as president of AIU Online, which is now considered the main campus for AIU. The online campus offices are located in Schaumburg, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago. Trident University International has been a member of the American InterContinental University System since 2020 and offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level degrees in a 100% online environment. Founded in 1998, Trident has nearly 27,000 alumni, of which more than 22,000 have a military affiliation. John Kline currently serves as president of Trident at AIU. In 2022, California Southern University was acquired by the American InterContinental University System and joined into the overall AIUS community. John Kline currently serves as president of California Southern University.

AIU offers associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees in a variety of fields. Many instructors are professionals in their field and draw from their real world experience to enrich classroom instruction and career training. AIU offers classroom instruction in person at the ground campuses and online via the Virtual Campus, or a hybrid of both. The AIU Virtual Campus gives online students access to course materials as well as nearly all the amenities of a traditional campus, such as a library, career services, student clubs and financial aid information. The Virtual Campus was named "Best of the Best" by the Computerworld Honors Program in 2009. In 2009, My Unique Student Experience (M. U. S. E.) was introduced to a number of courses to supplement learning outside the classroom. M. U. S. E. is a web based tool that provides access to additional, interactive learning options that help students comprehend course material in a way that appeals to them. The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU), formerly the Career College Association, recognized AIU's parent company, Career Education Corporation ("CEC"), for M. U. S. E. with its 2010 CCA Innovation Award. In 2013, AIU launched a proprietary adaptive learning technology called intellipath™ to deliver data driven personalized learning. The platform assesses students' current understanding of a topic and then tailors the type and order of the lessons presented to meet their individual needs. In April 2014, AIU introduced intellipath into its MBA in Management, making AIU's program the first MBA in the U. S. driven by adaptive learning technology.

The institution first received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in 1987. SACS placed the university on probation in December 2005 On December 11, 2007, CEC announced that SACS had removed AIU's probation and that the university's accreditation was once again in good standing. In 2009, AIU successfully sought to switch accreditation from SACS to the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). School officials felt this was best since the majority of its students were served through its Internet based campus which was based in the HLC geographic region. SACS and HLC were among the six regional accrediting organizations recognized by the U. S. Department of Education. The U. S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General questioned the Higher Learning Commission's decision to approve accreditation of AIU based on the examination of the commission's standards for measuring credit hours and program length. An assistant inspector general stated in the report, "This action by HLC is not in the best interest of students, and calls into question whether the accrediting decisions made by HLC should be relied upon by the Department of Education when assisting students to obtain quality education through the Title IV programs." NCA HLC president Sylvia Manning responded that this accusation was "flimsy" because it focused on a single accreditation issue involving a single school. SACS president Belle Wheelan sided with NCA HLC, calling the OIG report "scary" and emphasizing that American InterContinental University's accreditation under SACS had been in "good standing." In addition to HLC, the university's business programs earned accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs in 2011. In 2013, AIU's Master of Education (M. Ed.) program became one of the first fully online programs to be granted initial two year accreditation by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). The AIU London was accredited by the British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education until it was absorbed by Regent's College London in April 2013. Following successful efforts on the London campus to remedy deficiencies, the QAA noted that, "Since the audit QAA has been provided with information that indicates that appropriate action has been taken by the American InterContinental University in response to the findings of this report. As a result, the audit was signed off in June 2008."

American InterContinental University was ranked No. 8 on the internal Department of Education analysis obtained by The Center for Investigative Reporting that shows 133 for profit colleges are so dependent on taxpayer money that they would be violating a law designed to prevent profiteering without a loophole that excludes GI Bill assistance to active duty military, with over 96% of revenue coming from these taxpayer funded programs. The lawsuits against enrollment practices were dismissed in 2012.