Opening a private university or college from scratch is a challenging experience. The USA is one of the most popular study-abroad destinations in the world. It is the land of golden opportunities that is known for providing academic excellence, cultural diversity, and excellent support to International students. In the year 2020-2021 over 7 million students choose the USA for their further studies. Among these students, private universities have been popular. This is because most of the highest-ranked universities in the US are private universities. This includes universities like Havard, MIT, Yale, and Standford University.
So what are these steps?
1. Get a Business License
2. Approval from the State
3. Accreditation Application
1. Business License:
Starting a private university, or a postsecondary educational institution is very much like starting a business. So Step 1 should have you focused on applying for a business license. You will have to choose a business structure, i.e. sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, Corporation, etc., and apply for a license in the state that you are starting your institution in.
2. Approval from the State:
The whole process now becomes more rigorous and robust. Before you apply to obtain your approvals, you will need to get documents in place to prove your university or college has what it takes to become a full-scale educational institution.
Here are the things you will need to prepare to better your chances of approval:
- Program Curriculum: what are you going to teach?
This document needs to be ready to go with the application. This should also include the list of faculty members and other stakeholders. The State or the organization that will be providing the approval will want to know who is responsible for educating the students and whether they are qualified for it or not.
- Proof of Campus Acquisition: where are you going to teach?
A document proving that you have rented, leased, or purchased a place where you will be operating your classes is required. For this part of the application, make sure you have the floor plans, the entire campus map, proof of lease, rent or purchase of location, zoning information, and the list of facilities available on site.
- Financial Statements and a Business Plan
A business plan is a must-have. This blueprint of what the institution will do, its vision and mission, and its plans give a clear picture of how well you have planned for university. The financial statements and projections will also give an insight into the sustainability of your organization.
These documents need to be submitted to the Department of Education or Consumer Affairs Department in the State your institution will be based in.
The department will then review your documents and let you know if anything is missing. This process will take six to 18 months, depending on the programs you have submitted, and the state your university is set in.
3. Accreditation:
With the approval and the license, you can now start recruiting students and teaching. Once that starts, you can begin applying for your accreditation.
You will have to identify an accreditation body, which can be national, or regional.
There are also program accreditations available, which provide accreditations for each program that you’re offering separately. Most accreditors won’t accept your application until your university or college has been operating for at least one full year.
Others won’t provide full accreditation until your school graduates a class of students from its longest program.
Something to keep in mind is that if your university or college only offers shorter programs such as Associates’ Degree (2 years), you will be able to obtain your accreditation sooner than if you were to offer longer programs such as an Undergraduate Degree (4 years)
CLOSING STATEMENT:
Starting a university or college is indeed a complex journey that’s full of roadblocks and challenges. But as you navigate this process, it’s crucial to start with the end goal in mind. What this means is that you need to clearly understand your objectives, and carefully plan for the steps that you’ll take towards them.
For instance, if your goal is to get your school accredited in the shortest time frame so that your student body can obtain loans and funding, you will want to offer shorter programs like Masters’s Degree and an Associate’s Degree so that you can get accredited faster.
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Here at Tushar Baweja and Associates-+91-9672225555 we provide you with comprehensive, turnkey consulting services to help you open your post-secondary institution from the ground up. We fully support you throughout your licensing, approval, and accreditation processes, to ensure your university or college is up and running in the shortest time frames.
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