Berkeley College

Last updated
Berkeley College
Berkeley College Logo.jpg
MottoYour potential is our promise.
Type Private For-profit college
Established1931 (as The Berkeley School)
President Diane Recinos
Provost Patricia Greer
Undergraduates More than 3,600 as of Fall 2022
Location,
United States
CampusUrban and suburban
Colors Official Berkeley Blue and White
Sporting affiliations
USCAA Division II
MascotBerkeley Knight
Website berkeleycollege.edu

Berkeley College is a private for-profit college with campuses in New York City, New Jersey, and online. It was founded in 1931 and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs. Berkeley College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Its administrative headquarters are in Little Falls, New Jersey.

Contents

Academics

Berkeley College offers certificate, associate's, bachelor's, and graduate degree programs. The College serves a diverse student body of more than 3,600 students through The Larry L. Luing School of Business, School of Professional Studies, and School of Health Studies, on-site and online.

Berkeley College launched its first graduate degree program, a Master of Business Administration in 2015. [1] Through Berkeley College's Corporate Learning Partnership, the MBA program partners with organizations like Affinity Federal Credit Union to offer master's degree and continuing education programs to employees. [2] Berkeley College launched an MBA through the College's Larry L. Luing School of Business in Manhattan, NY, that was offered on-site at the Midtown Manhattan campus beginning in April 2022.

Berkeley College announced the launch of a Master of Science in Nursing program through its School of Health Studies in December 2021. The advanced degree has specialized concentrations in Nursing Leadership and Management, Nursing Education, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Public Health and Emergency Management Nursing. With this program approval, Berkeley College – New Jersey has the only Licensed Practical Nurse-Bachelor of Science in Nursing-Master of Science in Nursing (LPN-BSN-MSN) pathway program in the State of New Jersey.

In 2024, U.S. News & World Report listed the college in its rankings of Best Online Bachelor's Degree Programs, Best Online Bachelor's Degree Programs for Veterans, and in the category Best Online Bachelor's Degree Programs - Business. The Berkeley College Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management program is included on the list of Best Online MBA Programs. [3] Berkeley has offered distance education courses since 1998. [4]

Campuses

The college has a New York City Campus in Midtown Manhattan, and three campuses in New Jersey, in Newark, Woodbridge, and Woodland Park.

A number of Berkeley campuses have closed over the past decade. In 2014, the Berkeley College Extension Center on Williams Street in New York City was closed. [5] Two years later, the college closed the Clifton, New Jersey, campus. [6] In 2018, the Dover campus was closed [6] with the Brooklyn campus closed the following year. [5] Berkeley announced the closure of the White Plains campus in the fall of 2021 and consolidated it with its Manhattan campus. [7] [8] Berkeley announced the closure of the Paramus campus in spring 2022 and consolidated it with its Woodland Park campus.[ citation needed ]

Dover Business College was a vocational school and technical college with locations in Dover and Clifton, New Jersey. Dover Business College, which was founded in 1958 and accredited in 1974, was a private institution with a focus on preparing students for careers in healthcare, information technology, and business. The college awarded more than 2,800 diplomas in its last five years. [9]

The school was merged into Berkeley College on July 1, 2013. Many of the programs that were offered at Dover Business College are now available at Berkeley College via the college's School of Health Studies, which was established to coincide with the merger. [10]

Berkeley College has locations in Newark, Woodbridge, and Woodland Park, NJ, and New York City, NY. [11] The school also offers programs through Berkeley College Online. [12]

In 2015, Berkeley College was named in a New York City Consumer Agency investigation, along with 3 other for-profit schools, concerning student dropout and loan default rates, as well as how the college recruits new students. [13]

In 2018, Berkeley College was named in a lawsuit filed by the New York Department of Consumer Affairs for deceptive and predatory practices. [14] The lawsuit description includes (1) misleading students about financial aid, including federal financial aid; (2) tricking students into taking out loans directly from Berkeley College; (3) deceiving students about institutional grants; (4) deceiving students about transfer credits, majors, and careers; and (5) violating local debt collection laws by concealing its identity from former students when collecting debt, including debt that is not owed. Berkeley College denied the allegations contained in the DCA's lawsuit and denied that it violated the New York City Consumer Protection Law. [15]

In 2019, Berkeley College was sued by former staffers at the White Plains, New York campus, who claimed they faced "a gender-related hostile work environment" and "wrongful termination." [16] However, plaintiffs failed to prove their case. In July 2021, the Southern District of New York granted defendants' motion for summary judgment and dismissed the lawsuit against Berkeley College and all individual defendants. Thereafter, plaintiffs appealed their loss, and, in November 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit affirmed the judgment of the SDNY. [17]

In 2022, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) reached a settlement with Berkeley College [18] in connection with DCWP’s 2018 lawsuit.  The settlement requires Berkeley to, among other things, stop collection on any outstanding debt incurred before January 1, 2019, which Berkeley estimates is valued at a total of $20 million; [19] pay $350,000 to the City, which DCWP plans to use to pay restitution to certain impacted consumers; and instruct its third-party debt collectors to request that credit reporting agencies remove all consumer account information related to student debt owed to Berkeley incurred before January 1, 2019.

Athletics

3 East 43rd Street building Berkeley College 4 W43rd St from Fifth Av 2021-06 jeh.jpg
3 East 43rd Street building

Berkeley College Knights Athletics includes Basketball and Soccer teams. They compete in the USCAA and the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Chris Christiansen, Head Coach of the Men's Basketball team for 22 years, was inducted into the USCAA Hall of Fame, Class of 2023. [20]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcorn State University</span> Historically black public college in Lorman, Mississippi, US

Alcorn State University is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Adventist University</span> Private university in Takoma Park, Maryland, US

Washington Adventist University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Takoma Park, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairleigh Dickinson University</span> Private university in Madison, New Jersey, US

Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree programs. In addition to two campuses in New Jersey, the university has a campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, one in Wroxton, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, and an online platform. Fairleigh Dickinson University is New Jersey's largest private institution of higher education, with over 12,000 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Edison State University</span> Public university in Trenton, New Jersey, US

Thomas Edison State University (TESU) is a public university in Trenton, New Jersey. The university is one of New Jersey's 11 senior public institutions of higher education. Thomas Edison State University offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Strayer University is a private for-profit university headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1892 as Strayer's Business College and later became Strayer College, before being granted university status in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Portland</span> Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, US

The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Dame. UP enrolls approximately 3,730 students.

DeVry University is a privately owned for-profit university. DeVry is predominantly an online educator but does have campuses in the United States. It was founded in 1931 by Herman A. DeVry and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State University of New York at Delhi</span> Public college in Delhi, New York, U.S.

The State University of New York at Delhi is a public college in Delhi, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Over 3,000 students attend the institution. 

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroe College</span> American for-profit college based in New York

Monroe University is a private for-profit college in New York City. It was founded in 1933 and has campuses in the Bronx, New Rochelle and Saint Lucia, with degree programs also available through Monroe Online. The college is named after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College of New Rochelle</span> Catholic college in New Rochelle, New York

TheCollege of New Rochelle (CNR) was a private Catholic college with its main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded as the College of St. Angela by Mother Irene Gill, OSU of the Ursuline Order as the first Catholic women's college in New York in 1904. The name was changed to the College of New Rochelle in 1910. The college was composed of four schools and became co-educational in 2016. In early 2019, Mercy College and College of New Rochelle announced that College of New Rochelle would be absorbed into Mercy College before fall 2019, including College of New Rochelle's students, faculty, programs, and some facilities, as well as transcripts, history, and legacy of CNR alumni. Mercy College became the repository of CNR documents.

Maryville University of St. Louis is a private university in Town and Country, Missouri. It was founded on April 6, 1872, by the Society of the Sacred Heart and offers more than 90 degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels to students from 50 states and 47 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National American University</span> Private for-profit online university

National American University (NAU) is a private for-profit online university. It is owned by National American University Holdings, Inc. (NAUH). In 2018, NAU acquired the assets of Henley-Putnam University and now offers strategic security programs. Most of NAU's academic programs are on the 11-week quarter system and have monthly starts. The school is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piedmont University</span> Private college in Demorest, Georgia, U.S.

Piedmont University is a private university in Demorest and Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1897, Piedmont's Demorest campus includes 300 acres in a traditional residential-college setting located in the foothills of the northeast Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains. Total enrollment is approximately 2,500 students and the campus includes ten residence halls housing more than 750 students.

Charter College is a network of private, for-profit colleges in the United States. They offer programs in healthcare, business, veterinary science, information technology, and select trade careers. Charter operates campuses in five states and offers certificates, associate, and bachelor's degrees. Fully online programs are available for select programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briarcliffe College</span>

Briarcliffe College was a private for-profit college with two campuses on Long Island, New York. It was owned by Career Education Corporation. The Bethpage campus served Nassau County, New York, and the Patchogue campus was in Suffolk County, New York. The college offered associate or bachelor programs. It stopped accepting new students in 2015 and closed in 2018, citing financial difficulties, following a $10.25 million settlement with the New York state attorney general's office over inflated job placement rates in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South University</span> Private university based in Savannah, Georgia, US

South University is a private for-profit university with its main campus and online operations in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1899, South University consists of its School of Pharmacy, College of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Professions, College of Business, College of Theology, and College of Arts and Sciences. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Lincoln Tech is an American group of for-profit postsecondary vocational institutions headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. Each campus is owned and operated by Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, a provider of career-oriented post-secondary education.

Education Corporation of America, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, was a privately held company that operated proprietary colleges across the United States. Included were three schools with 31 campuses, plus one online school and four affiliated businesses. The schools abruptly announced their closing before next semester, after ECA was denied accreditation on December 4, 2018. Closings began on December 7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National University (California)</span> Private university in San Diego, California, United States

National University is a private university headquartered in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1971, National University offers academic degree programs at campuses throughout California, a satellite campus in Nevada, and various programs online. Programs at National University are designed for adult learners. On-campus classes are typically blended learning courses, concentrated to four weeks or on weeknights with occasional Saturday classes. The university uses asynchronous learning and real-time virtual classrooms for its online programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herzing University</span> Private university in Wisconsin, United States

Herzing University is a private, non-profit university with multiple locations throughout the United States, including an Online division. The university offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in addition to certificates and diplomas across several key program areas, including nursing and healthcare, behavioral health, business, and technology.

References

  1. Perry, Jessica (2015-03-04). "Berkeley College launching MBA program this fall". NJBIZ. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  2. Hutter, David (2019-10-10). "Affinity FCU to offer employees MBA opportunity at Berkeley College". NJBIZ. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  3. "Berkeley College - Online Bachelor's Program - US News Best Online Colleges". US News .
  4. "Thought Leaders in Online Education: Berkeley College Dean of Online Learning Joseph Scuralli (Part 1)". Sramana Mitra. 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  5. 1 2 "Berkeley College - New York". Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  6. 1 2 "Berkeley College - New Jersey". Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  7. "Berkeley College to shut down White Plains campus". News 12 - Long Island. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  8. Staff, T. R. D. (2021-09-22). "Berkeley College Selling Two White Plains Buildings". The Real Deal. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  9. "News Room". Archived from the original on 27 February 2014.
  10. Gicas, Tony (2013-08-09). "Business schools in Clifton merge". northjersey.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07.
  11. "Berkeley College at a Glance | Berkeley College". berkeleycollege.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  12. "N.J.'s other college merger: Berkeley takes over Dover Business College". 4 August 2013.
  13. Harris, Elizabeth A. (2015-04-02). "New York City Consumer Agency Investigating Four For-Profit Colleges". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  14. "DCA Berkeley Investigation". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  15. "New York City sues for-profit Berkeley College over alleged deceptive practices". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  16. Wilson, Colleen; Fitz-Gibbon, Jorge. "Ex-staffers sue Berkeley College, citing hostile work environment". lohud.com. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  17. "NY Forecast: College Office Harassment Suit At 2nd Circ. - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
  18. "Mayor Adams Delivers $20 Million in Debt Relief to Former Berkeley College Students". The official website of the City of New York. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  19. Sheffey, Ayelet. "$20 million in student debt is getting wiped out for New Yorkers who went to a 'predatory' for-profit college that turned 'their dreams into debt,' Chuck Schumer says". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  20. "The USCAA Announces the Hall of Fame Class of 2023". USCAA. 2023-04-04.
  21. "Monique Chandler-Waterman - Assembly District 58 |Assembly Member Directory | New York State Assembly". www.assembly.state.ny.us. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  22. Otis, Ginger Adams (3 August 2013). "Teresa Giudice's lavish 'Real Housewives' lifestyle was all a sham: sources". New York Daily News. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  23. O'Brien, Jon (2022-12-17). "Danielle Rose Russell: 14 Things To Know About The Star". Nicki Swift. Retrieved 2023-03-14.