A Southern California Bible college has been ordered to cease operations amid concerns of student safety and quality of education. Olivet University, located in the Riverside County desert town of Anza, has faced legal challenges in the past.
The school was founded in 2000 in Seoul, South Korea, and has campuses in San Fransisco; Washington, D.C.; St. Louis, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; and Orlando, Florida. It bases its operations in Anza.
The school previous had a campus in New York.
In 2018, the Manhattan district attorney charged the university and three of its officials with money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy. Prosecutors alleged that the school had exaggerated its financial health to lenders. In 2020, Olivet University pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and falsifying business records and was required to pay $1.25 million.
Later that year, the school’s temporary permission to operate in New York was not renewed.
Now, Olivet University has been accused of confining and surveilling students, as well as forcing them to perform unpaid labor.
According to Los Angeles Times, the school draws students mostly from East Asia, promising a U.S. student visa and financial scholarships alongside a Christian education. However, some students have described their experiences at the school as tightly controlled and even oppressive.
“These allegations continue to be completely false,” Jonathan Park, president of the university, said in a statement after the allegations were brought forward. “Every government entity that has looked into these claims of human trafficking hasn’t found anything substantiating their veracity.”
In 2022, California’s Bureau of Private and Post-Secondary Education launched an investigation into the school, making two unannounced visits to Olivet University’s California campuses to observe students’ living conditions and educational experience.
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Investigators found that the school did not have proper documentation regarding student enrollment, faculty rosters, course syllabi, and student and faculty work contracts. Investigators also alleged that the course material did not meet expectations of academic rigor.
