West Bloomfield Religious College Loses Accreditation

WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI – A mostly online religious college in West Bloomfield Township has lost its accreditation, meaning it won’t be able to accept students receiving Pell Grants and other federal assistance.

The Michigan Jewish Institute, which offers associate and baccalaureate degrees in technology, business and Judaic studies, was informed last week by the U.S. Department of Education that its certification wouldn’t be renewed.

Federal authorities raided the college last summer after enrollment in its distance and online learning classes soared by thousands of students in 2012. It’s unclear exactly what information they were after, but the Forward Jewish newspaper said at the time that most of the students live in Israel and few of them graduate.

In a statement to WXYZ-TV, the Michigan Jewish Institute said it plans to appeal the decision and called it"extremely harmful, unfair, inaccurate and arbitrary and capricious.”

Some local high school students take dual enrollment classes at MJI. The school told the TV station those classes aren’t affected.

The school was founded in 1994 by members of the metropolitan Detroit Jewish community to take over the Norman and Esther Allen Touro College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, according to MJI’s website.

Congregation Beth-Chabad agreed to sponsor the college provided the initial investment capital to establish and accredit the college and to provide a permanent home for the school on the Center for Living Judaism campus in West Bloomfield.

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