American InterContinental University (AIU) is a private for-profit university with its headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. It employs open admissions and is owned by Perdoceo Education Corporation. American InterContinental University is a member of the American InterContinental University System. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission to award associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. History American InterContinental University (AIU) was founded in 1970 in Lucerne, Switzerland, by American couple Jack and Helen Barnette of Atlanta, and was first known as the American Fashion College of Switzerland. The school was recognized as an American degree awarding institution in 1971, initially offering associate and bachelor's degrees starting in 1974. In 1976 the Switzerland-based school opened a campus in Atlanta and, in 1978, the Lucerne campus moved to London and changed its name to the American College for the Applied Arts. By 1978, the school had approximately 300 students, and began to expand its course offering beyond fashion to areas such as business. The school opened several other campuses in subsequent years. Steve Bostic bought the school in 1996 and changed its name to American InterContinental University. In 2001, AIU was acquired by its current owner, Career Education Corporation, which is a publicly traded operator of for-profit schools. Branch campuses were founded as follows: Atlanta – Buckhead, Georgia campus (1976) London, United Kingdom campus (1978) Los Angeles, California campus (1982) Dubai campus (1995, founded as the American University in Dubai) Atlanta – Dunwoody campus (1998) South Florida campus (1998) Online campus (2002) Houston, Texas campus (2003) In 2009, AIU had over 15,000 students and offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in programs such as business, IT, criminal justice, healthcare management, education, and media production. More than 80 percent of AIU students attend AIU Online, an internet-based online campus that delivers degree programs 100 percent online. Also in 2009, the school has 54 full-time instructors and 594 part-time instructors. In March 2019, Career Education Corporation acquired Trident University International, an online for-profit college with approximately 4,000 students, and planned to merge this acquisition into American InterContinental University. In March 2020, Capitol Forum reported that the U.S. Department of Education allowed AIU to defer $39 million in Title IV money to avoid violating the 90-10 rule. Investigations and controversies 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