Maltese blogger and political commentator Manuel Delia and a dismissed AUM lecturer have criticised the Maltese accreditor and the AUM , alleging that the initial recruitment of faculty , including several highly qualified academics from the United States and Britain , " was a scam to demonstrate academic prowess to the National Council for Further and Higher Education in order to acquire accreditation . " In the first two years of the AUM 's existence , the higher education institution has been plagued by a number of controversies . Despite the university 's small student body , high employee turnover and growing legal troubles , Malta 's Education Minister Evarist Bartolo insisted that the AUM is not entirely a “ garage operation ” Refusals by Provost John Ryder to publicly release the official enrollment figures have become a recurring flashpoint of controversy . An early promotional video presented the new university 's plan to admit 1,000 students in its first year , eventually reaching a total enrollment of 4,000 students by its fourth year . The AUM officially began offering classes on Tuesday September 12 , 2017 , rather than Monday September 11 , to avoid association with the September 11 attacks anniversary . Asked how many students the AUM admitted for the Fall semester ( academic year 2017/18 ) , Provost Ryder would only say that student recruitment was “ proving to be challenging . " In November , the Times of Malta reported that the AUM 's revised plan was to enroll 330 students in its first semester , but the " university managed to attract 15 students " The figure was denied by university officials . Four days later , Ryder acknowledged in a Television Malta interview that the AUM student body numbered 23
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
American University of Malta