Accreditation: Statement to NACIQI regarding NSAD, Ambow Education, and WSCUC

[Editor's note: The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) is authorized and reconstituted by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. NACIQI provides recommendations regarding accrediting agencies that monitor the academic quality of postsecondary institutions and educational programs for federal purposes. The Committee complies with all requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and Government in the Sunshine Act. Their annual meeting is February 19-20.] 

After last year’s reauthorization of several regional accreditors, this submission recounts a case study that exemplifies troublesome concerns about the apparent lack of precision among regional accreditors (both of whom were reaffirmed by this body last year).

Bay State College in Massachusetts and NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD) in California, were the only two colleges owned by Ambow Education, a Chinese-based for-profit operation that has been in severe financial crisis for years. 

As a consequence of being placed on Heightened Cash Management, Bay State was severely sanctioned by its accreditor New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE) and after a January 12, 2023 commission meeting lost its regional accreditation. 

This came after a scathing recount of concerns by Massachusetts legislators (Warren, Pressley) who called on NECHE to explain how it would come to its decision (2023.01.10 Letter to NECHE Regarding Bay State College Concerns.pdf). Following NECHE’s action, Senator Warren and Representative Pressley called on the Department to discharge all student loans for Bay State College students

(2023.02.09- Letter-to-ED-re-Bay-State-College-Accreditation.pdf).

Almost simultaneously, WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) filed sanctions against Ambow’s only other asset, NSAD for similar concerns that precipitated Bay State’s accreditation revocation. They issued a warning and ordered a team visit for February 2024. This came after an en-masse resignation of all non-Ambow board members and the sudden resignation of NSAD’s brand new president who was alarmed that NSAD refused to pay its landlord and other vendors. 

After a team visit in February 2024 (NSAD - Team Report SV fall 2023.pdf | Powered by Box) in which the visiting team commends the new board of NSAD (four of whom, the majority, served similar role at defunct Bay State College; and for the hiring of failing Ambow Education Inc. COO Chaio-Ling Hsu as President of NSAD and lauded the appointment of a chief academic officer no longer employed nine months after this report) the commission acted in March, In March, the commission acted to remove the formal warning and to reschedule a follow up visit in 2026 (CAL_240306_NSAD_SV.pdf | Powered by Box)

In the meantime, Ambow continues to struggle. They fired their CFO (Jin Huang now holds the positions of CEO, CFO and Chairman of the Board) and moved their corporate office from Beijing to a small, shared office space in Cupertino, California. They continue to send barrages of press releases of little veracity or import in what one stock analyst describes: “All signs point to a business strategy based more on PR—and possibly on outright deception—than on an interest in product and execution”.

($AMBO is a Clown Car of Lies, Incompetence, and Poor Governance Speeding toward a Second Delisting).

What should concern the public is that two regional accreditors from each coast see the risk of this ultimate owner very differently. One immediately warned the public by removing accreditation. The other, despite no sign of growth in enrollment nor of financial stability removed warnings and even commended what appears to be minimal alteration. This provides a confusing message to the public about whether an ultimate owner of colleges has the skills and the means to lead a college into the future.

One additional note: It seems that some of the expenses of the college for both Bay State and NSAD were siphoned to the parent company, leaving necessary and usual expenses of any college off book for the college and unknown to the regulators - unlike the federal government requirement of financial statements of both the college entity and the ultimate owner. Additionally, Ambow remains in court for disputes with their landlord and for wage theft of its former President. While one would expect to see vast improvements with a college removed from warning by its accreditor, it seems simply more of the same.

This report urges NACIQI to take the position that if an owner loses accreditation for any single institution under its management, any and all institutions accredited by any certified accreditor issue an immediate probation of accreditation, and that each accreditor shares its findings with one another to ensure precision and allow the public confidence. For additional information about our ongoing investigation, please visit the Higher Education Inquirer.

Ambow Education Continues to Fish in Murky Waters

In May 2022, The Higher Education Inquirer began investigating Ambow Education after we received credible tips about the company as a bad actor in US higher education, particularly with its failure to adequately maintain and operate Bay State College in Boston. The Massachusetts Attorney General had already stepped in and fined the school in 2020 for misleading students. 

As HEI dug deeper, we found that Ambow failed years before under questionable circumstances. And we worked with a number of news outlets and staffers in the offices of Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley to get justice for the students at Bay State College. 

Murky Waters

Since that 2022 story we continued to investigate Ambow Education, its CEO/CFO/Board Chair Jin Huang, and Ambow's opaque business practices. Not only were we concerned about the company's finances, we were wary of any undue influence the People's Republic of China (PRC) had on Ambow, which the company had previously acknowledged in SEC documents. 

A Chinese proverb says it's easier to fish in murky waters. And that's what it seemed like for us to investigate Ambow, a company that used the murky waters in American business as well as anyone. But not everything can remain hidden to US authorities, even if the company was based out of the Cayman Islands, with a corporate headquarters in Beijing. 

In November 2022, Ambow sold all of its assets in the People's Republic of China, and in August 2023 Bay State College closed abruptly. We reported some strange behaviors in the markets to the Securities and Exchange Commission, but they had nothing to tell us. Ambow moved its headquarters to a small rental space in Cupertino, where it still operates. 

HybriU

In 2024, Ambow began spinning its yarns about a new learning platform, HybriU, using Norm Algood of Synergis Education as its huckster. HybriU appeared at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and at the ASU-GSV conference in San Diego and used their presence as signs of legitimacy. It later reported a $1.3 million contract with a small company out of Singapore. Doing a reverse image search, we found that some of the images on the HybriU website were stock photos.

There is no indication that HybriU's OOOK technology, first promoted in the PRC in 2021, is groundbreaking, although glowing press releases counter that. HybriU says that its technology is being used in classrooms, but no clients (schools or businesses)  have been mentioned.  If Ambow Education can prove the HybriU technology is promising and valuable to consumers, we will publicy acknowledge it.  

Continued PRC Interests 

Besides having an auditor from the People's Republic of China, Ambow has apparently shown an interest in working with Chinese interests in Morocco and Tunisia.

Ambow Education's Financial Health

In 2025, Ambow Education remains alive but with fewer assets and only the promise of doing something of value with those assets. Its remaining US college, the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego has seen its enrollment dip to 280 students. And there are at least three cases in San Diego Superior Court pending (for failure to pay rent and failing to pay the school's former President).  The US Department of Education has the school under Heightened Cash Monitoring (HCM2) for administrative issues. Despite these problems, NewSchool has been given a cleaner bill of health by its regional accreditor, WSCUC, changing the school's Warning status to a Notice of Concern.

A report by Argus Research, which Ambow commissioned, also described Ambow in a generally positive light, despite the fact that Ambow was only spending $100,000 per quarter on Research and Development. That report notes that Prouden, a small accounting firm based in the People's Republic of China is just seeing Ambow Education's books for the first time. In April 2025 we wonder if we'll get adequate information when Ambow reports its 2024 annual earnings, or whether we find just another layer of sludge. 

Ambow's HybriU. Is any of this real?

Ambow Education is at it again, pumping up its stock with another edtech business deal. This time, they sent out a press release that a Singapore company called Inspiring Futures has reached a $1.3M deal for licensing Ambow's 3D learning platform HybriU. Shares of AMBO soared more than 200 percent on the news. In April, Ambow appeared at the ASU+GSV conference to pitch its latest technology. 

 

The Ambow Sales Pitch for HybriU 

"HybriU is currently the only available 5-in-1 total solution. It seamlessly integrates AI—empowering five key domains: teaching, learning, connectivity, recording, and management—along with lecture capture, immersive technology, and a comprehensive management platform designed specifically for the education sector. HybriU delivers a unified learning experience that transcends the boundaries of both online and offline education, bridges language and regional divides, and connects academia with industry."

"HybriU's cutting-edge 3D solution includes 3D signal capture, recording, transformation, and remote display capabilities. It supports broadcasting life-sized 3D projections of professors in remote classrooms via a 3D LED wall, enabling a highly immersive learning experience. Learners can engage in their native language while interacting with the 3D content, making the platform accessible and effective across diverse linguistic and regional boundaries."

But is any of this technology real? We know of no schools currently using HybriU.  And there are no video presentations available online. We have reached out to experts in edtech to evaluate Ambow's claims for the technology and will provide a follow up when we learn more. 

Inspiring Futures? 

Inspiring Futures, the Singapore company that made the deal with Ambow for licensing HibriU, was created four months ago and employs three people. Its headquarters is in an outlet mall. 

Ambow also operates out of a small space in Cupertino, California, after its move from the People's Republic of China. Ambow still owns and operates NewSchool, a real college in San Diego, California, that has been declining in enrollment.    

Ambow Education Continues to School Naive Investors

The Higher Education Inquirer has been tracking Ambow Education (AMBO) for about two years.  Ambow Education is the owner of the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego (NSAD) and the former owner of Bay State College which closed in 2023. NSAD is facing serious accreditation issues.  The only other asset to speak of is an idea called HybriU, which may or may not be a real technology.  

Tomorrow, February 20, 2024, Ambow completes a 1-10 reverse stock split to pump up its stock price just enough to avoid delisting from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The company, which until recently was based in Beijing, has a troubled history. At one time it was reportedly valued at $1 Billion. Today it's valued at about $9 million. The latest company headquarters is in a small, rented office space in Cupertino, California.  

What we saw in trading on Friday, one business day before the reverse stock split, was alarming: share volume was more than 280 times normal: 70 million shares versus a daily average of about a quarter million. The price more than doubled, from 12 cents a share to 30 cents at close. The highest price was 58 cents, almost five times the day's beginning price. What we were seeing was more than abnormal. Was it stock manipulation? We cannot say.  

HEI asked Ambow for a comment but they had no answer for this doubling in value in less than 24 hours and for any news of material change. We also reported the event to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)--twice in the same day. These reports were in addition to previous complaints to the SEC and the NYSE.

 

Related links: 

Ambow Education Facing Financial Collapse (Dahn Shaulis and Glen McGhee)

Bay State Beacon - Yet Another For-Profit College Debacle (Derek Newton, Forbes)

$AMBO is a Clown Car of Lies, Incompetence, and Poor Governance Speeding toward a Second Delisting (Ecliipse Research)

The Collapse of Ambow Education and NewSchool of Architecture and Design

Ambow Education, the principal owner of the New School of Architecture and Design (NSAD) in San Diego has been cited by the New York Stock Exchange as a Non Compliant Issuer and risks imminent delisting from the exchange. The warning was delivered on September 21, but the company has yet to notify its shareholders.

The Higher Education Inquirer reported on Ambow's financial problems in May 2022.  

In January 2023, Ambow Education's other US school, Bay State College, lost its regional accreditation. After losing its appeal with its accreditor NECHE, Bay State College closed its doors in August. NewSchool of Architcture and Design remains open with less than 300 students. NSAD is currently on Heightened Cash Monitoring by the US Department of Education due to ongoing financial problems.