Amity University Buys 170-Acre Campus in US, Raises Doubts

Amity has purchased the campus is New York for $22 million and raised many brows.

File image of the New England Institute of Art near Boston. Amity has also made a deal to buy the school but will require approval from educational officals there. (Photo: AP)

One of India's largest colleges is expanding into the US with the purchase of a campus in New York and a proposal to buy two more, drawing opposition from state officials in Massachusetts about the quality of the education it will offer.

Dozens of US colleges have opened overseas campuses, but few foreign schools have sought to establish branches in the United States, in part because of the cost and tighter regulation. Amity University, a system of private colleges based in New Delhi, has however long sought to create a global network of schools.

Since it was founded in 2003, the chain has opened campuses in India, England, China, South Africa and five other countries.

Many Skeptical About Deal

Amity paid $22 million last month to buy a Long Island branch of St John's University in New York City, which was selling the campus and shifting to a smaller site on Long Island. Amity plans to open its first US branch at the 170-acre, century-old campus after it gains ownership in June 2017.

The chain also has made a deal to buy the New England Institute of Art, a for-profit college near Boston, and one of its sister schools, the Art Institute of New York City, according to paperwork filed in Massachusetts. The deal would require approval from state education officials.

We are very, very skeptical about this. It’s hard to imagine that this outfit from overseas, which has never done any education work here in this country, is well-suited to provide any kind of education to these students.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey

Long Road Ahead

Amity has been pushing for US expansion while some traditional schools close because of dwindling enrolment, and as many for-profit institutions seek buyers amid increasing federal regulation and oversight.

Massachusetts education officials have requested more information from Amity about the proposal.

Even if it’s approved, Amity could face a long road before it starts work in the US. To begin granting degrees, it would need approval from a US accreditor, often a rigorous process. And to receive federal financial aid for its students, it would have to be screened by the US Department of Education.