Bible college in Southern California ordered to shut down after state inspections

A Christian Bible college based in Southern California has been ordered to cease operations after state inspections discovered empty classrooms, inadequate handling of records and courses being taught via live-stream at its campuses.

The order issued Dec. 10 by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education — a unit within the California Department of Consumer Affairs — also directs Olivet University to pay $64,432.25 for investigations and enforcement efforts by the state bureau. With the order taking effect Jan. 10, the school must stop enrolling new students and come up with a plan to have those currently enrolled continue their education elsewhere. 

But the university released a statement earlier this week saying it plans to appeal the decision and keep operating, as of Dec. 11, under religious exemption in the state of California. "This step reflects the University's commitment to continuing its mission and activities while upholding its core values and principles as a Christian institution," the statement reads. 

In September 2022, investigators were assigned to the case "based on concerns related to student safety and quality of education" after the state bureau "became aware of a Newsweek article outlining allegations" against the school, according to the order. Months earlier, in July of that year, Newsweek reported a federal trafficking investigation had been launched into the school after a woman called 911 from the Riverside County campus and told authorities she was being held prisoner. 

When reached, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California would not confirm whether Olivet is under investigation. In an email, a spokesperson for the office declined to comment on the case. 

Newsweek, which has closely followed the case and accompanying allegations of labor trafficking, has two owners who are former members of the Christian sect tied to David Jang, who founded the university, according to its website. The small Christian college and the news outlet have faced off in court more than once, with Bloomberg reporting earlier this week that Newsweek beat defamation lawsuit filed by the school against it.

In the order directing Olivet to cease operations, Presiding Judge Debra Nye- Perkins wrote that "...the only degree of discipline that would ensure public protection is the revocation of respondent's approval to operate."

State investigators with the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) made unannounced visits to the school's 924-acre campus in Anza as well as its Mill Valley branch in the San Francisco area in November 2022 and January 2023. They found empty classrooms and others with just a handful of students — for instance, just five in one case and only two students in another. 

Robert Dawkins, the bureau's special investigator first assigned to the case, discovered a mostly empty campus when he visited.

"Mr. Dawkins testified that all of the classrooms and living quarters were empty with no students, and Dr. Dawkins did not see any faculty on campus other than the three listed above," the order states, noting the three faculty members who had greeted Dawkins.

Some courses described as "hybrid" classes were actually being taught by an instructor via live-stream, with no faculty actually present in the classroom, according to the state bureau's order. School administrators were unable to immediately provide certain records, handing them over some time later, while some faculty members at the school were also said to be students there.

State inspectors have also described a scholarship policy that does not properly define that term, or explain what eligibility requirements there are for scholarships, as another reason the school is being ordered to close. Some students who spoke with Newsweek alleged they were offered full scholarships which they said they never received, an allegation repeated to the news outlet by a former U.S. Department of Homeland security who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"A number of Olivet students came forward to authorities and explained how the fraud was committed against them," the former federal official told Newsweek. "They thought they were enrolling as students and instead were working off a debt — which is the crux of the labor trafficking investigation."

State inspections have also found that classes were "inappropriately" merged in a way that led to the "impairment" of students' education, with undergraduate and graduate students attending the same course. Meanwhile, an organizational chart listing instructors did not match up with the faculty actually seen by state investigators during unannounced campus visits. 

At a state hearing last month, when investigators testified about those inspections, school administrators fought the allegations. Jonathan Park, president of the university, blamed Newsweek for how the state's Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education has handled the investigation — alleging Olivet had been not given treatment that's the same or equal to other schools.

Park, who became president in the midst of the state investigation, received his doctor of ministry degree from the school this year.

Meanwhile, Olivet Vice President Walker Tzeng testified that the state bureau has a "racial bias" and "Americanized cultural bias" against the school, while also accusing the agency of being biased against Olivet because it is a Christian institution and has international students. He testified the school has addressed 14 allegations detailed by California's State Attorney General in a complaint filed in March 2023, but the state bureau said he provided no evidence of that.  

He also mentioned Newsweek in defending the school against the allegations by state investigators.

"Dr. Tzeng testified that BPPE investigated respondent based solely on an email from Newsweek regarding allegations of money laundering, trafficking, and visa fraud," reads the December order calling for Olivet to cease operations. "However, Dr. Tzeung noted that those issues are not within BPPE's jurisdiction. He also noted that respondent has never been charged with those crimes and was only accused by the media."