The California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education has ordered that Olivet University’s approval to operate be revoked.

The order also requires the school to pay $64,432 to cover the costs of the investigation and prosecution.

Because of this action, Olivet must cease enrolling new students and must propose a plan “teach out” current students.

“We, as a coalition of students who have experienced firsthand the lies, manipulation, and abuse of Olivet University, are encouraged by California’s decision to revoke the institution’s accreditation,” a group called Olivet Watch said in a statement. “This outcome validates the concerns we and many others have raised over the years, and it helps ensure that future students will not suffer the same injustices.”

Olivet, founded by controversial figure David Jang, was approved to operate by the state in 2005, but that approval expired in 2014 and has not been renewed.

In March 2023, a California officials filed a complaint against Olivet, seeking a revocation or suspension of its approval to operate. It included 14 reasons the state should revoke the approval, including failing to include a face-to-face instructional component, failing to provide all the courses included in the approval, failing to have necessary evaluations of faculty, and failing to demonstrate that Olivet has required financial resources.

During a hearing held in November, the government provided six witnesses and evidence in support of its complaint. One was investigator Robert Dawkins, who testified that he visited several of the Olivet University campuses to examine files and observe student instruction. At the Anza campus, Dawkins only observed one student and one faculty member on campus.

When Dawkins visited the Mill Valley campus in January 2023, he found the student living quarters and classrooms empty of students.

In a statement, Olivet said it plans to appeal the ruling and plans to operate in California under a religious exemption. “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 University remains dedicated to serving its students and community during this transitional period.”

Olivet also has campuses in seven other states and the District of Columbia.

The Jang-affiliated IBT Media once owned Newsweek, which after breaking away from the group sued IBT for $35 million in damages it claimed it sustained under IBT management.

In 2018, a Manhattan district attorney indicted The Christian Post and other Jang-related businesses  — including Newsweek — for fraudulently acquiring bank loans worth millions of dollars and using that money to fund The Christian Post and other companies, with the help of fictitious company accountants and financial documents.

Last year, a group of former Olivet students sued Jang and the university, claiming they were part of an international labor trafficking scheme run by Jang and his disciples.

According to reporting by Newsweek, Olivet University is also under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for money laundering, human trafficking and visa fraud.

The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California is investigating the case. Newsweek reported that any charges against Olivet would need to be filed before the statute of limitations expires in the near future.

This article has been republished with permission from Ministry Watch.

Editor’s Note: The school in this article is not Olivet Nazarene University, a separate and distinct institution located in Illinois.

Kim Roberts is a freelance writer who holds a Juris Doctorate with honors from Baylor University and an undergraduate degree in government from Angelo State University. She has three young adult children who were home schooled and is happily married to her husband of 28 years.