COUNTYWIDE : Probation Lifted for National University

An accreditation group has rescinded its suspended probation of National University, which was cited for financial and management difficulties, the university announced this week.

The Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges had placed the university in the suspended probation category last year. The suspended probation was lifted this weekend.

National was founded by David Chigos in 1971, starting with 27 students. It has grown to an enrollment of more than 10,000, with facilities in San Diego and Orange counties, with centers in Anaheim, El Toro, Mission Viejo, Tustin, Los Alamitos and Westminster.

But rapid growth undermined the quality of its classes, the accreditation group said in issuing suspended probation last year.

Chigos then resigned and was succeeded by Jerry C. Lee, a one-time corporate executive with General Motors and former president of Gallaudet University, a prominent school for the deaf in Washington.

According to a statement released by National, the accreditation group “complimented Lee for his determination to achieve the distinctive goals of the university while bringing it into full membership within the community of higher education.”

The school showed improvement by strengthening its financial health, academic resources and board of trustees, the statement said.

“The progress report submitted by the university reflects an understanding of (association) standards and a commitment to meeting them that is unprecedented at National University in recent years,” the school said in quoting from the accreditation group’s report.