Soka May Keep University in Title

Soka University received approval Friday to temporarily continue using the word university in its title, despite a state law aimed at stripping the school’s right to do so after Jan. 1.

A letter received Friday from the state Council for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education informed the school that it could continue to use the name for six months. The council’s staff attorney, George P. Ritter, wrote that the extension was based on the Calabasas school’s stated intent to apply for accreditation as a graduate school.

Soka now offers English language classes to exchange students from its Tokyo campus and Japanese classes to the community at large. Fewer than 200 students attend classes at the school at any given time.

Although the scope of a future graduate program remains under discussion, campus spokesman Jeff Ourvan said it probably would focus on Japan-U.S. and China-U.S. relations. Ourvan said he expected the program to be small, involving fewer than 200 students during the next several years.

Legislation written last year by state Sen. Tom Hayden, then a Santa Monica assemblyman, made it a misdemeanor for schools not accredited as universities to describe themselves as universities. However, the law permitted the council to make exceptions for various reasons, including pending accreditation applications.